2013 06-28 SB Channel
I think I'll author a journal article entitled "Humpback whales as giant stepping stones to the Santa Barbara Channel Islands." I've got a bit more data to collect and of course all that number crunching. But that is how things shaped up out there today. As Captain Dave and the crew pushed offshore, heading south towards Santa Cruz, the Condor Express encountered one feeding cluster of common dolphins and humpback whales after another. It all started just north of the shipping lanes, and we kept "stepping" right up to Santa Cruz. Oh, by the way, none of that nasty fog up in our neck of the Channel today. Just warm, bright sun with very calm seas...perfect for finding and enjoying those spouts.
Talley:
9+ humpback whales
1,500+ common dolphins
50 sea lions at least
100 Risso's dolphins
75 Pacific white-sided dolphins
1 huge sunfish (Mola mola)
1 shy Minke whale
So as previously stated we walked or hopped to Santa Cruz Island on the hot spot stepping stones. We took a nice tour of the northwestern face of the island, and poked our bow into the world famous Painted Cave (after waiting for Truth Aquatics to get their helmet and headlamp kayak crew deeper into the cave). About that time Captain Dave charted a course back towards Santa Barbara Harbor, but before long his keen eyes spotted a very substantial herd of Risso's dolphins. When we arrived on the scene, it turned out that the Risso's were intermingled with Pacific white-sided dolphins, and the smaller white-siders rode the bow a bit. The Risso's were spread over an big area and were easy to photograph because you could see their big, fat white bodies glowing beneath the surface at quite a distance.
Rafting sea lions everywhere were basking and relaxin' in the warm sun. It was an epic adventure.
Be sure to click on "map this" to see where we went!
Read MoreTalley:
9+ humpback whales
1,500+ common dolphins
50 sea lions at least
100 Risso's dolphins
75 Pacific white-sided dolphins
1 huge sunfish (Mola mola)
1 shy Minke whale
So as previously stated we walked or hopped to Santa Cruz Island on the hot spot stepping stones. We took a nice tour of the northwestern face of the island, and poked our bow into the world famous Painted Cave (after waiting for Truth Aquatics to get their helmet and headlamp kayak crew deeper into the cave). About that time Captain Dave charted a course back towards Santa Barbara Harbor, but before long his keen eyes spotted a very substantial herd of Risso's dolphins. When we arrived on the scene, it turned out that the Risso's were intermingled with Pacific white-sided dolphins, and the smaller white-siders rode the bow a bit. The Risso's were spread over an big area and were easy to photograph because you could see their big, fat white bodies glowing beneath the surface at quite a distance.
Rafting sea lions everywhere were basking and relaxin' in the warm sun. It was an epic adventure.
Be sure to click on "map this" to see where we went!
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens 2013 06-28 SB Channel-007
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens 2013 06-28 SB Channel-b-025
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens 2013 06-28 SB Channel-b-013
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens 2013 06-28 SB Channel-b-057
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens 2013 06-28 SB Channel-b-044
Macrocystic pyrifera 2013 06-28 SB Channel-005
Megaptera novaeangliae 2013 06-28 SB Channel-023
Megaptera novaeangliae 2013 06-28 SB Channel-036
