Capt Eric captured this amazing image of a friendly humpback whale with his cell phone ! Wow!
First Day of Island Whale Season hits the Jackpot !
12 humpback whales were closely watched today in a wide transect across the Santa Barbara Channel. The first 3 were encountered not too far offshore and these were amazingly friendly (see Capt. Eric’s photo above). These whales were so intrigued by the Condor Express that they tried to follow the boat as it carefully backed down to head over the Santa Cruz Island. You don’t get this kind of behavior every day, that’s for sure. Soon thereafter we were in a good sized common dolphin herd of at least 300 animals. Finally, closer to the Island, there were more humpback whales everywhere and before too long the big guys showed up. That’s right. At least 5 giant blue whales were out on the feeding grounds today alongside their smaller and distant humpback cousins. It appeared as if there was a subsurface krill layer that was keeping all the whales in the area active. Moderate dive times followed by substantial surface intervals to make all the humans very happy. Towards the end of the sightings another magical moment: a humpback mother with a calf was watched. All this cetacean life was set against a background of drop-dead-gorgeous sea conditions and hot 90F air temperatures. What a way to get the Island Whale Watch Season started !
You never know what Mother Nature has in store….and that’s a fact !
Bob Perry Condor Express