2022 05-28 SB Channel The first part of today’s adventure, i.e., in the northern or coastal section of the Santa Barbara Channel, found a high marine layer with calm seas and no wind. By the time we reached the shipping lanes, however, the wind and seas throttled-up and things got “nautical.” Sightings were wonderful: 4 humpback whales, 6+ Pacific gray … Read More

2022 05-25 SB Channel Oh boy! It was mill pond glass flat all day in the Channel. And…that spectacular clear water I wrote about yesterday is still with us. Only one slight challenge. We had 2 to 3-mile visibility with the marine layer near the deck. Sightings were phenomenal once again: 200 California sea lions, 6 humpback whales, 600 long-beaked … Read More

2022 05-24 SB Channel In addition to the glass flat seas today, of special note was the extremely blue, clear ocean water. Captain Devin, who cut his Santa Barbara Channel teeth crewing on SCUBA boats, guessed visibilities throughout were in excess of 100 feet. Sightings were phenomenal, including: 200 California sea lions, 60+ (conservative estimate) ocean sunfish (Mola mola), 9+ … Read More

2022 05-23 SB Channel Captain Devin and the crew found extremely flat, calm seas all day in the Channel. Skies had a marine stratus layer until around 130pm. There was no wind. Sightings were great, including 3 ocean sunfish (Mola mola), 7 humpback whales and 1500 long-beaked common dolphins. A few miles out from Santa Barbara we found 3 adorable … Read More

2022 05-22 SB Channel Hazy sun, calm seas and a light breeze made for a great way to “beat the heat” with some great wildlife sightings too.  Closely watched species: 10 offshore bottlenose dolphins and 6+ humpback whales. In the southbound lanes, near the site of yesterdays encounters, Captain Devin and the headed for a distant breach and found 6 … Read More

2022 05-21 SB Channel The early morning stratus cleared as we left the harbor. Wind and sea conditions were great for today’s whale watch. Closely watched species included: 50 short-beaked common dolphins, 40 California sea lions, 7 humpback whales and 130 offshore bottlenose dolphins. Near the East Santa Barbara NOAA buoy a small group of about 50 actively feeding common … Read More

2022 05-20 SB Channel The weather and sea conditions were great for today’s whale watch. Sightings: 4 Pacific gray whales. Captain Dave and the crew of the Condor Express ran across the entire Santa Barbara Channel and into the Santa Cruz Channel, between Santa Cruz Island and our final destination for today, beautiful Santa Rosa Island. Our rather lengthy voyage, … Read More

2022 05-18 SB Channel It was a hazy, sunny day with little wind and moderate seas in our neck of the Channel today. Closely-watched species included: 6 coastal bottlenose dolphins, 1200 long-beaked common dolphins, 50 Pacific white-sided dolphins and 2 humpback whales. The coastal bottlenose dolphins were sighted at the mouth of the harbor and we followed them for a … Read More

2022 05-15 SB Channel Skies were overcast with a west bump left over from winds offshore. The bump subsided and skies got sunny mid-trip. Our closely-watched specie: 5 humpback whales. Captain Devin and the crew headed towards the west end of Santa Cruz Island and found our first 2 whales south of the NOAA East Channel Buoy (see:  https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_realtime.php?station=46053 ). … Read More

2022 05-14 SB Channel Skies were sunny and there was no wind. A morning bump left from overnight winds offshore subsided mid-trip. Totals for the day included: 1 blue shark, 1 ocean sunfish (Mola mola), 3 humpback whales and 3000 long-beaked common dolphins. Fish stories: Our first wildlife encounter was with a very calm and surface-dwelling blue shark. It was … Read More