2019 04-29 SB Channel
Captain Colton and his crew ran three trips today into Santa Barbara Channel in search of wildlife. Total sightings for the day included 12 humpback whales, one common dolphin, and five coastal bottlenose dolphins.
The morning trip ran west for a while then headed outside about 4 miles. There was a marine cloud layer, but seas were glassy and calm. We found an area with loads of California sea lions and sea birds. We soon discovered four whales in the mix. These were very large adult animals and easy to watch. During the whale encounter a lone common dolphin came by to check us out. On the way back to the Harbor we saw another humpback whale, a very small one.
On the noon trip Captain Colton ran directly offshore about 5 miles. Here he found three very easy to watch adult whales. Also in the area was a very small one that was also very active on the surface. We spent over a half an hour watching this little animal breach and slap its pectoral fins all over the place.
The last trip of the day found us stopping to watch five bottlenose dolphins very close to the harbor entrance. After a brief trip to the west we looped outside 7 miles. Here we found three very large humpback whales, and all of them repeatedly breached. At one point there was a magnificent double breach. There was also a lot of pectoral slapping, tail throwing, and at least one very close approach to the boat.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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