Thousands of dolphins and a couple of humpback whales

Image: A humpback whale is surrounded by common dolphins.

2023 07-21 SB Channel

The morning fog burned off within 30 minutes and there were no winds all day. A residual west bump from overnight winds was the only negative. Water clarity continues to be excellent. Sightings included: 5000 long-beaked common dolphins, 300 California sea lions and 2 humpback whales.

We watched pod after pod of dolphins all day long. Many had active feeding spot going on with plenty of sea birds and sea lions. Others were stretched out in long lines moving west. We followed the dolphins…often a good strategy for locating humpbacks that feed on the same prey.

Excellent looks at all these dolphins were had until finally, about 8 miles off Naples to the far west we found our first of two whales. It was moving west with the dolphin herds. From this point, Captain Dave and the crew took a southerly path and headed offshore. Before long we spotted and watched our second humpback. There were two additional spouts seen only via binoculars.

You never know what Mother Nature has in store.

Bob Perry

Condor Express, and

CondorExpressPhotos.com