Captain's Log

Changing fall conditions gave way to a mirror-like surface during our midday trip, setting the stage for a close encounter with a humpback whale. The whale approached Sanctuary and circled the boat twice, lingering near the surface and visually inspected those on board through clear water.

A total of fifteen humpback whales were spotted during our trips today. Small groups formed and broke apart continuously; two whales would sound (dive) together, four would break the surface nearby, and following dives would see them all solitary. Anchovy schools were deeper in the water column, extending the humpbacks' dive times.

During one of these lulls, an unexpected deep water find—a deceased ratfish—was spotted floating right at the surface. These mostly benthic creatures generally swim up in the water column only at night so it was an opportunity to get a look at a species that dates back 360 million years!

Along with viewing humpbacks, two trips spotted a pod of roughly 500 long-beaked common dolphins traveling leisurely until they sprinted to interact with our boat. A nursery pod amidst the larger pod delighted guests as the tiny grey, shoebox-sized baby dolphins swam at their mother's pectoral fins and occasionally leapt out of the water.

Conditions shifted across our morning, mid-day, and afternoon runs, ranging from light chop and wind to slick calm and back. Fall brings fresh breezes and an opportunity to view humpbacks as they prepare for migration to the breeding grounds of Mexico and Central America.

Exceptionally calm, glassy seas gave us ideal surface visibility today, prompting a run down toward the Marina coastline where we located two great white sharks cruising just beneath the surface. With northwest winds holding under six knots, the mirror-flat surface gave us clear, unobstructed looks through the water column.

With late-October surface water temperatures holding at a mild 66°F at the canyon buoy, the shallow sandy shelf off Marina continues to offer suitable habitat for white sharks before seasonal winter swell patterns shift the coastal dynamics. Further out in open water, fifteen humpback whales were scattered across the bay, maintaining steady travel and surface intervals.

Across both our morning and mid-day departures aboard Sanctuary, cetacean diversity remained steady. In addition to the humpbacks, we logged four coastal bottlenose dolphins patrolling near the surf line, as well as a group of roughly forty long-beaked common dolphins offshore.

Days with water this quiet provide a clear look at the distinct ecological zones within the bay, tracing apex predators from the nearshore shallows to the deeper waters over the canyon.

A large aggregation of approximately 850 long-beaked common dolphins highlighted our morning departure into Monterey Bay, moving steadily through a noticeable shift in offshore conditions.

Surface water temperatures recorded at the canyon buoy hovered near 65°F, characteristic of the late-season warm water that long-beaked common dolphins frequently favor along this coastline. Herds of this size regularly coalesce over the canyon edges, using coordinated movements to monitor and corral schools of small baitfish in open water.

Conditions were markedly different from recent calm stretches, with north-northwest winds around 14 knots building a lumpy, long-period swell. Working through the chop aboard Sanctuary, we also tracked five humpback whales as they surfaced between steady feeding dives in the middle bay.

Autumn transitions along the central California coast often bring these sudden shifts in sea state. Seeing hundreds of delphinids effortlessly pace a building swell is a reliable reminder of how readily these animals navigate changing offshore environments.

A massive aggregation of approximately 2,500 long-beaked common dolphins dominated Monterey Bay today, sharing open water with fifteen humpback whales from morning until dusk.

Long-beaked common dolphins (*Delphinus delphis bairdii*) frequently coalesce into these extensive mega-pods over the bay's shelf and canyon contours, where schooling coastal fish concentrate. Traveling in high densities affords them both increased foraging efficiency and mutual vigilance. Several humpback whales were dispersed among the perimeter of the dolphin pods, surfacing steadily through the same prey layers.

Conditions shifted noticeably across our four departures aboard Sanctuary. Early runs met brisk winds and choppy sea conditions that moderated to a lighter chop by mid-day and afternoon, eventually settling into glassy surface waters by our sunset trip. The marine mammals remained consistent in the area throughout the entire cycle.

Seeing such biomass sustained throughout the day into the fading light offers a clean, quiet reminder of the productivity this bay maintains late into the season.

Calm seas off Moss Landing gave us an unobstructed view of an active predatory hunt this morning aboard Ocean Spirit. Killer whales intercepted a pod of roughly 500 long-beaked common dolphins we were tracking, quickly targeting a single animal and separating it from the school, which immediately broke into a frantic, high-speed stampede.

