Three humpbacks and a lot of dolphins.
- Bob Perry
- Sep 14
- 2 min read
2025 09–14 SB Channel
Skies were overcast for the first part of the trip and there was no wind all day. On the other hand, the sea surface continues to be quite bumpy From winds far to the NW of us. Sightings the trip: 5500 common dolphins and five humpback whales (two of them were repeat sightings later in the day).
Captain Eddy and the crew ran SW and found a megapod of common dolphins about 4 miles off Goleta Bay. They stretch out in a line about 2 miles long and they were headed E. Eddie took the boat W, right along their edge, so we visited the entire pod. (See today’s photo for example).
We ran south for about 3 miles until we were W of the buoy. Two spouts here turned out to be a pair of humpback whales. One of them was a regular tail fluker, and our talented deck hand, Isabel, used her skills to identify it. (see note below). Unfortunately for whale watching purposes, the two had long downtime and swim in random directions when submerged. We eventually lost them completely… But keep on reading!
We followed a third whale as it swam E, surf the swells. It was an easier beast to follow, and certainly a more comfortable ride. After a mile or two we spotted an additional 2 spouts. Arriving on the scene, it became obvious that we had recited the original pair of whales mentioned above.
Heading home, we found another megapod of dolphins.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
NOTE: Isabel Identified her whale as the first “2017-2018 Calf of Chompers” It’s ID is CRC-17806. Citizen scientists have recorded this individual as far south as Cabo San Lucas, and as far north as our very own Santa Barbara Channel. Brava, Isabel!
