This is a weird image, even for the CameraGuy, but it was a funny situation ...

We were in the midst of trying to grasp the enormity of an eighteen whaler: nine Gray whale Cow/calf pairs chugging up the Santa Barbara Channel highway, northbound.

Just what it is at the top of the image may not be completely clear from your perspective. However, the guy paddling was completely unaware ... of a gray whale calf blasting from the ocean, maybe one hundred twenty meters from him on the other side of the kelp.

We all yelled B R E A C H, and he and his buddy looked up at us. He did not see the whale until the last of four more breaches.

From an initial sighting at 10:22 the pairs just kept on coming until the last pair was beyond the waves at Ellwood at 12:22. We divided the “group” into five different sightings to maintain some order on our datasheet, but it really was just continuous whales.

Amazing, and we had most of the day ahead of us. Before the big-rig express, we found three Harbor seals relaxing in the kelp in an area we once called Otterville. Unfortunately, no more Otters for the time being, and we are glad the digs are being put to good use.

Offshore, many Common dolphins attracted a following of Pelicans, while some Bottlenose dolphins served as a welcoming committee for the Gray whales.

At almost two-thirty, two more Gray whale Cow/calf pairs arrived at Campus Point. They sampled the kelp pools east of us, then took advantage of the Counter Point pools for some nursing and apparent playing. (It looked like fun to us.)

Just before five, our 12th pair blew before the buzzer and we put in some extra time to be sure it was just one pair.

Gray whales northbound (all) 24 | Calves 12 — 2015 Count 1370 | 222

Hours 8:13