Our midweek whale watch had a low passenger count but high spirits as we embarked on our morning trip. We journeyed through thick fog a few miles from Monterey before coming upon a pod of Risso’s Dolphin. They charged through the water at a clipped pace. We could only guess as to why they were in such a hurry, regardless we enjoyed the display.
Further north into the heart of Monterey Bay we broke out of the fog. We stopped to watch a few different solo Humpback whales. JJ tracked the animals skillfully, but with just single whales and none showing much interest in being watched we continued on our way after viewing each for a handful of surfacings.
As we continued our search for wildlife we swung wide along the edge of the canyon generally making our way southwards. Eventually, we heard Captain Bill on the Atlantis call out that he had a large group of dolphins. They were just far enough to the west that going to see them would put us back on the dock a bit late, but with no afternoon trip and willing passengers we made our way to them.
The show we got was well worth the extra time spent. Several hundred Northern Right Whale Dolphins and a hundred Pacific White Sided Dolphins swam all around us, porpoising in large groups and darting over to play in our wake and ride our bow. Captain JJ gave us ample time despite being in overtime, until we tore ourselves away and began our journey back to Monterey.
Naturalist Andrew B