Captain's Log

Thick morning fog and calm water greeted us aboard Sanctuary as we cleared the harbor mouth. We did not have to travel far before encountering humpback whales gathered directly outside Moss Landing, surrounding the vessel on all sides for over an hour. In total, we logged sixteen humpbacks working the nearshore waters along the canyon head.

The proximity of these whales to the harbor entrance is typical when coastal upwelling concentrates forage fish near the shallow shelf breaks. Even with reduced visibility in the dense marine layer, the distinct blows and low-frequency exhalations made it easy to track multiple individuals surfacing quietly through the calm swell.

After spending an extended period with the humpbacks, we moved further out into the bay and encountered a group of approximately one hundred long-beaked common dolphins. The pod quickly approached to bow ride, utilizing the vessel's forward wake as they traveled through the morning fog.

It was a productive late-August morning on Monterey Bay, demonstrating how concentrated marine life can be right at the harbor's doorstep regardless of visibility.

Midway through our morning run aboard Sanctuary, we crossed paths with a less frequently documented group of killer whales: the CA136B matriline. The three orcas were actively hunting in the bay, moving with the tight coordination and deliberate surface intervals characteristic of Bigg's transients searching for marine mammal prey.

Our morning had begun just outside the harbor mouth with immediate humpback whale sightings, followed later by a fluid pod of forty long-beaked common dolphins traveling through the area as we returned toward port.

Conditions remained favorable through the mid-day trip, with a light northwest breeze and manageable chop. In total, we logged fifteen humpback whales across both outings, frequently accompanied by groups of California sea lions numbering around twenty animals in total, as well as three southern sea otters resting near the protected harbor waters.

Observing transient killer whales actively working the bay offers a clear reminder of the dynamic food web supported by Monterey Bay's deep-water canyon system.

Across our morning and mid-day trips aboard Sanctuary, we logged twelve humpback whales, including several cow-calf pairs moving through Monterey Bay. The highlight of the second trip was an extended encounter with a lively calf that repeatedly lifted its rostrum to expose prominent dermal tubercles before tail-lobbing and banking into shallow sideways dives, trailing a pectoral fin above the surface like a shark fin.

Long-beaked common dolphins surrounded the boat throughout both trips, numbering roughly one thousand individuals spread across the bay. Toward the end of the mid-day run, their behavior shifted distinctly as scattered sub-groups gathered into a sustained stampede, traveling southwest in continuous, tightly synchronized waves across the chop.

Productivity across the water column was further evidenced by dense bird activity, where two thousand sooty shearwaters, one thousand Brandt’s cormorants, and hundreds of common murres and brown pelicans fed. Once in the harbor, a few sea otters and harbor seals rounded out a day defined by dynamic marine mammal behavior.

Sanctuary's morning tour included humpbacks breaching, tail throwing and chin slapping. Some of these behaviors may have been related to the hundreds of long-beaked common dolphins spread out in small, active groups over several miles of Monterey Bay. Everywhere we looked dolphins were headed our way to bow ride and then porpoise off in another direction.

Dense flocks of seabirds stretched to the horizon. Thousands of sooty shearwaters worked low over the swell alongside common murres, pelicans and western gulls.

During our late morning trip, passengers were once again treated to waves of common dolphins while pairs and trios of humpbacks dove to feed on the glistening bait balls of anchovies.

As we turned south into the harbor we encountered two southern sea otters resting in the calm waters and a shy harbor seal near the returning sea lions.

Calm, glassy conditions greeted us across Monterey Bay this morning aboard Sanctuary. Out on the water, we observed pronounced surface activity from several of the nine humpback whales logged during the trip, including repeated pectoral fin slaps, tail slaps, and slow barrel rolls at the surface.

Pectoral slapping—striking their elongated flippers against the water—and tail lobbing produce acoustic signals that carry well through the water column. In calm conditions like today's, these percussive strikes resonate audibly above the surface as well, serving communicative and social functions among dispersed individuals.

In addition to the nine humpbacks, we observed approximately forty California sea lions resting and traveling through the area. The low swell and glassy surface provided clean visibility of the whales' movements, including the distinct white undersides of their flippers turning just below the water line during each roll.

Observing such energetic surface displays in flat conditions offers a detailed look at the physical coordination and behavioral repertoire of these animals on the bay.

Calm surface conditions and a light breeze greeted us on Monterey Bay this morning aboard Sanctuary. Further offshore, we encountered fifteen humpback whales dispersed in several feeding groups, working in close association with roughly fifty California sea lions.

The mixed-species feeding activity was steady, with sea lions diving through the water column and corralling prey around the surfacing humpbacks. Earlier in the morning, we spent time with an energetic pod of approximately five hundred long-beaked common dolphins traveling through open water.

We also noted a sea otter resting in the kelp closer to shore. The flat sea surface offered ideal visibility, making it easy to track these cooperative feeding dynamics throughout the morning.

A steady northwest breeze of fifteen knots created light chop across Monterey Bay during our mid-day trip aboard Sanctuary. Out a few miles from shore, we encountered eight humpback whales moving through the area in a loose, scattered distribution.

Rather than forming dense feeding groups, these humpbacks were spread out across open water, surfacing independently between routine dive cycles. Approximately twenty-five California sea lions were observed in the surrounding waters, while a pair of southern sea otters gave us two quiet, close looks inside the harbor before we reached the open bay.

We also investigated reports of a blue whale and traveling dolphins further out, though they stayed out of view in the afternoon wind. Tracking scattered animals across choppy seas is a standard part of working this dynamic bay, where conditions and animal distribution shift continuously from hour to hour.

Clear skies overhead and choppy surface conditions greeted us during today's mid-day run aboard Sanctuary. Out in the open waters of Monterey Bay, we encountered a widespread feeding event involving twenty-five humpback whales working in close proximity with approximately sixty California sea lions.

These mixed-species feeding aggregations are a staple of Monterey Bay's summer ecology. As sea lions dive and compress schools of baitfish from below, humpbacks take advantage of the concentrated prey near the surface. Adding to the scene was a Black-footed albatross resting nearby—a pelagic wanderer that frequently patrols the edges of these active feeding grounds to scavenge scraps.

Southwest winds near ten knots built a steady chop across the surface, but clear atmospheric conditions allowed us to spot blow patterns across long distances. Water temperatures lingering around 63°F reflect the continuing seasonal productivity that draws these baleen whales into the bay each summer.

Observing multiple species utilize the same localized food source offers a clear look at the functional health of our pelagic ecosystem. It was a grounded and rewarding afternoon of natural history on the bay.

Pushing out into pelagic waters during today's mid-day trip aboard Sanctuary, we encountered twenty-five humpback whales working along the outer edge of the Monterey Canyon. Despite persistent fog hanging over the bay, the distinct exhalations of feeding whales guided us directly to the drop-off.

The deep bathymetry of the submarine canyon creates localized upwellings that concentrate forage along its steep contours. Seeing twenty-five humpbacks actively feeding in these offshore waters demonstrates how critical these deep bathymetric edges are to sustaining localized foraging activity throughout late summer.

Conditions were characterized by a light chop, westerly winds under six knots, and air temperatures hovering around 60°F. The low visibility from the fog made for an intimate observation, where the sound of blows echoing across the swell signaled their movements before the animals surfaced from the mist.

It is always rewarding to track humpbacks along the canyon rim and observe these natural feeding dynamics firsthand. Days like today underscore the reliable ecological role that Monterey Bay's deep-water topography plays for these returning migrants.