2020 10-03 SB Channel
Light winds and glassy seas prevailed in the middle region of the Channel where today’s excursion ran. There were small patches of fog in a few spots, but the land of the giants was bright and sunny. Sightings: 5 giant blue whales and 1000 long-beaked common dolphins. Five deadly, collapsed, floating Mylar balloons were retrieved by the crew thus saving countless marine animal lives.
About 5 miles out from the harbor, in the morning, a large group of dolphins located the boat as they were surface feeding. Hundreds of hungry sea birds marked the location visually and auditorily. We’d see smaller groups throughout the trip including during the homeward run in the afternoon.
The land of the giants has dispersed across the front of Santa Cruz Island. Captain Dave made note of dense fog to the east, where we’ve watched blue whales for the past few weeks. We located a nice group of the giants in the middle of the island and in the southbound commercial shipping lane. A pair of whales was followed up by watching two singletons. Given the glassy surface, the sightings were phenomenal. After a run to the west for a couple of miles, the 5th blue whale was located and closely watched.
During the westward cruise along the north face of the island, Dave explained the prehistory, paleontology, geological formation (past and present) and ended with a summary of the current affairs of the island. The discourse was punctuated by a nice trip inside the world-famous Painted Cave, the largest sea cave of many in the area and considered by most experts as the longest sea cave in the world.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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