2016 05-22 SB Channel
Captain Eric and his crew took the Condor Express up and down the coast today and was able to locate the cetaceans on the northern half of the Santa Barbara Channel. The morning began with sun and only a light breeze, so the boat headed up the coast . A large, tight aggregation of long-beaked common dolphins were located about 2 miles off Hendry’s Beach, so we stayed and played for about 30 minutes. Further west and a bit offshore the first humpback whale sighting occurred, and it was a cooperative whale that surface next to the boat several times and showed everyone its flukes on almost every deep dive.
The wind showed its first signs of strength so Eric wisely ran east to keep the wind and seas astern. A second humpback whale was located just east of Platform Alpha. It had only 2 – 3 minute down times and was a very cooperative beast that made the whale fans happy and excited. While we were engaged with this second humpback whale a very large aggregation of at least 1,500 additional long-beaked common dolphins meandered into our path, and for a while we had a nice mix of dolphins, sea lions and the humpback whale. By now it was time to start heading back to the harbor and the winds were getting even stronger. The sun was out all day.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
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