Thursday, August 11, 2016 – Captain Dave ran a whopper of an excursion today as you will soon read. Sea conditions and prevailing weather were superb with bright sun and a glassy surface. Totals for the trip included 2 humpback whales, 1,500 long-beaked common dolphins, and at least 200 Risso’s dolphins. Here are the details:
The Condor Express attracted its first batch of several hundred dolphins near the East Channel Buoy. Moving south to The Lanes, lots more common dolphins, two humpbacks and the first pod of Risso’s dolphins was watched. Dave says that at one point during this episode all three species were mixing together simultaneously…a very infrequent occurrence. Wow!
A tour of the west end of Santa Cruz Island followed next including a trip inside the mouth of the world-famous Painted Cave. Just outside the cave we found another larger group of Risso’s dolphins. The trip home was full of more and more common dolphins.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express