The ocean surface was mirror glass in the fog. But sightings!!
- Bob Perry
- 3 minutes ago
- 1 min read
2026 03–15 SB Channel
Captain Eddy and the crew encountered fog, down to the deck, with 1 to 5 miles of lateral visibility. The ocean surface was glassy and there was a medium wavelength 3-4 foot W swell that did not bother anyone. The action today was 6 miles S of campus point, UCSB. Sightings for the day: 10 common dolphins (AM trip’s only sighting), 2 humpback whales, 50 California sea lions, 10 Dall’s porpoises, 1 Minke whale, and 10 coastal bottlenose dolphins.
At noon Eddy took the Condor Express W along the coast hoping to pick up some dolphins or migrating gray whales. When we were about a mile S of Hope Ranch we had a visit from 10 Dall’s porpoises. They were in a friendly mood, and we had a good long session with these black and white bullets.
We continued up the coast until we found the aforementioned action zone. We encountered 2 individual humpback whales. They were small, probably sub-adults, and seemed to be relaxing/milling around. Strictly by random chance, 1 of them made a close pass by the boat. There was a nice sized raft of sea lions near the whales, (see today’s photo for an example). Towards the end of this sighting, a single Minke
whale made a quick pass near the boat. Clear glassy water made everything magnificent.
Just outside the Harbor, on our return, we found 10 coastal bottlenose dolphins.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
