2020 09-18 SB Channel East It was another great trip to the land of the giants near the east end of Santa Cruz Island. The dense, zero visibility, coastal fog lifted to nice blue sunny skies about 6 miles out of Santa Barbara Harbor. There was a nice refreshing breeze out with the whales. Sightings included 4+ giant blue whales, … Read More

2020 09-16 Yolo ByPass The giant blue whale summer program continues! The dense, zero-visibility ground fog we encountered near the mainland coast lifted as we moved 5 or 6 miles offshore. By the time we reached the land of the giants near Santa Cruz Island, it was sunny with a little bump on the surface. Sightings for the day included … Read More

2020 09-13 SB Channel East Sea conditions were glassy and calm near the mainland, but breezy and choppy out near the land of the giants. Skies had a high layer of mixed stratus and smoke. Captain Colton and his crew located 10 giant blue whales and 1000 long-beaked common dolphins today. Starting around 4 miles offshore, common dolphin groups kept … Read More

2020 09-12 SB Channel East The mixture of fog and wildfire smoke continued today but luckily it never dropped to sea level and obscured our search for cetaceans. A light to moderate breeze and some small chop were also present. Sightings included: 6 giant blue whales, 1 Minke whale, 1500 long-beaked common dolphins and 500 short-beaked common dolphins. As has … Read More

2020 09-11 SB Channel East Captain Dave and his crew had brown fog most of the day, that’s a mixture of regular ocean fog and a little smoke mixed in from distant wildfires. The fog was low near the mainland and lifted nicely to permit lateral whale spotting later in the trip. Seas were relatively calm with a light breeze … Read More

2020 09-09 SB Channel East Dave and his crew mustered together all of their years of experience and skills to navigate numerous periods of zero visibility fog in the Santa Barbara Channel. Moving slowly and cautiously the Condor Express ran across to The Lanes near the east end of Santa Cruz Island. Sightings for the trip included 5+ giant blue … Read More

2020 09-08 SB Channel Far East The normal marine stratus layer had a little bit of amber color to it from distant wildfires. Seas were calm and glassy all day. Sightings were amazing: 6+ giant blue whales, 1 Minke whale and 3000 long-beaked common dolphins were closely watched today. Small feeding pods of common dolphins intercepted the Condor Express a … Read More

2020 09-07 SB Channel Far East Captain Colton and the crew reported flat, glassy seas all day in our part of the Santa Barbara Channel. Skies ranged from smoky near the mainland to foggy in the land of the giants. Sightings today included: 6+ giant blue whales, 100 offshore bottlenose dolphins, 500 long-beaked common dolphins and 10 coastal bottlenose dolphins. … Read More

2020 09-06 SB Channel Far East Seven different mammal species today! Captain Colton, aka “Boat Colton,” and his crew traversed the Channel in a southeasterly direction, ending up in the northbound Lanes adjacent to Anacapa Passage. Skies were sunny and a light breeze was present at times. Seven different species of mammals were closely watched today, including: 10+ giant blue … Read More

2020 09-05 SB Channel East 16 giant blue whales The land of the giants centered itself in The Lanes adjacent to Pedro Point and Anacapa Passage today. Skies were clear and seas were a “tale of two oceans.” It was calm and nice in the north Channel but breezy and a bit choppy where the whales were. Blue whales continue … Read More