We ran a single 2½ whale watch trip and Captain Eric left the docks at 12 noon for the rich and fertile whale grounds of the Santa Barbara Channel. With the eagle-eyed deckhand Augie manning the binoculars, it was not far outside Santa Barbara Harbor that we encountered the first 2 northbound gray whales of what would be a very productive adventure. Next we saw a group of 4 #whales (3 adults and one juvenile), another group of two and finally a group of 3 making our total for the trip a whopping 11 gray whales.
The #dolphin show was also great, especially since the ocean water clarity still persists. The first “pod” was over 100 long-beaked common dolphins and they were scattered here and there over a wide area and only paid marginal attention to the Condor Express. Later, however, we spotted a few larger pods close together perhaps totaling 1,000 or more common dolphins. This pod was far more friendly and rode both the bow and the stern wake as their fan club on the boat cheered. Calves were abundant in both sightings.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry
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