2022 08-15 SB Channel
It was an extremely productive day in the Channel, quite close to home. We spent the entire trip about 8 miles south of the harbor where we closely watched: 20+ humpback whales and 3000 long-beaked common dolphins.
Scattered dolphin pods started coming to the Condor Express almost immediately, and, when we reached the hot spot 8 miles out, there were multiple megapods. The edge of the hot spot yielded a small juvenile humpback, and it was in an area with 10 additional whales. All were in transit mode and were soon out of sight. We moved from whale to whale getting great looks at each one.
The next batch of whales were also closely associated with each other, one did lots of tail throws and rolled upside down a few times. It had nice white pectoral flippers. At this point we had isolated “fingers” of fog which cut down on our lateral visibility, but in between the fog strands we’d get a visual bead on another humbpack group, and move in that direction
When things cleared a bit we moved offshore and there were pairs of whales all over the area. Snowflake was there, too, and was with his “snow bro’s” (quoting Captain Devin). This group made several very close passes and went under the boat several times. The water clarity and general abundance of whales created a unique opportunity to compare the diversity of whale tail shapes and color patterns.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and www.CondorExpressPhotos.com
Commentaires