Afficianados of acrobatic beasts,
The scorecard for today:
300 Common Dolphins
11 Blue Whales
17 Humpback Whales
thousands of active sea lions
The whales moved east and the krill moved down deeper than yesterday. It was a very calm day on the Channel and a light overcast sky prevailed. The first spouts seen by our staff photographer turned out to be a cluster of giant Blue Whales. At least 7 individuals were spotted in this first glance at the whale grounds. After a few minutes some Humpbacks moved in to join the fun. The krill was down but shallow, so the deep dives were short and sweet with plenty of surface time to spout, trumpet and even log a bit. Several of the Humbacks made their customary introductions to the humans on board the Condor Express using friendly close approaches to the boat. There was a mother and calf Blue Whale. Not to be out-bred, there was also a mother and calf Humpback. Strange tales: at one point the little calf came alongside the boat racing at full throttle, then dove. Oh, boy, we thought, something’s going to happen. Then BANG a full breach right off the bow. Down a few seconds then, KABOOOM anothe breach. Then another and another. The little devil breached 19 times in a row and was still breaching in the distance as the boat slowly pulled out and headed for The Cave. I’ve attached one photo of the breaching juvenile to this message, and all the rest will be up sometime on Monday when I finish. I haven’t even finished all the krill feeding from yesterday, but I am on the case as we read this message. Whooooeeeee! Call 888-77WHALE or 805-882-0088 to book your trip. Visit our website: https://www.CondorCruises.com
..or to view images from today and our previous trips: https://www.condorexpressphotos.com
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In addition to the expert crew on the Condor Express with over 35 years of experience, Channel Islands Naturalist Corps volunteer naturalists, representatives from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and National Park, are usually on board and available to answer your questions during the trip.
Best fishes and have a WHALE of a day!
Bob Perry
PS. Fob-Man, I’m still working on your idea and should implement soon. Thanks for the suggestion!