The whales are outnumbering the days of the year — FIVE individual animals today on a SINGLE TRIP, and two different species!
Storms have been sweeping through overnight, but by morning the wind dies down and leaves us with calm, sparkling seas and long‑period swell. It’s been unbelievably comfortable out there, and the sighting conditions have been nothing short of spectacular.
We are feeling so spoiled this winter. Gray whales are showing up in numbers we couldn’t have imagined at this time last year — and not only are there plenty of them, they look THICK, fat, and happy. That’s the best news we could hope for. A chonky whale is a whale ready for whatever the wild throws at them.
After traveling south with a trio of grays near the kelp line, we turned west to search for dolphins… and instead, two humpbacks surfaced just feet from the boat.
We ended up spending time with a mother and calf humpback pair (maybe a bit longer than planned, but we checked in with the passengers and no one was in a hurry). Humpbacks have so much charisma — you can’t help but smile at their antics, whether they’re trumpeting at the surface or being a little unpredictable. With humpbacks, you never know; they could rocket up from the depths at any moment.
Eventually, we had to head back to shore, but honestly, we could have stayed out there all day. The wildlife was abundant, the conditions were immaculate, and winter is treating us incredibly well.
Naturalist, Alison
