2022 04-03 SB Coast
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Two public whale watching excursions left the docks today, 9 AM and 12 noon. Skies were mostly overcast with little tiny spots of sunshine here and there. Seas were calm and there was a light to moderate breeze all day. Sightings included five humpback whales, 300 offshore bottlenose dolphins, and 80 California sea lions.
After running straight out of the harbor to start the morning trip, we located a single whale about 6 miles out. It had long down times and was a challenge to follow. Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves in a large swath of ocean populated by offshore bottlenose dolphins with some little mobs of sea lions mixed in. Great looks were had by all. Lastly, we found 2 more whales. The first had an all dark tail and it, too, had long down times. On the way home, we had a quick look at the final whale.
The noon trip got started with an even larger group of offshore bottlenose dolphins covering a wide area of ocean, similar to the the morning trip. A tight pack of California sea lions was mixed in. The dolphins were all about business and so they were not a lot of acrobatics on the choppy seas. But still the looks were fantastic. About a half an hour later, we spotted three whales together about 4 miles south of Hope Ranch. They soon split up and a single whale went west. We followed the pair. This pair of whale had its own personal mob of about 30 sea lions with it. Where ever the sea lions came to the surface, the whales were not far behind. At one point, if you were careful and looking in the right spot at the right time, you saw an adult whale to a magnificent service lunch feed
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Read MoreTwo public whale watching excursions left the docks today, 9 AM and 12 noon. Skies were mostly overcast with little tiny spots of sunshine here and there. Seas were calm and there was a light to moderate breeze all day. Sightings included five humpback whales, 300 offshore bottlenose dolphins, and 80 California sea lions.
After running straight out of the harbor to start the morning trip, we located a single whale about 6 miles out. It had long down times and was a challenge to follow. Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves in a large swath of ocean populated by offshore bottlenose dolphins with some little mobs of sea lions mixed in. Great looks were had by all. Lastly, we found 2 more whales. The first had an all dark tail and it, too, had long down times. On the way home, we had a quick look at the final whale.
The noon trip got started with an even larger group of offshore bottlenose dolphins covering a wide area of ocean, similar to the the morning trip. A tight pack of California sea lions was mixed in. The dolphins were all about business and so they were not a lot of acrobatics on the choppy seas. But still the looks were fantastic. About a half an hour later, we spotted three whales together about 4 miles south of Hope Ranch. They soon split up and a single whale went west. We followed the pair. This pair of whale had its own personal mob of about 30 sea lions with it. Where ever the sea lions came to the surface, the whales were not far behind. At one point, if you were careful and looking in the right spot at the right time, you saw an adult whale to a magnificent service lunch feed
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