2016 05-11 SB Channel Captain Dave and his crew found abundant pelagic red crabs inside the world-famous Painted Cave. And if this was not enough, the trip today also racked-up a whopping 7 humpback whale sightings, 250 long-beaked common dolphins, 1 Mola mola and 10 or so Risso’s dolpins. Skies featured the typical Spring low clouds and gloom, but … Read More
Humpback, Risso’s, Commons and Minke’s Today
2015 07-31 SB Channel Captain Dave and his crew racked-up some impressive sightings with ideal weather and sea conditions out in the Santa Barbara Channel. After leaving Santa Barbara and heading south towards Santa Cruz Island, our first sighting was in the Lanes and it was a very showy humpback whale. This beast did a bit of surface lunge feeding … Read More
One of the All-Time Summer Excursions !
2015 07-28 SB Channel East The following raw numbers do not tell the whole story. Humpbacks = 4 Blue whale = 1 Minke whales = 2 Risso’s dolphins = 50 Common dolphins = 1,200 So here is the entire saga. Sea conditions were optimum, flat, no wind, sunny and we still had that very blue, clear water. We initially ran … Read More
Humpbacks, Commons and Risso’s
2015 07-23 SB Channel Calm seas and overcast skies characterized our day out in the Santa Barbara Channel today. Captain Eric and his crew closely watched 3 humpback whales, 2,000 long-beaked common dolphins and 11 Risso’s dolphins. Our first stop and first #whale was to the west of Santa Barbara and this animal was migrating non-stop to the west accompanied … Read More
9 Humpbacks, 35 Risso’s, 800 Commons and More.
2015 07-20 SB Channel Captain Dave and the crew racked-up a nice mix of both the abundance and diversity of cetaceans today with a total of 9 humpback whales (more in the area), 800 long-beaked common dolphins, 35 Risso’s dolphins, and a bunch of California sea lions. It was an afternoon trip with very humid air from Hurricane Dolores, … Read More
A Sea Turtle, Some Humpbacks, Common Dolphins and a nice pod of Risso’s Dolphins
2015 07-19 SB Channel Captain Eric reports sightings of 6 total humpback whales, found in pairs, from the northern half of the Santa Barbara Channel. The #whales were mixed in with long-beaked common dolphins of which 750 were watched closely today. During our trip over to Santa Cruz Island a group of 35 Risso’s dolphins were watched, and on the … Read More
4 different cetacean species today
2015 06-06 SB Channel Captain Eric and the crew of the Condor Express had a great excursion today on a flat ocean surface with sunny skies and 63F water temperature. The sightings were enjoyed at 4 locations in the Santa Barbara Channel today, as follows: Platform Habitat area. 5 humpback whales and 750 long-beaked common dolphins. The #whales were feeding … Read More
Cetacean abundance and diversity continues…
Cetacean abundance and diversity continues… It’s been a long week with well-needed rain that brought winds and seas to the Channel. Today was pristine, flat and very lake-like. Near mid-Channel a single (but friendly) humpback whale was encountered, and it made a great close approach to the Condor Express. Continuing across towards Santa Cruz Island the mother lode of cetaceans … Read More
Multitudes of humpback whales and more
Multitudes of humpback whales and more There was a moderate breeze blowing in the Santa Barbara Channel today with a little bit of chop here and there as well. It was warm and sunny and there was great above water visibility for spouting whales. El Capitan Dave steered a course for Santa Cruz Island but was side-tracked when second Captain … Read More
50+ Risso’s in Crystal Blue Water Steal Show
50+ Risso’s in Crystal Blue Water Steal Show Yes, Captain Dave and his team put the Condor Express into position for 2 nice, large, adult humpback whales today. These #whales had long-ish down times and tended to swim a mile while submerged on each cycle. Nevertheless, Dave knows a trick or two and great looks were had by all. The … Read More