Image: A group of curious California sea lions approached the Condor Express.
2023 08-23 SB Channel
Zero visibility fog lasted about an hour or so then gave way to clear, sunny skies. Seas started off fairly calm, but a west wind generated a bump later…but thankfully, Captain Dave and the crew kept it astern. Sightings for the day included: 3000 long-beaked common dolphins, 3 humpback whales, 1 Minke whale, and 60 California sea lions.
We encountered many small groups of dolphins as we slowly made our way southwest in total fog conditions. It may have been luck, but I prefer to think that they located us and came to ride our wake waves. We’d see many more pods, large and small, as the adventure unfolded.
When we were 7 miles south of Goleta, amidst more dolphins, we found our first whale as the sun began to shine brightly. It was a large, adult whale with an average down time (about 6 minutes). At this location, our deckhand Samantha spotted a single Minke whale that cruised the area and was seen only once before it disappeared. Great work, Sam!
About 3 miles to the west, we followed a single juvenile humpback with speckles all over its body. It was moving around the area and diving frequently. On a few occasions it passed close to the Condor Express and we all had good looks. More dolphins were watched here, too.
Dave and the crew turned the boat and ran east to minimize the rock-and-roll. We soon found a third whale. It had white pectoral fins and a white tail. Unfortunately, this whale was long winded and we had only had time to watch a few surface intervals. Two mobs of sea lions were also at work here (see today’s photograph for an example);
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
CondorExpressPhotos.com
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