2020 01-25 SB Channel
Captain Dave and the crew of the Condor Express found gorgeous conditions today with blue skies throughout. Sightings for the trip included 120 offshore bottlenose dolphins, 800 long-beaked common dolphins, and eight gray whales. The action started very close to the beach with a fabulous sighting of about 50 offshore bottle nose dolphins. It is always great to see this species especially when they decide to come close to shore like that! A second and slightly larger pod was located along the north face of Santa Cruz Island later in the trip. About 5 miles offshore and just beyond the first pod of bottlenose, there was a large group of common dolphins spread over a mile or two of ocean. The distribution gave each dolphin plenty of time to come over and greet the passengers on the boat and show off their surfing skills. In the vicinity of the world famous Painted Cave at Santa Cruz Island, during our encounter with that second pod of offshore bottlenose, there were gray whales. The first two whales were socializing rather heavily, as well as interacting with the bottlenose dolphins. There was a lots of rolling, showing pec fins, and so forth… all on the surface. You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com