2017 10-29 SB Channel
Captain Eric and his crew cruised the southeastern Santa Barbara Channel on a cool-ish fall day and located a lot of cetaceans. The following closely-watched species were counted: 11+ humpback whales, 250 long-beaked common dolphins and 4+ Minke whales.
South of Platform A, in the Carpinteria rig line, 5 humpback whales, two Minke whales, and a few dozen dolphins were watched. There were more humpback spouts and Minke whales visible in the area. Good close looks were had by all. Eric then took the boat further east where 2 humpbacks, a small one with a white tail and a large one that spent a lot of time logging on the surface, were watched.
Moving beyond Platform Habitat there were lots of single humpback encounters, and several more Minke whales were visible here, too. Three humpbacks, let’s call them X, Y and Z, repeated a strange and seemingly coordinated behavioral repertoire. Whale X slapped its pectoral fins, Y did a lot of sub-surface bubbling, and Z kicked its tail up as if it was a terminal dive, then rotated or spun its whole body. Condor fans watched the trio repeat this routine for nearly an hour.
Later, several more humpbacks came close enough to qualify as “mugging the boat” at various times.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
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