Image: A young humpback whale with white pectoral fins mugs the boat.
2024 07-12 SB Channel
It rained on us at the dock before departure. After that we experienced only a high, gray stratus layer with flat, glassy seas. Water clarity was stupendous. Sightings: 5 humpback whales, 6000 common dolphins and 1 ocean sunfish (Mola mola). The crew also removed one deflated, floating Mylar balloon from the ocean surface.
Our sightings, and the saga of a white-pec juvenile humpback, began west of the Kelp Farm. The area was full of dolphins, and the crew snagged that balloon here. We watched 2 individual young whales. One had a white tail and matching white pectoral flippers, let’s call it “Whitey Pecs” for the sake of discussion. Whitey Pecs mugged the boat 3 or 4 different times during this, our first encounter with it. White pectoral fins are not rare, but add a lot to watching a whale due to their underwater reflectivity. (See today’s photo for an example).
After an hour or so we relocated southwest near the edge of The Lanes. Here we found lots more dolphins…thousands of them all around. We watched a friendly ocean sunfish (Mola mola). And then, out of nowhere, Whitey Pecs showed up and we saw it again. But wait…
Captain Dave and the crew moved northwest a considerable distance, where we watched more dolphins plus 4 additional humpbacks….one of which was, you guessed it…Whitey Pecs. All 3 encounters with this whale appeared to be completely random and certainly nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
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