06-10-2015: Humpbacks Still in Front of Moss Landing in Large Numbers, One Chronic Jumper

Moss Landing Humpback Whale
This humpback was all we needed. It had to have jumped more than 20-times. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com

It just keeps on getting better. Moss Landing continues to be the hot-spot for large concentrations of feeding humpbacks and the occasional dolphins. The anchovies are bunching up against the canyon ledges and the humpbacks seem to be taking advantage of it.

Moss Landing Humpback Whale
It just kept on launching. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com

The weather is everything out there. I always look to forward to calm days like we had today. Warm and glassy. Very little wind and no swell.

Moss Landing Humpback Whale
And then there was the chin slapping. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com

As has been the case every day for the last year and a half, today we were on the action as soon as we left the harbor.

Moss Landing Humpback Whale
We’re’ not sure why sometimes they seem to be more active than other times. It seems very random. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com

In fact, we were seeing blows before we left the harbor. So that’s always cool. After about 30-minutes of hanging with a handful of whales, we noticed a breacher about a mile out to the west so we made a course and the show was on.

Moss Landing Humpback Whale
On the prowl just outside of Moss Landing Harbor. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com

Another chronic  breacher. This animal jumped completely out of the water at least 20 times. Then it would surface on it’s side and slap it’s massive pectoral fin against the water.

Moss Landing Elephant Seal
On one of our trips we had this friendly young elephant seal slowly swim up to the boat to have a look. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com

We pretty much spent the rest of the trip watching this humpback throwing itself out of the water and slapping it’s pectoral fin for almost 2 hours.

Moss Landing Velella Velella
We heard reports from other captains on other boat 8-miles away who were reporting the same thing. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com
Moss Landing Velella Velella
This is the biggest aggregations of Velella Velella’s we’ve seen. Photo: Michael Sack, www.sanctuarycruises.com

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *