Image: The magnificent profile of a giant blue whale.
2024 06–19 SB Channel
Captain Dave and the crew ran a private charter whale watch today. They took the Condor Express from Santa Barbara out into the eastern end of The Channel, in The Lanes, but adjacent to Anacapa Passage. Sightings for the trip included: 4 humpback whales, 2 giant blue whales, and 2500 common dolphins. Skies were overcast and seas were calm in the morning, but by the time we got out to the island it was sunny but a bit bumpy.
About 10 miles out from the harbor we got surrounded by a very big mega pod of common dolphins. They were spread out a bit, but they were both curious and fun to watch. In the dolphin zone we also saw four humpback whales. Among them was a mother and her calf. We’ve seen the calf before as it is easy to identify with “speckles” (from barnacles) all over its entire body.
A bit further east, two individual tall spouts turned out to be giant blue whales. The first one paid a couple of friendly visits. The sun was shining brightly now, and as this whale traveled along beneath the surface it created the “blue streak effect“ and made it easy to follow. It was friendly with the boat and we noticed that entire left fluke blade was gone. The second individual fluked-up…a bit away from the boat but everyone saw it.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
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