Full body view of a very friendly humpback whale today. Bob Perry www.CondorExpressPhotos.com
It all began the night before………
‘Twas the night before Thursday and all through the Channel, none of the creatures were stirring….EXCEPT ONE ! Seriously, we ran one of our many summer private party cruises last night. Dancing, food, various beverages…good music…all that stuff, when Captain’s Dave and Eric (having a staff meeting in the wheelhouse) spotted a giant blue whale less than one mile off the Biltmore Hotel, Santa Barbara. Wow. Seeing this monster so close to shore was a real treat and and unexpected delight for the party goers. This set the stage for today’s adventure.
Today we found no fog, no marine layer and only the bright warm sun to guide us to the whales and #dolphins. There were common dolphins everywhere, perhaps as many as 2,000 as a final count. We ran west just beyond the University of California campus, and found a mother and her calf. These two were all business and had only one apparent goal: swimming east. But humpback whales will be humpback whales. And after a good solid amount of time and effort, the little one lagged behind mom and decided to put on a kelping show with a drifting paddy of Macrocystis. And what a show it was. The mini-beast spy hopped in the algae several times, slapped its pectoral fins and attempted a few feeble tail throws, which at its age were feeble but certainly seemed to foretell future such throws when it will be more developed muscularly. After there was nothing left but brown seaweed shards, the calf swam fast to the east trying to catch up with mom.
Later in the trip, on the way back to Santa Barbara Harbor, we watched a third humpback whale and it came up along the port side very close. You can see this for yourself in the photograph above. I’ll post the rest of the images from today on www.CondorExpressPhotos.com sometime tomorrow. There were 3 ocean sunfish (Mola mola) today as well.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
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