Image wide angle: gray whale spout near SB coast
2023 03-12 SB Coast
Two trips left the docks, 9a and 12n. While the ocean people of California wait to see whether the ‘last big Atmospheric River” of the season will trend towards southern California or the northern half of the state, the gray whales kept swimming. The morning trip was, like yesterday, enveloped in fog. The afternoon adventure had mostly sunny, blue skies. Both excursions experienced flat and glassy seas. Totals for the day included 3+ Pacific gray whales and 2 coastal bottlenose dolphins.
A fleeting glimpse and one gray whale near the harbor were all the foggy conditions permitted in the morning. It is doubtful anyone but the crew got looks. Hence it was not included in the totals for the day.
The noon trip started with a very rare occurrence: two individual, single coastal bottlenose dolphins were seen. One near Leadbetter, the other off Shoreline Park. None of us can remember seeing bottlenose NOT being in a pod. My theory is that they might be in a widely dispersed and temporary hunting mode.
After the solo dolphins, Captain Devin and his crew moved the Condor Express slowly west and ultimately had wonderful looks and a pair of adult whales about ½ mile offshore and near Sands Beach.
On the way home, we were heading east to the harbor and passed a third gray whale that was moving west.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
CondorExpressPhotos.com
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