2018 07-22 SB Channel East The giants were assembled on the grounds again today in larger numbers. The hot spot was north of the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island, south of The Lanes. Captain Tasha and her crew located 6+ blue whales, 3 fin whales, and 200 long-beaked common dolphins. Skies were sunny all day. The air was subtropical. … Read More
ACS-LA Charter yields blues, humpbacks and more
2018 07-21 SB Channel-ACS The American Cetacean Society, Los Angeles Chapter, ran their annual summer all-day whale watching trip today. When we departed Santa Barbara Harbor at 8 am, skies were covered by a thin low stratus layer. Seas were calm with a light breeze and some very tiny chop on the surface. By 10 am we were well under … Read More
Seas were calm. Whales were giant.
2018 07-20 SB Channel – East The thin marine layer clouds soon burned off and the day was clear and warm. Seas were calm. Captain Dave and the crew ran across the Santa Barbara Channel on a southeasterly heading and located a whale area off the northern face of West Anacapa Island. Closely watched sightings included 3 blue whales, 1 … Read More
Awesome blue whale in crystal clear, blue water…and more!
2018 07-19 SB Channel – East The ocean was very flat and calm today with lots of spots that were mill pond glassy. Captain Dave and his crew ran down to the eastern Santa Barbara Channel again and located 2 blue whales, 1 fin whale, 4 Minke whales, and 500 long-beaked common dolphins. Many of the whale and dolphin sightings … Read More
Blue whales, fin whale, Minke whale, dolphins
2018 07-18 SB Channel East Captain Dave and his crew took the Condor Express back to the eastern Santa Barbara Channel where, once again, we found abundant life in The Lanes adjacent to West Anacapa Island. Closely watched species today included 2 blue whales, 1 fin whale, 1 Minke whale and 500 long-beaked common dolphin. Skies were mostly covered by … Read More
Blue whales, fin whale, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins!
2018 07-17 SB Channel – East Captain Dave and the crew of the Condor Express closely watched 5 blue whales, 1 fin whales, 400 long-beaked common dolphins and 15 offshore bottlenose dolphins. The trip today ran southeast down to the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island. Skies were gray in the morning and sunny soon after. Upon arrival at the … Read More
Blue whales in the far eastern Channel
2018 07-14 SB Channel All though skies were sunny today, it got a bit breezy on the way home and maybe even a little bit bumpy. Captain Dave and his crew went to the usual giant whale hot spot location near Santa Cruz Island only found one whale there. We had some nice looks at it, but he moved the … Read More
The Summer of the Blues Continues
2018 07-13 SB Channel The “summer of the blues” continued today. Captain Dave and his crew traveled across the Santa Barbara Channel to the giant whale congregation near Santa Cruz Island. The crew reports seeing more than 20 big blue whales in the area, and watched 14 closely. In addition, 600 long-beaked common dolphins were observed. There was not much … Read More
Excellent conditions, excellent sightings
2018 07-12 SB Channel Captain Dave reported excellent conditions in the Santa Barbara Channel today with sunny skies and very flat, calm seas. Mammal sightings were, once again, terrific. 8+ blue whales, 1 fin whale, 1 humpback whale and 400 long-beaked common dolphins were closely watched today. The first sightings were south of The Lanes off the coast of beautiful … Read More
Blue whale-o-rama
2018 07-11 SB Channel Captain Colton and the crew of the Condor express experienced large populations of blue whales again today off the north side of Santa Cruz Island. Totals included 9+ blue whales and 250 long-beaked common dolphins. There were many more sprouts in the distance. It was truly a whale-o-rama. There wasn’t much marine life as we cross … Read More