2020 06-04 SB Channel Two trips left the SEA Landing today, one at 9am and the other at noon. Skies were grey from an all-day high stratus layer.  Seas were fairly calm and light winds prevailed.  Total sightings for the day included 2 humpback whales, 1500 long-beaked common dolphins and 20 offshore bottlenose dolphins. The morning excursion features a large … Read More

2020 06-02 SB Channel A single morning trip left Santa Barbara Harbor at 9am and found good sea conditions in the Channel. Totals for the trip included: 2000 long-beaked common dolphins, 2 fin whales, 1 Minke whale and 100 offshore bottlenose dolphins. About 4 miles out from the harbor the first of two large pods of common dolphins located the … Read More

2020 06-01 SB Coast A single coastal whale watch excursion left the SEA Landing docks in Santa Barbara Harbor at 9am. We headed southwest with nice sea conditions and located 1 humpback whale, 3000 long-beaked common dolphins and a single, shy Minke whale. The lone humpback was spotted from several miles away due to its surface aerial activities.  While on … Read More

2020 05-01 Update The crew of the Condor Express hopes you, your family and your friends are safe and healthy. Like so many other cetacean-lovers, each of us has been surviving this lengthy time without regular daily contact with the whales and dolphins we love. As “the curve” slowly flattens, we are looking ahead to the resumption of regularly scheduled … Read More

2020 03-17 SB Coast The local mountains were covered with a blanket of snow. The skies were mostly blue but with puffy clouds here and there from a storm that just left town.  Seas were calm and once we were offshore, the water was a clear Santa Barbara cobalt blue. We closely watched 7 Pacific gray whales on our single … Read More

2020 03-15 SB Coast Skies were over cast and seas were calm as we found ourselves between storms today, “The Ides of March.”  Great conditions allowed us to “settle our debts” with 5 gray whales (more in the distance) and 1000 long-beaked common dolphins. Captain Colton and the crew of the Condor Express watched all 5 whales as they migrated … Read More

2020 03-14 SB Channel Happy Pi Day to all! There was intermittent rain all day punctuated by short bursts of sun streaming down through the gaps. Two trips, noon and 3pm, left the docks and each had spectacular results.  The raw estimates included: 11+ humpback whales, 8 gray whales and 1500 long-beaked common dolphins. Per usual, the raw totals don’t … Read More

2020 03-13 SB Coast Light rain, drizzle and cloudy skies, alongside very calm seas, set the stage for some wonderful wildlife sightings, including: 2 Pacific gray whales, 250 long-beaked common dolphins and 2 humpback whales. As Captain Dave and his crew enjoyed the glassy coastal waters and light rain, the Condor Express went west and located our first whales near … Read More

2020 03-11 SB Coast All of the action took place within a 3 mile radius of Santa Barbara Harbor.  This was all from one, noon departure, unbelievable excursion and included:  7 gray whales (see additional info below), 1 humpback whale and 400 long-beaked common dolphins. Today’s epic adventure began with a bang. Just off Mesa Lane, and a few miles … Read More

2020 03-09 SB Coast We never traveled more than 3 miles off the shore today largely because the sharp eyes (“whale eyes”) of our crew Colton and Devin.  These two were able to put together a single epic 2 ½ hour trip that closely watched: 13 Pacific white-sided dolphins, 1 Minke whale, 1 humpback whale, 4 Pacific gray whales and … Read More