2 Minke whales (1 very friendly), 12 humpbacks and 2500 dolphins.

2019 08-31 SB Channel

The sun came out after we ran southwest in the fog for a while. There was a medium bump. The day was absolutely phenomenal and packed with cetaceans: 2 Minke whales, 12 humpback whales and 2500 long-beaked common dolphins.

Captain Colton and the crew of the Condor Express found their first cetaceans 7 or 8 miles south of UCSB where a thousand or more dolphins were busy searching and diving for food. The first humpback was here too. It was a juvenile and it greeted the boat with a monster tail throw followed up quickly by a massive/full breach.

Colton aimed the boat further offshore and ended up further off Isla Vista and about 5 miles due west of the NOAA buoy. Scattered dolphin pods, both large and small, were mixed in with a few humpbacks and a single Minke whale. We got great looks at all, including the Minke.

Further west we found a lot more humpbacks and dolphins…all intent on feeding sub-surface. Not long after the boat started its journey back to Santa Barbara Harbor, a second Minke was watched. It came extraordinarily close to the Condor Express. Wow!

You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com