The hunt displayed the raw physical power characteristic of mammal-eating killer whales in Monterey Bay. Delivering heavy, calculated kinetic strikes from beneath the surface, the orcas repeatedly rammed the dolphin, sending both predator and prey roughly six feet clear of the surface as the dolphin tumbled through the air.

Just outside Moss Landing Harbor, where the Monterey Submarine Canyon begins, foraging activity was concentrated and steady. Between 10 and 15 humpback whales were actively feeding near the harbor mouth—part of twenty humpbacks observed across the morning—surrounded by 500 California sea lions, hundreds of common murres, brown pelicans, and several parasitic jaegers harassing the seabirds.

Observing an predation event in such flat-calm conditions provides a stark, clear look at the trophic interactions constantly shaping life along the edge of the canyon.

As wind stirred the water this morning, miles-wide bird work alerted us to raucous lunge feeding humpbacks, rampaging dolphins and ravenous California sea lions that ranged over miles of the outer bay.

As we entered the area, a large humpback was skim feeding (or trap feeding). Excited to observe one of the first times this strategy has been seen in Monterey Bay, our passengers took numerous photographs to memorialize this feat. A more recent discovery, trap feeding involves humpbacks floating vertically with mouths wide open near the surface. They use their pectoral fins to funnel fish and krill into their gaping jaws, minimizing energy expenditure while maximizing intake - a strategy observed primarily off the coasts of British Columbia. There are only 32 individual whales known to apply this feeding strategy. Unfortunately we were unable to identify this whale.

On the outer edges of the feeding area, satiated whales breached all around us. Overall, the day was characterized by frenetic activity across multiple species. We observed breaches, lunge feeding, skim feeding, and general multi-species mayhem that underscored the richness of Monterey Bay as a foraging location for an incredible array of wildlife.

Our afternoon departure aboard Sanctuary culminated in an encounter with five transient killer whales identified as individuals from pods 122D and 49C. These apex predators—the largest members of the dolphin family— delighted our passengers by actively hunting while we viewed them.

The amazing killer whale sighting culminated a series of observations that had been anchored by Humpback whales throughout the day. Over thirty individual humpbacks spent the day feeding voraciously, capitalizing on concentrated prey patches across Monterey Bay. Rather than resting or traveling, their focus remained entirely on foraging, with sightings and surface lunges steadily multiplying as the day advanced.

Surface conditions remained favorable across the schedule, shifting gently from glassy calm during our morning departure to a light chop by late afternoon. While our morning trip focused primarily on the foraging humpbacks, the mid-day and afternoon trips crossed paths with large groups of long-beaked common dolphins numbering roughly a thousand animals, along with five bottlenose dolphins moving through the area.

No two trips on the bay unfold the same way, and watching the water transition from concentrated baleen whale feeding to multi-species dolphin encounters serves as a quiet reminder of just how dynamic this marine ecosystem remains from one hour to the next.

Calm seas greeted us off Moss Landing this morning aboard Ocean Spirit, where we documented a dynamic predatory pursuit. A group of six killer whales attempted to hunt within a massive aggregation of roughly 3,000 long-beaked common dolphins, sending the dolphins into an expansive, high-speed stampede across the surface. Despite the orcas' coordinated approach, the dolphins maintained sufficient speed and cohesion to evade capture.

Stampeding is a well-documented antipredator strategy in schooling delphinids. By running synchronously at sustained speed with shallow, rapid porpoising, a pod of this scale creates profound acoustic and visual confusion, making it exceptionally difficult for mammal-hunting killer whales to isolate and corner a single individual.

The surrounding waters were dense with wildlife throughout the morning. We tallied approximately 30 humpback whales dispersed across the area, working the rich fall waters alongside 500 California sea lions, a solitary Northern fur seal, and extensive bird flocks comprising 200 brown pelicans, 100 common murres, 40 Brandt's cormorants, and two parasitic jaegers.

Fall conditions along the Monterey Submarine Canyon frequently generate dense gatherings of forage and apex predators, but seeing natural defense tactics deployed on this scale remains a remarkable observation of wild cetacean behavior.