2019 03-29 SB Channel
There was another epic performance by all the wildlife in the Santa Barbara Channel. Skies were sunny, and sea conditions were great all day as two trips left the docks, one at 9 AM the other at noon. Total sightings for the day included: one Minke whale, 12 humpback whales, 1100 long-beaked common dolphins, and about 100 California sea lions. But that’s not the full story… You’ll have to read on! On the 9 o’clock trip captain Dave and the crew took the Condor Express directly offshore to a spot where there had been some activity yesterday. Today that same region was packed with bait everywhere on the surface, but the whales had moved elsewhere except for one very active minke whale. The boat then moved west to a position off the UCSB campus. Here the humpback whales were located, again with plenty of bait in the water. One of them, according to Dave, did surface lunge-feeding 10 to 15 times while everyone on board had great looks. There were also at least 100 dolphins in the area, plenty of sea lions and sea birds as well. On the noon trip the Condor headed offshore to the UCSB location. By this time at least 10 humpback whales had joined the feeding, and a group of six of these whales did some cooperative surface lunge-feeding. Epic sightings! Later, Dave moved east and found a mega pod of dolphins. They were in a big line and took turns coming over to the boat and riding our wake. What a day! You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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