2018 09-29 SB Channel
The ocean conditions were sunny and calm, perfect for locating and watching 5 killer whales, 5 humpback whales, 1 blue shark and 500 long-beaked common dolphins. All of the action took place on the north side of the Santa Barbara Channel.
The killer whales were located about 4 miles off UCSB. There was 1 big male in the pod. We watched them for over an hour as they established a regular dive pattern that featured multiple breaths at the surface followed by a 10 minute down time. The KWs came over and looked at the Condor Express and its people on two separate occasions.
At one point a large aggregation of dolphins meandered into the area until they detected the presence of the KWs, at which point a stampede took place and the dolphins evacuated the area pronto. A single humpback also came into view nearby and breached several times.
After some nice looks the the whale the KWs had moved west towards Platform Holly. As we motored in that direction, a small blue shark was spotted and it spent a long time on the surface. It never approached the boat directly, but it also did not dive. Later an additional group of whales located the Condor Express.
Two of these whales were large and paired-up. One of the pair did some amazing kelping and also let loose several loud trumpet vocalizations.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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