2019 06-21 SB Channel
Happy Longest Day of the Year! Calm seas, abundant cetaceans, and a nice island visit made the day memorable. Sightings included 9 humpback whales and 1500 long-beaked common dolphins.
The action today started about 10 miles south west of UCSB where a collection of five whales and many hundreds of dolphins were found feeding alongside thousands of sea birds. While watching the action taking place at this hot spot, we saw a few instances of surface lunge feeding. Another highlight at this first location was the reappearance of our friend Scarlet who readers may recall we did see yesterday further to the east. While we were watching the five whales, a 6th hale breached several times in the near distance. Our next stop was the northern face of beautiful Santa Cruz Island. Here Captain Dave cruised along the majestic sea cliffs and provided a nice narration regarding the history, geography, indigenous peoples, and current environmental status of this largest member of the Channel Islands National Parks. Our visit also included a trip inside the worlds longest see cave, the Painted Cave. This is always a crowd pleaser. On the way home, when we were just a half hour out from the harbor, we watched an additional pair of whales and several hundred more dolphins. You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com
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