2018 05-13 SB Coast Today we ran our last coastal whale watching trips for northbound migrating gray whales. Two trips left the docks at SEA Landing in Santa Barbara Harbor, one at 9 am and the other at noon. Captain Tasha and her crew were able to locate the following species: 400 long-beaked common dolphins, 2 inshore bottlenose dolphins and … Read More
Mother and calf put on a show
2018 05-11 SB Coast Captain Tasha took the Condor Express up and down the coast at noon today and ended up with some great looks at 2 gray whales. It was a mother gray whale with her very young calf, as it generally is this time of year. The pair stopped right out front of the 1,000 steps beach and … Read More
Gray whales and dolphins along the coast
2018 05-10 SB Channel Two excursions left the docks today, one at 9am and the other at noon. Sightings for the day include: 4 gray whales and 600 long-beaked common dolphins. It was a nice day with a little bit of residual bump on the water that did not influence our sightings. On the morning trip a pair of gray … Read More
Dolphins and gray whales
2018 05-09 SB Coast Sightings today included: 400 long-beaked common dolphins and 2 gray whales. These were closely watched cetaceans observed during a single noon to 230pm excursion. After leaving Santa Barbara Harbor and moving about 1 mile offshore, a large, spread-out pod of dolphins were intercepted on a massive feeding hot spot. Birds were diving everywhere and dolphins were … Read More
Whale and dolphin interaction today.
2018 05-08 SB Coast Heavy fog, with near zero lateral visibility on the water, persisted from our exit of Santa Barbara Harbor until we ran west past the UCSB campus. Here the fog lifted to become a low stratus layer, but allowed for wildlife spotting on the water. Sightings for the day included 2 gray whales, 400 long-beaked common dolphins … Read More
Over 100 cetaceans per hour today
2018 05-07 SB Coast These are the final few days of our annual northbound gray whale, coastal Santa Barbara excursions. Starting next Monday, May 14, we begin “Island Whale and Dolphin” trips that will depart SEA Landing at 10 am sharp and return approximately 230 pm. These trips run well out into the Santa Barbara Channel and, depending on sea … Read More
Common and bottlenose dolphins plus 4 whales.
2018 05-04 SB Coast It was another sunny day along the coast of Santa Barbara and points to the west of town, with clear cobalt blue water. Total sightings for the day included: 300 long-beaked common dolphins, 4 gray whales and 6 inshore bottlenose dolphins. As the Condor Express prepared to accelerate upon leaving Santa Barbara Harbor, deckhand and 2nd … Read More
Six gray whales and lots of calves
2018 05-02 SB Coast Captain Dave and his crew ran two trips today with great sea conditions. The morning trip was calm and sunny. The afternoon trip was calm with a high stratus layer. Sightings for the day included: 6 gray whales, 550 long-beaked common dolphins, and 1 California sea lion (that was important to the sightings). The morning got … Read More
More gray whale calves and dolphins
2018 05-01 SB Coast A single noon departure plied the coastal waters in search of wildlife under the threat of rain. Luckily, the rain held back until we came back to the harbor and by then we had closely watched 5 gray whales and 250 long-beaked common dolphins. The gray whale calves were, once again, one of the most entertaining … Read More
Two different species of dolphins and loads of gray whale calves
2018 04-30 SB Coast Only 2 weeks left on our coastal gray whale season and things are still going strong! Sightings for the day included: 30 Pacific white-sided dolphins, 600 long-beaked common dolphins, and 4 gray whales. Conditions were good. It was partly sunny with just a slight bump on the water. On the way west, the first 2 whales … Read More