2016 06-24 SB Channel
The wild June weather in the Santa Barbara Channel continued to challenge Captain Dave and his crew. The fog was not so bad as the stratus was hanging low, and the seas were just fine with not much wind…until we reached The Lanes. The huge beasts were still around in droves and here is the story:
Not far out of the harbor the Condor Express stopped to observe a strong herd of 400 or more long-beaked common dolphins. The water is still quite rich with chlorophyll but one could still see all the calves. Moving offshore, Dave located his first two of the 5 humpback whales seen today just before he entered The Lanes. This single whale was active and threw its tail around quite a bit. Moving ahead we quickly entered a windy lane as that humpback continued whomping the water with its tail.
Just south of The Lanes and not quite on The Ledge we closely watched 4 giant blue whales, one of which showed its tail fluked on every dive. More humpbacks were also mixed in with the blue whales. One of the blue whales showed its flukes in close proximity to the boat…whoa! Things were quite windy so dave ran “downhill” to the east and then home to Santa Barbara.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express