2015 10-12 SB Channel
Many happy cruise ship people hopped off the big ship and went for a beautiful whale watch on the Condor Express today with clear sunny skies, glassy no wind conditions and, of course, that crystal clear Santa Barbara cobalt water. Captain Dave and his crew headed for a mid-Santa Barbara Channel cetacean hot spot and they hit the jackpot again.
Among the cetaceans, this hot spot included lots of sea birds, California sea lions, long-beaked common dolphins (we saw around 1,500 today). As for large cetaceans, the first 5 or 6 of the nine total humpback whales were also encountered. Also on patrol were three Minke whales and one of them got very friendly with the boat. When the boat stopped to watch wildlife it was quite warm, but when it moved ahead even slightly the “natural air conditioning” made it just perfect. Thank you, El Niño !
After a wonderful visit to the west end of Santa Cruz Island and its world-famous Painted sea cave, we went back on the “hunt.” Before long we found 3 or 4 more humpback whales, one of which was our pal “Scarlet.”
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
Our next public whale watch is this Thursday.
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