A wild day in the Channel as Captain Eric defied the on-coming seas and had some really nice whales. It was sunny with moderate seas and a bit of wind later in the trip. Species counts included over 2,000 long-beaked common dolphins and one extremely friendly and cooperative humpback whale.
Most of the dolphins (aka, little whales) were in a mega-pod a miles or so south of Campus Point. They came to the Condor Express right away. The water was cobalt blue and clear. Loads of little calves were in the mix.
Eric changed course out near The Lanes to avoid the wind and seas. Deckhand “ojos de águila” Auggie spotted a load of active sea birds which marked the spot where our humpback popped up. It was friendly and had an average 4 minutes of down time. It was a whale we’ve been seeing in the area for a week or more, sometimes called TN2 by the crew. It’s dorsal fin was sharply triangular and the trailing edge of the dorsal fin was white.
The trip home had the most wind, but also featured a lucky encounter with a medium pod of 100 or so dolphins…a great way to punctuate the day. Congratulations to Captain Eric for managing the oceanography for another successful excursion.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express