2018 05-17 SB Channel
Captain Dave and his crew crossed the Santa Barbara Channel and ran practically the entire 24-mile length of beautiful Santa Cruz Island today in search of wildlife. Sightings included: 50 offshore bottlenose dolphins, 800 long-beaked common dolphins and 1 giant blue whale. It was sunny all day.
Across the Channel and heading for the west end of the island, a large pod of bottlenose dolphins located the Condor Express. They were heading west, into the wind and waves, at a high speed. This did not deter their usual acrobatic antics around the boat. Numerous mother dolphins with their calves were in this pod. At this point the wind was beginning to freshen so Dave turned east to put the seas astern.
Down on the eastern section of the island, in the waters off Cavern Point, a large herd of common dolphins located the boat. They went surfing on our bow, side and stern waves. It was a fantastic sight in bright sun and clear, Santa Barbara cobalt, water.
A very tall spout at least 2½ miles away turned out to be a giant blue whale. The whale was superb to watch, with long breathing cycles and a lot of swimming just below the surface and clearly visible as a bright blue streak. It made several close and friendly passes.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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