DAILY SIGHTINGS

8+ Humpback Whales 10+ Minke Whales 800 Common Dolphins

What a day we had in the channel! Conditions were beautiful with a slight bump but zero wind. Our totals for the day include 6+ humpback whales, 5 minke whales, and 200+ California Sea lions. The day unfolded as follows. We sent it back to the area we had our whales in yesterday but to no avail. The whales moved 7 miles to the east and into the flats. We first came upon a very small humpback being followed by a minke whale. For the first time (ever) the minke whale was easier

2 trips left the dock today, each with their own unique sightings! The morning trip greeted us with stellar conditions and a trip to the east where we had some humpbacks the day prior. We sped arounf the area to find 3 minke whales feeding with ~200 common dolphins. We had great looks at the minkes as they surfaced right next to us! We ran west on our afternoon trip to find a large pod of ~1,000 short beaked common dolphins. They were as acrobatic as ever, leaping about the b

2 trips left the dock today, each with their own highlights. The morning trip started out quickly with ~20 coastal bottlenose right out of the harbor. They greeted the boat with some bowriding and their beautiful bottlenose smile. About 10 miles south of the harbor we hung out with ~100 long beaked common dolphins. A minke whale came up for a quick breath as well. A report from our friends down east got us moving! Island Packers vessel "Islander," had found 2 humpbacks. We go

A great day in the SBC complete with humpbacks and common dolphins! We enjoyed great looks at 3 humpback whales off the coast. We enjoyed one lungefeed as well as lots of tail flukes from the whales. Dolphins were everywhere as well, jumping out of the water with grace and power! Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

Captain Adam took the boat on a fun exploration of the SBC. Wind and waves were prevalent but that didn't stop us from having a great day. We enjoyed 2,500 short beaked common dolphins, as well as 500 long beaked common dolphins. Wherever we found long beaks, we found whales! In the first group we found a shy minke whale, before eventually finding a humpback whale a few miles outside the harbor! Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

Spectactular sightings today with well over 25 humpnback whales and 2,500 common dolphins in the channel. The day unfolded as follows. A moderate chop and some decent winds greeted us on our way out. However when we reached the humpback feeding grounds, the wind backed off nicely, allowing us to hop from whale to whale unimpeded. The first whales we watched quickly turned into 6 in the area. Smaller whales and larger whales all darted around the boat as they fed subsurface. O

Humpbacks were everywhere as we spent a gorgeous day in the SBC. A breaching humpback caught our attention as we reached the feeding grounds. Upon arrival on scene, we spent time with 3 humpback whales. All were relatively younger animals and had black tail flukes. A bit to the south we found a group of 6 whales all traveling together following a pod of dolphins. In the mix was our old friend "Jor," a whale that has been sighted since 2008. Jor has a big bite out of her right

Wow! Something Captain Devin has never seen in the channel, a lone humpback whale bubble netting. The large humpback would blow a ring of bubbles to scare/ corral a school of anchovies into a tight ball. Then it would lunge in the middle of the ball with its mouth open! An incredible behavior most commonly documented in places like Alaska and Antarctica with big groups of whales. Humpbacks are ingenuous! Notice the ring of bubbles surrounding this whale. Photo by Captain Devi

This post is from Tuesday June 20th.

Today was just another gorgeous day in the SBC. We traversed the same area we did yesterday with little success. Where there was once 10 whales and thousands of dolphins, we found one humpback, and a couple hundred dolphins. We trudged onwards. We found the group about 7 miles away from where we had them the day prior. Everywhere we looked there were spouts around us. Among the group was our old freind "BLACK RAKES," a whale that has been sighted in the channel since 2014. Bl

Stunning sea conditions graced the channel. Visibilty was superb as we could see the channel islands in the distance some 20+ miles away. We first happened across a nice feeding area with a few hundred dolphins and two younf humpback whales. The two whales were busy feeding below the surface, but put up their giant tails as they dove. Humpbacl tail fluke in a flock of shooty shearwater. Photo by Captain Adam A few miles south we ran into a nice group of humpback whales. They

We ran east following yesterday's track. It was much quieter than the day before, but we still managed to find 3 humpback whales as well a hundred or so dolphins. Humpbacks, common dolphins, and shearwaters searching for food in the SBC. Photo by Captain Adam. We ran west along the 07 line and found 2 more humpbacks as well as thousands of dolphins. One of the whales was HUGE and put up its giant white tail flukes. Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

Light chop and aa moderate wind graced the Eastern channel. Reports of humpback whales brought us to the east today instead of the westerly route we took yesterday. We found 7 spread out in the flats, ranging from juveniles to adults. They were all spread out foraging for food as they went. We saw lots of tail flukes from these charismatic whales! Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

Gorgeous sea conditions graced the channel. As we sped west, we first happened upon a small group of long beaked common dolphins. A little while later, we found a huge pod of short beaked common dolphins. The differences between the two ecotypes was stark. Their slight variance in coloration and size was one thing, but their behavioral change is extremely noticeable! Even from a mile+ away, their acrobatic leaps were admired by our crew and passengers alike. In the distance w

This report is from Sunday June 21st.

Captain Devin reports a MEGA DAY! We watched 6+ blue whales, 11 humpback whales, 1 fin whale, and over 1,500 common dolphins as we traversed the channel. A staggering number of both fish and krill have swarmed to our waters, creating two different feeding hotspots. We’ve been spending time watching the humpbacks and dolphins mid channel, before sending it out to the islands for the big blues 🐋 Thanks so much to Sami Haddad aboard island packers for this photo! Until Next Tim