2025 03–23 SB Channel
Captain Eddy and the crew ran two trips, 9 AM and 12 noon. They found ideal sea conditions with clear sunny skies. Total sightings for the day included 13 gray whales.
We were only 3 miles outside The Harbor on the 9 AM excursion when we encountered a gray whale mother with her calf slowly moving north to their Arctic feeding grounds. They had short dive times and were very friendly. Several close approaches to the boat were fantastic.
The trip continued with a southeasterly jaunt to an area near Platform Habitat. Here we encountered 3 adult gray whales. They were also moving northbound as just about all grays are this time of year. It was a wonderful way to end the sightings on the morning excursion.
On the noon trip, we put the “pedal to the metal” and headed 8 miles from The Harbor where Captain Devin, a friend of ours, had found a large socializing group of 5 gray whales. There was some great tail flutes, lots of rolling around, sideways swimming and superb views.
At this point Eddy ran to the northwest in the general direction of UCSB. Not far off the coast we found a group of 3 more highly active and socializing gray whales. The action here was similar to what I described for the earlier encounter (see today’s photograph of a similar encounter).
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry