2020 06-13 SB Coast
A single excursion departed Santa Barbara Harbor at 9 AM heading for the eastern Channel. There was a bit of residual bump on the surface from winds that blew pretty strongly overnight. Despite the bump, we saw one Minke whale and 400 long-beaked common dolphins.
It is always amazing to see the dolphins ride the surf when there’s a swell running. It’s crowd surfing for sure, with lots of leaping and expressions of (what I perceive to be) joy. They also rode alongside the Condor Express. There was plenty of bait in the water so the dolphins stopped to feed occasionally.
Speaking of food, we watched a rather large Minke whale as it moved about riding the swells around the bait balls. Not only were there some good looks close to the boat, but this curious baleen whale did some obvious surface feeding for everyone to see. A rare and wonderful sighting for sure.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and