DAILY SIGHTINGS

Off the coast of UCSB Captain Devin found a load of life! 11 Humpbacks, 300 common dolphins, and an unlimited number of blue sharks were feeding in the area. A juvenile whale breached near the boat to cap off an exciting day in the SBC! Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

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

(This blog occurred on 2-13-2026) WHAT A DAY! It all came together today as we spent 3 hours of our 3.5-hour trip with whales and dolphins. The day started with birdnado after birdnado, as has been typical the last week or so. Then whale spouts EVERYWHERE, a nice change of pace from yesterday's encounter. Whales are fast-moving animals, and things in the ocean are constantly dynamic. These humpbacks moved in overnight into the area; all of our life had been the day before. Wh

The forecasted small craft advisory was pushed back further into the day. The weather was beautiful and the seas calm. We searched far and wide for whales and dolphins today. After checking a nearby feeding ground just off the coast, we sent it east after some reports of whales days prior. We've had some high winds the past two days, which can sometimes "push" the whales around. As was the case today, as we struggled to find whales early on. Nearly 70 miles later, we came acr

A beautiful but swelly day in the Santa Barbara Channel yielded a single humpback whale. We enjoyed the whale as it put up its massive flukes. Long-period rolling swells were present throughout the channel, but didn't stop us from having a great day at sea! Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

We encountered a very active group of 2,000+ common dolphins on today's trip, as well as 3 humpback whales in the mix. All of the life was concentrated in one square mile area today. Birds dove as dolphins leaped out of the water, and the whale's tails rose from the depths. Further outside, we found a single humpback that was tricky to get looks at. We also encountered a nice concentrated area with 7+ blue sharks in it! Until Next Time, The SBWW Crew

It feels like summer! We had sensational sightings today courtesy of the Santa Barbara Channel. Most of the whales we watched today were TINY! Most likely, some yearlings have been hanging around looking for a bite to eat. They certainly found it today as Birdnado after Birdnado lit up the horizon. These flocks of seagulls, pelicans, and cormorants found an endless buffet of anchovies to eat, corralled by the dolphins and whales aplenty. We watched as the small whales continu

A beautiful February day in the channel yielded humpback whales and common dolphins. All of our whales were found smack dab in the middle of the shipping lanes. Our first whale was a subadult on a mission! It was traveling east at a consistent 4 knots, coming up for 3 breaths at a time, before putting up its massive flukes. Next, we watched a pair of whales. They shared some interest in the boat as they repeatedly showed up on our sonar right below us before popping up behind

WOW! The humpbacks are back early. Captain Devin found 12+ humpbacks today in our coastal waters. Along with the 2,000 + common dolphins. THE CHANNEL IS ALIVE! Most of the humpbacks in our population are off the coast of Mexico right now. However, some whales leave the channel early and return early. That seems to be what happened today! Over the past couple of days we've been seeing the number of these whales slowly increase. It exploded today in our coastal waters as it typ

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

Gray Whales and Bottlenose Dolphin

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

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