A big day ... for whales and — unfortunately for us — wind.

We were able to count eight pairs. As the number of whales grew, so did the wind speed.

At almost ten we saw our first whales in a very strong glare at Campus Point. Usually the whale head clockwise around a large kelp bed, where they point at us and more kelp at Counter Point. This turned out to be a group of four pairs, eight whales that included four calves. They made a hard left around Campus Point and proceeded inside the kelp and towards the beaches of Isla Vista. Somebody figured out that might not be the best idea as it is quite shallow. They then charged ahead through the kelp. Each of the four pairs chose a different route through and around the kelp. Actually, that made it easier for us to keep track of them as they passed us.

As the first four pairs got closer to Counter Point we saw the blows of a following pair, and not long after, more blows from the two pairs in the image above.

At noon the eighth pair of the morning arrived at Campus Point, and it was becoming difficult for us to track them in the chop and whitecaps. At 12:45 we folded up our survey for the day.

We noted how different all the pairs were on this day. A highlight was the pair in the image below. The calf’s fluke are visible as it dives for a nursing opportunity in the kelp area off Isla Vista.

Gray whales northbound (all) 16 | Calves 8 — 2015 Count 1101 | 090

Hours 3:45