An overcast glassy morning soon turned into a bluebird kind of day with a slight ripple on the water.
After a few weeks of some pretty heavy storms, we were able to get out and explore the channel today. Our boatful of crew and passengers enjoyed a lovely cruise of the Santa Barbara Coast before heading offshore. In the distance, our crew started to see spouts! But before getting set up on any whales, a group of 50+ bottlenose dolphins raced to our boat. They rode the stern wake and bow wake, one of them lept right in front of the bow, splashing our passenger in the dolphin seat! We briefly looked at a cow/calf pair of humpback whales before more spouts caught our attention in the distance. The cow/ calf we were on was a bit skittish, so we let them continue on their merry way, uninterrupted.
We soon caught up with a group of 5 more humpbacks! Among the group, another active calf. This one however seemed very large to be a "2024 model." Judging by the other whale's antics, we theorize this is a VERY late-season comp pod. Perhaps some whales that haven't made it down to Mexico, or opted to stay in Santa Barbara throughout the winter. We saw at least three other whales chase the cow/ calf while the calf threw its tail and pec fins in the air. We snagged a few ID photos and enjoyed the return of the humpbacks to our local waters before racing home back to the harbor.
Happy Whaling!
The SBWW Crew
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