Blue skies and solar rays greeted us as M.V. Pacifica ventured out this morning to find a plethora of Humpback Whales, some 6 in total. Along the way out, we spied a quick look at a Minke Whale as well, though the creature proved elusive (as minke whales are known to be). We settled on a group of 3 humpback whales, and got fantastic looks before heading back for our second trip. Afternoon winds kicked up, and added to the quintessential roller coaster ride that Monterey is famous for, though we had little trouble with our seaworthy crew (and passengers) and we easily found a group of roughly 30 Risso’s Dolphin. After the dolphin, we kept finding groups of humpback whales (totaling 9) and eventually found a lone whale (actually a well known individual named “Braille Whale”) who breached over and over again. For well over half of an hour, Braille Whale mesmerized the crowd with its acrobatics, before finally calming down just in time for us to head home. In spite of a bit of chop, today was a stellar day!
-Naturalist Isaiah
