2022 03-23 SB Channel
Three trips departed Santa Barbara Landing today: 9a, 12n and 3p. Seas had a little bump but there was no wind. Fog on the morning trip soon broke off and the rest the day was nice and sunny. Sightings included 1 gray whale (with multiple sightings of our local “star”), 450 long-beaked common dolphins, 2 Minke whales and 12 coastal bottlenose dolphins.
Morning trip: We watched the harbor whale then ran offshore and closely watched 75 common dolphins.
Noon: Harbor whale breached multiple times, including some unique “open mouth” breaches showing baleen. Later in the trip we had a great encounter with a friendly Minke whale. On the trip home the whale was breaching again, this time out by the red harbor entrance buoy.
Afternoon trip: Harbor whale was back in shallow waters inside the mouth of the harbor. As we headed up the coast, we soon encountered a dozen coastal bottlenose dolphins off Mesa Lane. Continuing up the coast we found a large assembly of common dolphins spread out over ½ mile of ocean. They were moving east and we ran along with them back towards the harbor. About 3 mile south of the harbor another Minke whale was sighted and we had good looks.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com