Thursday, September 1, 2016 – Captain Dave took the Condor Express on a trip up to the west along the northern Santa Barbara Channel. Conditions were a bit bumpy due to high winds in the far west. The excursion ended up about 9 miles south of Naples, and in the final analysis, saw about 1,000 short-beaked common dolphins, 1 humpback whale, and 1,000 long-beaked common dolphins.
Long-beaks were scattered here and there but were feeding in areas without whales. When Dave reached the far west, sea conditions were deteriorating but a mega-pod of at least 1,000 very active short-beaked common dolphins came to the boat and surrounded us with their marvelous behaviors. Soon after the mega-pod encounter, Dave reversed course and headed for the East Channel Buoy. Close to the buoy, a large humpback whale was encountered. It was traveling east and averaged 3 minutes down per dive. This afforded everyone some great looks at the beast. You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express