2009 07-08 SB Channel
What a fabulous day! The Weather Service had forcast 15-25 kt winds and gusts to 30, but we never had anything over a 5 kt breeze. Blues, Humpbacks, Common Dolphins, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, and lots of fun.
Read MoreA drifting kelp paddy composed of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and Surf Grass (Phyllospadix torreyi) on the open ocean. Kelp paddies are extremely important and interesting vectors of algal and animal dispersal, as well as providing just about the only shelter available to fish and mammals in the blue water realm.
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaengliae) individuals are identified and tracked using their tail flukes...the margins and color patterns of the bottom (ventral) surface distinguish one whale from another. Compare this whale to the one in the previous picture. Captain Mat thinks those white rake markings are from a Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) attack.