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DAILY SIGHTINGS
Below you'll find our daily sightings report! Keep up to date with the channel's wildlife by subscribing below



Santa Barbara Whale Watch
24 hours ago0 min read


4 humpbacks, 1 gray Whale, 15 bottlenose
We enjoyed a beautiful day in the channel with a light wind chop. Our first whales of the day consisted of a pair of large adults. The whales were very lethargic at the surface, logging for long periods of time. These whales most likely had a big feed the day prior. FOOD COMA! Our next humpback was another adult with scarring along its body. We managed to snag a picture of the whale with snow on the top of the Santa Ynez Mountains, a rare combo for Santa Barbara. Soon we got

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
6 days ago1 min read


All three families of Cetacea!
A whole smorgasborg of cetacea were seen on today's trip; 4 cetacean species in totality! Captain Adam led us west towards the western end of Santa Cruz Island. Before reaching the painted cave, we spent time with our first cetacean species of the day. ~15 dall's porpoise sped across our bow. They weaved in and out between us and spent a good amount of time bow riding. Nearby a small juvenile humpback gave us a few nice looks. We visited the world-famous painted cave and had

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jan 191 min read


Gray Whales and Bottlenose Dolphin
Gray Whales and Bottlenose Dolphin

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jan 171 min read


Blue Shark Bonanza! Plus more
In a first for our company and in Captain Devin's experience in the Santa Barbara channel, we saw over 20 BLUE SHARKS on today’s trip! Old timers tell tales of seeing so many blue sharks in the channel that you could practically walk across them to the islands. In modern times, gill netting and long lining practices have taken a toll on the blue sharks populations; we rarely see them on our trips anymore. To see over 20 is impressive and speaks to the resilient nature of our

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jan 161 min read



Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jan 140 min read


First Gray Whales of the Year!
A stunning day in the Santa Barbara Channel led Captain Devin west towards the Santa Cruz/ Santa Rosa gap. Here we watched 3 gray whales, our first of the year! The gray whales are on their annual migration from the frigid seas of Alaska towards their warm water breeding lagoons off Baja California. Numbers from the past few years have been very low for the gray whales as they slowly recover from a UME (unusual mortality event). This year is already off to a better start than

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jan 131 min read


11 Humpbacks and a late-season gray whale!
Today's adventure was filled with a wealth of wildlife! We enjoyed watching 11 humpback whales, including two separate cow/ calf pairs....

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
May 20, 20251 min read


Over a Dozen Humpbacks, Gray Whales and More!
Captain Devin had a wonderful day in the channel. Calm seas and lots of marine life greeted us. Over a dozen lunge-feeding humpbacks and...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Apr 4, 20251 min read


2 Southbound Gray Whales
A beautiful day in the channel let us explore the vast expanse of ocean blue. Things were quiet during the first half of the trip until...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Mar 8, 20251 min read


First northbound Gray Whales of the Year!
3 Northbound Gray Whales and 400 common dolphins Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Feb 28, 20251 min read


World Whale Day with Grays and a Humpback
Nice weather greeted us for World Whale Day. While every day here is a day we celebrate the wonderful world of whales, today is...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Feb 16, 20251 min read



Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Feb 3, 20250 min read


Bottlenose, Commons, and Gray Whales!
Our morning started as fast as any. We found a beautiful group of ~15 coastal bottlenose dolphins out the gate. The seas were glassy and...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jan 31, 20251 min read


A single humpback and plenty of gray whales
Today’s weather was perfect, nice sunny skies and calm glassy water, it was a stunning day in Santa Barbara paradise. We enjoyed a single...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jan 24, 20251 min read


The Santa Barbara GRAND SLAM! | 5+ Blue Whales, 2+ Humpbacks, 1 Fin whale, 1 Gray Whale, 50 Commons
It was an absolutely perfect day in the Santa Barbara Channel, complete with the SB GRAND SLAM! FOUR baleen whale species + common...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Jun 3, 20241 min read


A beautiful day to explore the channel | 1 humpback, 2 grays, 10 Dall’s porpoise
Two trips left the dock today, each were greeted with flat calm seas. The whales have spread out, but both trips still had great looks at...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Mar 27, 20241 min read


A wide diversity of Marine Life! | 6 Humpbacks, 1 Gray, 750 Commons, 5 Dall's porpoise, 1 blue shark, 1 Mola
Perfectly calm sea conditions allowed us to find a whole heap of life today. Right out the harbor, we watched a huge pod of common...

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Mar 23, 20241 min read


Spectacular sightings with 14+ whales! | 12+ humpbacks, 2 Gray Whales, 500 commons, 1 blue shark
Sunny skies and flat calm seas graced the channel as it has for the past couple of days and is forecasted to for the next couple....

Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Mar 18, 20242 min read
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