Another eventful day spent with acrobatic humpback whales, there was plenty of action to catch you up on, so let's begin!
We headed out of the harbor, greeted with beautiful sea conditions. Not far from the harbor, a small minke whale caught our attention. We had a few quick looks before heading out further into the channel. A small bump on the water kept us vigilant as we cruised toward the humpback feeding grounds.
About 4 miles south of the lanes between the Santa Cruz/ Santa Rosa gap, we began seeing spout after spout on the horizon. Humpbacks have joined together for some later season feeding, a large mass of fish between 200-500 lit up our depth sounder. A group of 5 whales were the first to greet us, and stuck close together as they followed rafts of hundreds of sea lions. The giant whales displayed a few lunges, grunts/ trumpet blows, and of course their iconic tail flukes. Around us, 4 pairs and a few singles patrolled the perimeter. We estimate at least 15 whales in here, although we got close looks at 12.
Before heading home we were distracted by a huge breach in the distance. While we're accustomed to seeing lots of breaching in the channel, more often than not it is seen at a distance, and by the time you finally reach a breacher it most likely has run out of gas. Not this whale though! We had at least 20 breaches/ chin slaps from this acrobatic whale highlighting a perfect end to our trip. We enjoyed the power and grace from this young whale, before making the hour-long trek home.
Until Next Time,
The SBWW Crew
