Whale Watching Weekend Report at Channel Islands National Park

The weekend on the water

The fog seemed to go on forever as Saturday was day five of limited visibility.

Talk about a bad day at the office…fog and a sight-seeing trip just don’t go together.

We looked far and wide with little more than half a mile of visibility on Saturday only to catch fleeting glimpses at a lone breaching Gray.

Sunday, the tide changed.

As we departed, things seemed like the previous day until we reach the 3 mile mark and the heavens opened up.

It was the first day in almost a week that we could see Channel Islands National Park and National Marine Sanctuary. And on the horizon…thar she blows!

We came upon a pair of Humpback Whales feeding on a deep layer of krill in over 600 feet of water.

These gentle giants would disappear for 5 minutes at a time then rise to the surface to catch their breaths.

What an incredible encounter observing these animals in a natural setting.

The afternoon we spent some time trying to relocate them, but to no avail. They had moved on to other feeding grounds. We were treated to an encounter with a trio of Gray Whales as they experienced similar behavior as the mating trio did on Friday.

What a fantastic weekend on the water.

It still boggles the mind to realize we are but a few miles away from millions of people in Southern California yet surrounded by so much wildlife in an unspoiled setting

The coming months are certain to be filled with more encounters like this weekend as mother and calves move through these waters and Humpbacks begin their annual return to the region.