"Kink," the humpback whale mugs the boat!

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 we saw a single humpback whale. It was a bit shy at first but persistence paid off as this whale soon became friendly with the boat! It would pirouette under us for a few minutes before moving out of the area. When wed see it dive, we would motor forward to catch up. Only a minute later the whale would surface again on our flanks or right in front of us. On one occassion, the whale did the biggest spyhop Captain Adam has ever seen. A mere 8 inches from the bow of the boat, we could see his eye above the railing of the boat. It was like an island forming in the middle of the ocean!

The whale was later identified as Kink, a whale weve seen numerous times this year. Named after a strange curvature before its tail fluke this could be from a deformity or something like scoliosis. No scar tissue is present which would indicate injury.

Until Next Time,

The SBWW Crew

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