2018 10-05 SB Channel
It was sunny all day. The sea surface was calm with a moderate northwestern swell. Captain Dave and the crew of the Condor express ran west to Campus Point and then moved offshore to the middle of the Santa Barbara Channel. Here they had great looks at 800 long-beaked common dolphins, to humpback whales, and one large female elephant seal.
About 5 miles south of UCSB we encountered the two whales. It was our old friend “Rope” and another large female. When they were first sighted, both were logging. That changed when both whales became friendly with the boat. Rope is known to orient her body vertically with her nose out of the water and rotate…a pirouette.
Common dolphins were also in the area and took turns riding the bow, side, and stern waves of the Condor Express.
In the middle of the Channel a loan elephant seal was spotted, and, per usual, it slowly sank out of view and into the deep. Captain Dave also reports an unusual see lion behavior. A paddy or large island of drifting giant kelp was found with two sea lions in its midst. There was a large male and a smaller female. The male actively rolled around in the sea weed as if it was scratching its hide…doing a bit of kelping!
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com