2016 04-30 SB Channel
Mild weather and good crowds had the Condor Express running three excursions out of Santa Barbara today. Here are the details:
9 am One gray whale mother and calf pair were located and followed for a while as they went about their trek to their feeding grounds in Alaska. After the gray whales, Captain Dave and his Whale Scout, Auggie, turned their sights offshore and quickly located 2 humpback whales heading west with 10 minute down times. Good tail flukes were seen by all, and one of the pair was very large.
12 noon After a trip along the kelp superhighway up as far as More Mesa, the Condor Express again turned offshore. Right away a very small, solo humpback whale was seen. It was a humpback we saw a few weeks ago which has skin coloration like a gray whale, and it’s size is like a humpback calf. It appears to have plenty of energy and fluked up on every dive. This excursion ended with a tour of the East Beach Anchorage sea lion habitat.
3 pm The late afternoon adventure located 4 gray whale (2 cow-calf pairs). The first pair was just outside Santa Barbara Harbor where they were dodging the random zig-zags of a Santa Barbara sailboat regatta and eventually went pretty far offshore to find safety. The pair finally turned back to the beach up by the old Lighthouse. Not long after this the second pair of gray whales for the late afternoon were found. Again, lots of swimming and all migration stuff.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express