Image: a juvenile humpback breaching near Santa Barbara harbor
2023 03-30 SB Coast
Captain Dave says the conditions were like being in the tropics except the air temperature was in the 50’sF. Seas were calm and skies were sunny except for passing rain squalls that soaked everything periodically. We spent the trip watching one humpback whale.
The whale was a youngster and we found it just 2 ½ miles southeast of the harbor. It was heading east northeast with a regular, easy to watch, dive cycle. It never left the surface and even during its “dives” it actually swam just beneath the surface and was visible.
After about 4 of its regular dive cycles, it stayed down longer than before and then erupted in a massive full-body breach right off our starboard side. This caught everyone by surprise and took our breath away.
Bob Perry
Condor Express, and
CondorExpressPhotos.com