2013 07-17 SB Channel
Captain Mat ran the Condor Express to the southwest today on a special early trip (8am - 1230pm). Skies quickly cleared to bright blue, great sunshine, and only a light to moderate breeze. We passed a few small pods of common dolphins all day, everywhere. But up near the humpback feeding grounds the pods were larger and we ended the trip with over 2,000 little cetaceans.
The first big cetacean (humpback whale) sighting was a mother and her calf. The calf was very small compared to her 45-foot long mother, perhaps it was born sometime this past winter in the Sea of Cortez (Gulfo de California) or near Costa Rica. The pair was traveling east and we wanted to go west, so we parted company and almost immediately found another five humpback whales...same "M.O," traveling. So Captain Mat turned the boat to a more westerly heading and before long there were spouts everywhere you looked...all humpback whales. We closely watched at least 12 humpback whales all totaled, but there were lots of additional spouts everywhere.
One of the many whales in the humpback pool breached, slapped its pectoral flippers and even threw its massive tail around. This was the wake up call we all needed after a full trip of humpback whales that were traveling and not fussing around. Everyone was out of their seats whistling and applauding every trick the whale showed us. It was a fabulous "grande finale" to an epic sunny summer day.
You can click on the "Map This" button in the upper right to see a map of where we went today.
Read MoreThe first big cetacean (humpback whale) sighting was a mother and her calf. The calf was very small compared to her 45-foot long mother, perhaps it was born sometime this past winter in the Sea of Cortez (Gulfo de California) or near Costa Rica. The pair was traveling east and we wanted to go west, so we parted company and almost immediately found another five humpback whales...same "M.O," traveling. So Captain Mat turned the boat to a more westerly heading and before long there were spouts everywhere you looked...all humpback whales. We closely watched at least 12 humpback whales all totaled, but there were lots of additional spouts everywhere.
One of the many whales in the humpback pool breached, slapped its pectoral flippers and even threw its massive tail around. This was the wake up call we all needed after a full trip of humpback whales that were traveling and not fussing around. Everyone was out of their seats whistling and applauding every trick the whale showed us. It was a fabulous "grande finale" to an epic sunny summer day.
You can click on the "Map This" button in the upper right to see a map of where we went today.
A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) slaps its long "wing" (pectoral flipper) down on the ocean surface. Secret whale watching code: "pect slap."
