2014 09-23 SB Channel
There were patches of fog in Santa Barbara Channel be we avoided all of it until we were practically home and safely back inside Santa Barbara Harbor. The sea surface was glassy calm. It was a warm and sunny day - perfect for locating those elusive cetacean spouts. Captain Dave and Deckhand Augie have 4 really sharp eyes between them and they both were "on their game" today. Out of the five humpback whales we watched closely today, one was Top Notch (the young humpback with a notch in its dorsal fin), and two more were "White Pects" (a juvenile with pectoral fins white on both sides) and its mother. Some of the whales had over 12 minute bottom times, and others were around 5 minutes. The stage was set with crystal clear blue water, and before long the ever-acrobatic and energetic "White Pects" took off and breached about a dozen times in a row (I'll count the exact number later when I process the images). One breach was so close to the Condor Express that it rendered my 300mm lens useless (too close) and sent spray on to the lower deck. Luckily the lower deck was populated by some very dedicated ocean loving people including a contingent of American heros from the USS Preston, and a team of hard core dolphin and whale enthusiasts. For them, this was the spray of a lifetime! Baptism by humpback, sort of. Later it slapped its white pects on the water. On the subject of dolphins, we watched at least 1,500 individuals in both large and small pods. Again, the water clarity enhanced the sightings and all of the various antics of these smaller cetaceans were visible to all. This was definitely one of the best days we've had so far this season. The parking lot near the launch ramp is full of lobster traps getting ready for the season to open next week.
- - - - - -
Image 1 of 2 in a row: This young humpback whale breached so close to the boat that what you see here is all that would "fit" in my lens. Look closely and you will see the eye wide open at the top.
Megaptera novaeangliae breach extreme close up eyeball open 2014 09-23 SB Channel-213
Megapteranovaeangliaebreachextremecloseeyeballopen2014Channel213
Humpback waterfall
Megaptera novaeangliae 2014 09-23 SB Channel-118
Signature tail flukes
Megaptera novaeangliae 2014 09-23 SB Channel-121
Three humpback whales and spouts
Megaptera novaeangliae 2014 09-23 SB Channel-103
Humpback calf slaps the water with its white pectoral fins
Megaptera novaeangliae 2014 09-23 SB Channel-282
Humpback calf slaps the water with its white pectoral fins
Megaptera novaeangliae 2014 09-23 SB Channel-289
