Friday, August 26, 2016 – Captain Dave hit the jackpot with 12 closely watched humpback whales, over 3,000 long-beaked common dolphins, and, a huge sea lion mob, “thousands of California sea lions,” says Dave. The day began with a low stratus layer and light seas. The marine layer burned off to sun later in the day.
Two of the humpback whales found us about 5 miles north of Santa Rosa Island along The Ledge. Lighting was flat due to the stratus, but our dedicated crew somehow located these beasts despite the clouds. Hundreds of dolphins an sea lions swarmed around this first hot spot.
Moving onward, the next hotbed of life included 2 humpback whales, joined by 4 more, and finally 5 additional whales came on the scene. In the distance some surface lunge feeding was seen if you had good binoculars. Closer to the Condor Express, the final 5 whales were interested in their fan club and swam circles up and down both sides of the boat. Wow! A huge number of additional spouts were seen all around in the distance.
Regarding the huge sea lion mob, Dave says there were aggregations of 200 yards long and 10 yards wide here and there amidst the whales..
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express