2019 09-18 SB Channel- Far West
It was a gorgeous trip to the far west Channel and into Gaviota waters. Sightings for the day included: 15 inshore bottlenose dolphins, 150 California sea lions, 2000 long beaked common dolphins, and four humpback whales. Skies were sunny and bright all day. There was a little bit of bump at first as we left the harbor, but that died down relatively quickly and the ride was nice thereafter. There was little to no wind all day. We had spectacular views of the beautiful Gaviota coastline both coming and going. What a rare and special treat!
We spent the first couple of hours watching pod after pod of long-beaked common dolphins. There were many calves seen today. Captain Dave and the crew kept heading farther and farther west while keeping an eye out for tall spouts all. We were practically at the end of our range, in an area that was north of Harmony and just about due west of Hondo, when the sharp eyes of deckhand Devin saw the first spouts in the distance. At first there were three whales, then another one came into the area. Coincidentally two of them had white tails. All of them seem to be feeding subsurface. There were at least 1000 common dolphins in the area and over 100 sea lions, too. (This was spread over an area of several miles). Before long we ran out of time, but had wonderful sightings on a gorgeous day. On the way back, Devin spotted a nice pod of coastal bottlenose dolphins in the kelp. They came over and played on the bow of the Condor Express. You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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