2021 07-11 SB Channel Oh, boy. What a nice day. Sea conditions were calm and flat all day. The skies went from gray to blue then back to gray and ended up blue. Go figure! The flip-flop sky did not deter the wildlife and we closely watched: 2 Minke whales, 5 humpback whales, 2500 long-beaked common dolphins, 100 California sea … Read More

2021 07-10 SB Channel – North Captain Colton found sunny skies and glassy seas all day. Abundant wildlife kept the Condor Express close to the mainland today. Sightings included: 10 humpback whales, 4000 long-beaked common dolphins, 500 California sea lions and 3 offshore bottlenose dolphins. Our first whale was sighted just 4 miles out from the harbor entrance. It was … Read More

2021 07-09 SB Channel Two trips left the docks today, a 4½ hour whale watch from 8a to 1230p, and an educational charter from 1p to 3p. Both trips had glassy seas, but the morning was challenging due to dense fog. Nevertheless sightings were good: 4 humpback whales and 2000 long-beaked common dolphins. The single whale on the morning trip … Read More

2021 07-08 SB Channel Captain Dave and his crew report sunny skies and flat seas all day as the bisected the Channel from Santa Barbara to near Santa Rosa Island in search of wildlife. We closely watched: 5 humpback whales, 3 Minke whales, 3000+ long-beaked common dolphins and retrieved 3 dead Mylar balloons from the ocean surface. Just 4 miles … Read More

2021 07-07 SB Channel A high marine layer stayed around all day with little to no wind. There were some small swells from the west to keep everyone interested. Sightings were tremendous: 5+ humpback whales, 3500 long-beaked common dolphins, 200 offshore bottlenose dolphins, 500 California sea lions and 1 dead Mylar balloon. Five miles out the common dolphin encounters started … Read More

2021 07-06 SB Channel We had high, thin overcast skies and semi-glassy seas today. The mid-Channel water was noticeably clearer than it has been which made our sightings even more enjoyable. We saw: 3500 long-beaked common dolphins, 100 California sea lions, 1 ocean sunfish (Mola mola) and 1 humpback whale. Dolphins found us just 4 miles offshore (similar to their … Read More

2021 07-05 SB Channel There was a stratus deck for most of the day with light winds and a slight wind chop on the water. Sightings included 1 humpback whale and 5000 long-beaked common dolphins. Captain Colton and his team started dolphin observations with small sized pods only 4 mile from the harbor. Pods got larger and more numerous and … Read More

2021 07-04 SB Channel A previously unreported humpback behavior? Early high stratus quickly burned to clear and sunny skies. A light breeze wafted across the northern Channel with a small bump when we ran west. As my title for this report suggests, the raw counts do not tell the story. Two humpback whales and 2500 long-beaked common dolphins were observed … Read More

2021 07-03 SB Channel Captain Dave and the crew took the Condor Express to the west and then crossed the Channel. There was a light breeze all day, thus sunny blue skies. Sightings included 3000 long-beaked common dolphins, 2 humpback whales and 200 California sea lions. There was a single, massive hotspot with loads of life feeding on anchovy schools … Read More

2021 07-02 SB Channel A subtropical air mass wafted across the northern Channel. A high stratus layer with its glassy ocean surface shifted to a nice breeze in the southern half. Sightings were great: 7 humpback whales, 4500 long-beaked common dolphins and 200 California sea lions. Seven miles south of Hope Ranch the dolphins arrived in small groups of 100 … Read More