2022 03-04 SB Coast
Captain Devin and the crew found quickly changing weather and sea conditions today as a winter storm approached the southern California coast. We ran a single 9am trip today and found excellent conditions for our coastal whale watching, but as we headed home the wind was following us. We closely watched 5 gray whales today.
Our first sighting was right off the Santa Barbara Harbor breakwater in extremely shallow water. We had good looks at a single adult, northbound migrating whale. The looks were quick, as they often are near the harbor, as the whale spent more time than usual beneath the surface, and its course was somewhat erratic.
As Devin slowly took the Condor Express up the coast in search of inshore migratory grays, a few miles off the More Mesa area a tight group of 4 additional whales were spotted. These were fantastic and cooperative adult animals that stayed close to each other throughout the sighting. By the way, the water clarity in this area was superb and greatly enhanced our viewing. There was a bit of rolling around, good tail fluking, and some upside-down near surface swimming. Punctuating the event, one of the group members performed 4 or 5 nearly full-body breaches very close to the boat. Wow!
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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