2015 07-22 SB Channel
It was another mill pod glass flat day out in the Santa Barbara Channel which made up for the overcast stratus layer that persisted all day. We located a trio of hot spots containing humpback whales and long-beaked common dolphins. The first was not far south of the Harbor and contained two large #whales along with #dolphins.
The second hot spot was quite a bit further south and among the other active cetaceans here there was a juvenile humpback whale that was very speckled in its body color…almost Dalmatian-like. This small whale had a point to make about whale watching, and since we’ve had the good fortune to see huge numbers of whales on our trips the past few weeks, the point is very apropos: Quality over quantity. We ended the trip with close looks at a total of 5 #whales and 2000 #dolphins, but this little one was spectacular.
The juvenile humpback breached somewhere around 20 times. In between breaches it threw its tail, rolled around, and slapped its long pectoral flukes. The show went on for over an hour. Yes, there were many other spouts in the distance, but we were all so enthralled by this performance, we never went cruising around to visit the outliers.
The day included a tour of the west end of Santa Cruz Island and a nice visit to the world-famous Painted Cave. Not long after we left the Cave there was a nice sized floating giant kelp paddy with two ocean sunfish (Mola mola) hiding beneath it and very clearly visible in the blue water.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
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