2018 07-03 SB Channel – West
Captain Dave and his crew traversed the Santa Barbara Channel and ended up in the middle of the north coast of beautiful Santa Rosa Island. It has been a while since we last visited our second largest southern California island. Sightings for the day were phenomenal with 6 different species of cetaceans. Total numbers for closely watched animals included 12+ blue whales, 3 humpback whales, 3+ fin whales, 15 Risso’s dolphins, 25 offshore bottlenose dolphins and 1,000+ long-beaked common dolphins. There were many more whales in the area that we did not have time to watch closely (for example, Dave said there may have been as many as 20 more blue whales in the zone…spouts visible in the distance).
Among the many spectacular moments during today’s adventure, the crew reports seeing a mother blue whale with her calf, and a very friendly mother humpback with her calf. Risso’s dolphins, offshore bottlenose and common dolphins were all mixed in with the big whales and all three dolphin species were seen “surfing” the wake wave created off the “bow” of the whales.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com