2016 07-04 SB Channel Happy Independence Day!
Captain Eric reports ideal sea conditions all day long with over-the-top, outstanding sightings. His totals for the day include 30 humpback whales (we closely watched 15), 2 blue whales, 1 fin whale and at least 2,000 long-beaked common dolphin. Here are the details:
About 10 miles southwest of Santa Barbara the first humpbacks were located alongside a small contingency of dolphins. One of the whales was a good tail fluker-upper and also rolled around near the boat.
Moving a bit further southwest two very active humpback whales were observed and their behaviors included some breaching, pectoral fin slapping and kelping. According to Eric no kelp paddy was safe from one of these humpback whales.
It was out in The Lanes that the population density of the whales and dolphins was greatest today. There was a lot of sub-surface, deeper feeding going on and nice surface intervals for whale watching. Soon two blue whales came into the zone as well as one very small (25-foot long) fin whale. The fin whale rolled around, swam under the boat and was very friendly for many minutes giving its fans wonderful looks the whole time.
Sadly, In the southbound Lane a dead humpback was observed on the surface and numerous sharks were feeding on the carcass. This gave a picture of the cycle of life that we don’t get to see often, thankfully.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
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