Image: a humpback whale does some kelping and lifts a heavy load with its pectoral flipper.
2024 10-19 SB Channel
Captain Dave and the crew report AMAZING conditions in our neck of The Channel today. Skies were bright and sunny all day. Seas were glassy and calm. Winds were light until 2pm. Sightings were PHENOMENAL: 4000 common dolphins, 8 humpback whales and 1 Minke whale.
The dolphin experience began about 3 miles east of The Harbor and continued for the rest of the day. Most pods were in the 300 – 500 dolphin/pod range, and all were very friendly. After following the first pod east, Dave took advantage of our location and did a brief talk/tour of offshore oil Platform Charlie which is the rig closest to The Harbor. During his talk, a lone Minke whale surfaced nearby.
After turning west and running along the outer edge of the Kelp Farm, our first whale sighting was about 6 miles south of Hope Ranch. We closely watched two single whales that eventually came together. After a lengthy period of long-ish (8 minute) dives…BAM…one let loose a surprisingly big chin-slap. Then, seconds later, a full body mid-air rolling breach! My friend Diane once said if you watch a humpback for 45 minutes, something will happen.
We moved south to find 2 more single whales. Then we sailed northeast to investigate some spouts and located a trio plus one more. One of the threesome was active. It socialized, rolled around, vocalized, and swam on its side. Then it discovered a floating, detached giant kelp paddy and began to have a spa session. It draped a lot of the various species of algae in the paddy over its back and tried to slap its pectoral flippers. (See today’s photo for an example of pec fin kelping).
One the way home….more dolphins!
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
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