Gorgeous conditions with a nice whale and several thousand very active dolphins.

Image: A trio of high-flying Delphinus!

2023 11-12 SB Channel

We ran a special whale watch expedition today in our neck of the Channel. On board was a celebration of local resident and environmental champion, Jean-Michel Cousteau. Seas were very calm and mostly mirror glass all day. Skies were sunny, blue and it was warm. We closely watched 1 humpback whale and 3000 common dolphins. The crew picked up a bold, red "#6" Mylar balloon from the ocean surface.

Our first mega-pod of dolphins located the Condor Express at 1030AM. They were slowly migrating southeast and we ran alongside them for about 20 minutes. Deckhand Eddie spotted a humpback whale spout a few miles ahead of the pod, and Captain Devin turned in that direction. It was a solo whale, steadily moving southeast. Its dive times shortened considerably as the whale seemed to warm-up to the boatful of cheering fans. As we wrapped up our time with this whale, the previously mentioned dolphin pod suddenly went into high-speed, stampede mode. This is always a powerful experience.

After the stampede and a balloon retrieval, crew members spotted a second, distant spout but we could never locate this whale (so it does not appear in the tally). However, we were soon in the midst of a far more active, second mega-pod of dolphins. There was a lot of jumping (see today's photograph).

After a wonderful look at Potato Harbor on Santa Cruz Island, we enjoyed the glassy, sunny ride home.

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

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