Image: An offshore bottlenose dolphin leaping in the fog today.
2024 10-05 SB Channel
We had fog all day, some patches resulted in near zero visibility. Other areas were not so dense and we could see only ¼ to ½ mile. Seas were calm with ripples from the west. Sightings: 1500 common dolphins, 100 offshore bottlenose dolphins and 2 humpback whales.
There were very few small pods of common dolphins today. Around 11am, we found a huge spread-out area with over 1000 commons. Later, on the way home, we watched another large pod. They rode our wake waves.
A second dolphin species, the offshore bottlenose dolphin, appeared around 1155am. There were at least 100 individuals widely dispersed over more than 2 miles. Lots of young little calves with seen with their moms. These are marvelous dolphins to watch, especially as they rode our bow.
Soon after our bottlenose encounter, our friend Delaney, Captain of the Tern, a whale watching RIB, let us know that there were a couple of humpbacks nearby. Kudos to Delaney…finding whales in dense fog! The pair of adults were slowly swimming in a straight line to the west. They maintained a regular 7 ½ minute dive time and were obscured by fog on several viewing occasions. My guess was they were migrating.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Comments