2020 09-04 SB Channel East
…Even more giants …
Captain Colton and his crew ran southeast towards the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island today. Seas were glassy, and skies were sunny (except for one lone patch of fog north of The Lanes). Sightings included: 15+ giant blue whales, 5 coastal bottlenose dolphins, 5 offshore bottlenose dolphins, 1500 long-beaked common dolphins and 26 California sea lions.
A small pod of coastal bottlenose dolphins greeted the Condor Express as we left the harbor. They were meandering east and we followed them into the east beach anchorage. This was a particularly friendly pod. Later, and much further offshore, a group of their cousins…the offshore bottlenose dolphins…were encountered with similar positive interactions. Common dolphins first located us about 5 miles out. Scattered, small sized pods were seen throughout the trip thereafter.
The land of the giants did not move much from earlier sightings this week. The big difference today was the robust change in their population within this hot spot. We closely watched 15 beasts, and more were visible in the area. The giants were working in groups of 4 or 5 within a ½ mile section of water. Each group synchronized their dive/surface cycle. Overall, most were large adults with only a few smaller, sub-adults, seen today.
The island wildlife portion of the day wrapped up with a visit to Potato Harbor where a few boats were already anchored-up for the start of Labor Day weekend.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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