Another perfectly calm day led us far offshore to one of the channel's most primeval feeding grounds.
We sped towards the beautiful island of Santa Rosa after a report of a huge aggregation of humpback whales nestled into an old stomping ground. Just a few miles off Carrington Point on SRI is renowned as an incredible feeding ground for large baleen whales. From humpbacks to blues to fins, this area can light up with whale activity throughout the year. While we haven't had much activity here since the blue whales left in mid-August, it exploded today!
We first watched 2 distinct pairs of humpbacks. One pair was chilling at the surface while another aimed to evade our looks. We opted for more whales that we could see towards the west.
Soon, we found ourselves SURROUNDED by spouts. Two separate groups were feeding with california sea lions and offshore bottlenose dolphins, an odd feeding mixture we haven't often seen. While humpbacks and sea lions often feed on anchovies together, offshore bottlenose are known to target bigger game fish as well as squid. While we didn't see what they were eating, it was clear they were all feeding together. The groups consisted of 7 and 8 whales respectively, with a few more singles dotted throughout the area. While we didn't see any surface feeding, we did enjoy some very close passes and some bouts of breaching from a young calf.
Since it is about an hour's run to Santa Rosa Island in nice conditions we soon began our trek home. To our astonishment, 1.1 miles from our harbor, a cow/ calf pair double breached out of the water! We enjoyed their boisterous presence before retreating to the harbor. Another spectacular day in the books.
Until Next Time,
The SBWW Crew
Comments