Two out of three humpback whales were friendly. Plenty of Velella still around.
- Bob Perry
- Apr 10
- 2 min read
2025 04-10 SB Channel
The crew of the Condor Express ran a single noon adventure with Captain Dave at the helm. Seas were a bit lumpy, it was not windy, and skies were clear with a little bit of haze/fog in the distance near the islands. Total sighings for the day: 3 humpback whales.
After heading southeast out of The Harbor, Captain Dave slowed down at Platform Charlie. Here he gave an offshore oil and gas rig tour. (He is somewhat famous for his explanation of the history of these rigs, how they work, and where the oil and gas goes.)
From Charlie we ran west along the backside of The Farm. It was here that we found a total of 3 individual humpback whales. At least they started out as individuals. Actually the first two joined up and became friendly with the boat. It was not an actual “mugging“ but they did pop up near the boat after their dives and took a few looks at their fans on board the Condor Express. (They may have even taken mental selfies of the strange people they saw!)
For you gelatinous animal lovers, there are still plenty of purple sailors, a.k.a. by the wind sailors, (Velella velella) floating around on the surface. What is notable about their population explosion in The Channel this year is the ABSENCE of ocean sunfish (Mola mola). Mola usually show up with the jellies and feed voraciously upon them. Coincidentally, both the predator and the prey in this case have a scientific name where the genus and the species are identical. This is relatively rare and is known as a tautonym.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob bob