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Tons of humpbacks, a Minke and a fin whale. Dolphins too!

2020 11-01 SB Channel

Seas were calm and the sky had plenty of sunshine coming through in between some high stratus. Captain Dave and his crew made a trip up the coast to the west. A bit later he turned south to the west end of Santa Cruz Island. Sightings were phenomenal with 8+ humpback whales, 1 fin whale, 1 Minke whale, 2000 long-beaked common dolphins and 6 Mylar balloons.

Just offshore a few miles from the UCSB campus our first whale and dolphin spot was discovered. Three humpbacks, a single fin whale and plenty of dolphins were active in this area. The humpbacks appeared to be migrating slowly to the west. The humpbacks were large and the fin was small.

After turning south, and just north of The Lanes, three additional humpback whales were watched closely, with more in the surrounding area. Dolphins were abundant here, too.

The final humpback sighting of the excursion was in the middle of The Lanes where the dolphins were found with two additional humbacks.

At this point Dave took the Condor Express on a short narrated trip along the beautiful sea cliffs and coves of Santa Cruz until the boat entered the first chamber of the world-famous Painted Cave. Sea conditions enhanced this geological foray.

As we left The Cave and began heading back to the harbor, a single Minke whale was watched through several breathing cycles. This was a good whale to watch as it had long surface intervals.

You never know what Mother Nature has in store.

Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com

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