2020 08-22 SB Channel Giant blue whales today feature mother and calf! Seas were mirror glass flat and calm. Skies were less smoky than earlier this week, but still a bit hazy from the distant California fires. Captain Colton and his crew ran across the Santa Barbara Channel and ended up paralleling the Santa Cruz Island coastline for about 10 … Read More

2020 08-21 Santa Barbara Channel Skies were smoky again today, consistent with all the fires going on across California. There was a breeze out past The Lanes, and a small chop on the surface resulted from it. The “land of the giants” moved to the east end of Santa Cruz Island today. The following were reported:  3 giant blue whales … Read More

2020 08-20 Santa Cruz Island Giant blues persist along Santa Cruz Island! The entire state of California is under smoke-filled skies from numerous brush fires and the Santa Barbara Channel is no exception. Other than a rather brown, hazy sky, seas were calm and our wildlife sightings were wonderful. Our list for the trip included: 5+ giant blue whales, 1 … Read More

2020 08-17 Santa Rosa Island There was a subtropical marine layer, a light breeze and no swell which made for great wildlife locating and viewing. Sightings included: 4+ giant blue whales, 3+ Minke whales and 300 long-beaked common dolphins. We hit an area with feeding Minke whales about 3 miles south of Santa Barbara Harbor. The first one was quite … Read More

2020 08-16 SB Channel Captain Colton and his team ran across the Channel towards yesterday’s giant blue whale sightings at Santa Cruz Island. The giants had moved and so did the Condor Express, heading further west until the “land of the giants” was again found off the middle of Santa Rosa and south of The Lanes. Totals for the trip … Read More

2020 08-15 SB Channel Calm seas nearshore in the morning became a bit windy and choppy out near the islands in the afternoon. Skies were clear and the conditions for spotting cetaceans were excellent. Our list for today includes: 3+ giant blue whales, 150 offshore bottlenose dolphins and 200 long-beaked common dolphins. A major highlight of today’s excursion was the … Read More

2020 08-14 Santa Rosa Island Blue skies, blue water, blue whales and more… Skies were sunny all day and seas were calm.  Captain Dave and the crew of the Condor Express returned to the “land of the giants” north of Santa Rosa Island again. Sightings included: 7+ giant blue whales, 1 hybrid fin/blue whale, 1000 short-beaked common dolphins and 600 … Read More

2020 08-13 Santa Rosa Island The leading edge of a subtropical storm (near Cabo San Lucas) brought wonderful warm blue skies dappled with those small puffs of clouds that made you feel like you were visiting Hawaii.  Seas were mill pond flat and glassy. Wonderful close looks for today included: 12+ giant blue whales, 1 hybrid fin/blue whales, 800 short-beaked … Read More

2020 08-12 Santa Rosa Island The large aggregation of blue whales persists! Captain Dave and his crew headed across the Santa Barbara Channel to the western portion of Santa Rosa Island to the same area where the giant blue whales were watched in great abundance yesterday. Despite conditions changing to feature fog and a bit of swell near the islands, … Read More

2020 08-11 Santa Rosa Island “Blues festival” in full gear: 30 giant blues watched. Captain Dave ran straight across the Santa Barbara Channel and took advantage of calm sea conditions to explore the land of the giants near beautiful Santa Rosa Island. The following report includes closely-watched encounters:  30+ giant blue whales, 1 fin whale and 500 long-beaked common dolphins. … Read More