Coastal Whale Watching
Whale Watching Report February 16, 2013
Humpback whales Several Gray whales Minke whales 1,000+ common dolphins
We ran three coastal whale watching trips today. On the 9am trip we had a herd of 1,000+ common dolphins and then a small humpback whale. It was warm, sunny and the ocean was oily mirror glass all day long.The humpback was very photogenic and at one point came reasonably close to the boat for great pics. This sighting was followed by two northbound gray whales outside Platform Habitat. On the noon trip, again with the dolphins, and then off to find the humpback…with no luck. We did have a brief brief encounter with a minke whale, but spent a lot of time on the glassy sea searching for Godot. On the way back we ran into four northbound gray whales right outside SB Harbor. All that mileage and the whales were waiting back home for us. Naturally, on the 3pm trip we relocated this nice, tight group of four grays and had wonderful looks. Then it was off to see more dolphins and back to the dock.
All during the three trips today we sighted several dozen bright red, mylar, helium filled (now helium depleted) valentine’s day balloons and balloon clusters adrift on the ocean surface. Captain Mat steered us alongside many of these dangerous ocean pollutants, as deckhand Matt put the gaff on them and removed them to the trash can. Something must be done to stop these dangerous ocean contaminants.
Remember, we are now running coastal whale watch trips at 9a, 12n, and 3p every day. For information on reservations, visit the or call Sea Landing at (805) 882 0088.
I’ll put the pics from today’s adventures online tomorrow at www.CondorExpressPhotos.com
best Bob Perry