Image: giant blue whale tail flukes.
2024 05-27 SB Channel
Skies were blue and seas were calm. There were no winds except when we got into The Lanes, and then it was just a light breeze. Captain Eddy and the crew took the Condor Express southeast to the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island where we found lots of life in The Lanes. Sightings for the day included: 200 common dolphins, 2 humpback whales, and 3 giant blue whales.
We stopped for a while and watched a small pod of dolphins, just outside the harbor entrance, doing some surface feeding and chasing fish upside down. Always fun to see!
After moving southeast, we ended up in The Lanes north of Smugglers Cove. Here we initially found two juvenile humpback whales. They were friendly and swam along both sides of the boat.
After spotting tall spouts nearby, we arrived on the scene to find two giant blue whales plus the spout of a third whale that we never got a chance to set up on. Dive times for the pair were relatively short, and at one point a whale kicked up it’s giant flukes for a deep dive. (See today’s image for an example).
On the way home, we had a nice encounter with a couple hundred common dolphins.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
A great day out! Thank you to everyone!!