Just about as good as it gets today with an endless amount of whales!
There was a light breeze and a small bump on the ocean today, but that didn't deter us from finding a giant feeding frenzy of whales. On the way there we passed a humpback whale but decided to head towards the giant tower spouts ahead.
Our first blue of the day was a subadult doing 8-minute dives. We watched it for 2 sequences before continuing. Another sub-adult was not far away and popped up close to the boat. Still, the majority of the spouts were in the distance. We soon found ourselves surrounded by blue, fin, and humpback whales! Lots of the blues put up tail flukes as they ascended into the depths. Amongst all the whales, a seldom-seen blue whale mom/ calf pair appeared. Spending time with the world's largest baby is always so special! Gulping up to 200 gallons of mother's fatty milk in a day, baby blues can put on an astonishing 200+ pounds per day! We witnessed nursing between the two as they baby would surface with its mouth open and pleats expanded. Before departing the feeding area, a humpback in the distance began to get active and a trio of humpbacks popped up close to us. A mother with her calf that has some kind of strange skin lesions popped up next to us along with their male escort. Luckily the calf seems to be at a healthy weight and can feed on the abundance of krill along with its mother. As we turned for home a large group of common dolphins spent time with us as well.
It was just another outstanding day that displayed the incredible diversity of our backyard, the Santa Barbara Channel.
Until Next Time,
The SBWW Crew
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