2021 08-26 SB Channel
Winds in the Channel ranged from near zero to a light breeze and the sun was shining all day. “It was t-shirt weather,” said Captain Dave. A little bit of chop from wind in the far west persisted all day, but was less noticeable closer to shore. Sightings were mostly within 8 miles of the beach in included 3+ humpback whales, 2 Minke whales, 3000 long-beaked common dolphins and 200 California sea lions.
About 3 miles out from the harbor we got mugged by that same pair of friendly Minke whales we’ve been reporting for the past months. They passed slowly from one side of the boat to the other, and came up from beneath our twin hulls to surface just ahead of the boat. At one point a Minke rolled over showed us its ventral blubber grooves.
Further to the southwest the dolphins began to find us in groups both large and small. Sea birds were around them and their feeding occasionally attracted a hungry humpback whale or two. We were southwest of Platform Holly when we sighted and watched our first humpback. We had great looks.
On the way home we found a big mother humpback with her large calf, and there was a more elusive humpback in the area. Of course this region was also flooded with dolphin and seabird action.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com MarineBioPhotography.com
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