The calf with the white-on-both-sides pectoral fins went on a slapping spree again today. It is wild.
Minke Whales Everywhere and Humpbacks Galore
We left Santa Barbara Harbor and quickly found some slightly choppy conditions and a slight breeze with bright sun. As the day progressed we found ourselves in moderate seas and fresh breeze which was worse outside and much better inside. Common dolphin pods, mostly small and businesslike, were everywhere. As we got outside their pods were slightly larger. A rough total might be 1,000 dolphins today. Like the dolphins, Minke whales seemed to abound everywhere we went. Regarding Minke whales today: -some broke the surface at a distance -some surfaced much nearer the boat -a few came up quite close to us -One surface with a few feet of the port side then dove under the Condor Express, and -rode our bow for about 30 seconds while the whale was submerged
There were no humpback whales outside, so Captain Dave wisely headed back towards an area east of Hogan where things had been hot a few days ago. Here we found about 4 big #whales. One was Top Notch, and that Mother with here white-pectorals calf was there too…plus one more large adult. Before too long the calf started throwing its tail around making a big mess, and later rolled over and slapped its white-on-both-sides pectorals quite a few times. Regarding humpback whales today: – some surface at a distance -some surfaced very close to the Condor Express -on adult swam an intercept course and dove at the last minute – in addition to the antics of the whitey-pects calf, another, large whale breached not too far away.
Pesky sea lion mobs were active at several of the hot spots and may, again, be the reason why the calf gets all riled up. There were a few concentrations of Velella velella today too. I’ll post up the photos from this trip sometime tomorrow.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express
On the web: www.CondorExpress.com/blog