A mighty tail throw from a humpback whale out on the grounds today.
Tail throws and Friendly Behavior – Humpback Fun Zone
Captain Dave and his sharp-eyed deck hand Augie found ’em today. After a brief detour to play with long beaked common dolphins south of Hope Ranch, we turned it east and got into the “Fun Zone” near offshore oil platform Hogan. We said hi to our friend Sherry on the “Alan T,” a crew boat working the rigs today. There were three humpback #whales watched closely and another one a few miles down east of our location. We never needed to go any further east, because the three whales we watched put on quite a show, and they were surrounded by steady streams of common dolphins and California sea lions all day long. Two of the whales, the smaller ones, came very close to the Condor Express, once head-on and aimed right at our bow, and a couple of times surfaced along the port side. The side whales matched our course and speed thus giving spectacular views in the crystal clear blue water. Several “whole body” or wide angle views were to be had by all who were looking. Red necked phalaropes, black vented shearwaters, Brandt’s cormorants, elegant terns, and juvenile Heermann’s gulls were around the activity zone most of the time. It was a bright sunny day with moderate chop from winds blowing strong 40 miles or more to the west of our location. It started out breezy as we left Santa Barbara Harbor, but quickly dropped off to nothing after high noon. I’ll post up the photos sometime on Labor Day.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
www.CondorExpress.com/blog
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