2014 12-29 SB Channel
4 Humpback Sightings, 1 Gray Whale and Lots of Dolphins
Captain Dave found 2 humpback whales around mid-Channel. Actually, deck hand Augie spotted their spouts at least 5 miles away with his binoculars....what eyes! Of course one of the two humpbacks was our friend "Scarlet." You can see a photograph of Scarlet above and her propeller scar is visible on her back, posterior to the blow holes. She was actively feeding sub-surface today and her track was all over the place. At Santa Cruz Island we toured the sea cliffs and went in for a wonderful look at the world famous Painted Cave. Although there was a small swell from the southwest, the Cave was protected and calm. As the day progressed the easterly winds flopped out and it was very calm on the way home and back in Santa Barbara Harbor. Before leaving the Island, Augie spotted a single southbound gray whale and it was very cooperative. Great looks were had by all and some of the photos (I'll post them up at the end of the week) showed the gray whale's tall spout framed by the majestic sea cliffs of Santa Cruz. On the way back home we ran into two more humpback whales, and one of them was Scarlet again. There were long-beaked common dolphins around all day long, and Dave estimates at least 1,000 were observed in total.
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Read MoreCaptain Dave found 2 humpback whales around mid-Channel. Actually, deck hand Augie spotted their spouts at least 5 miles away with his binoculars....what eyes! Of course one of the two humpbacks was our friend "Scarlet." You can see a photograph of Scarlet above and her propeller scar is visible on her back, posterior to the blow holes. She was actively feeding sub-surface today and her track was all over the place. At Santa Cruz Island we toured the sea cliffs and went in for a wonderful look at the world famous Painted Cave. Although there was a small swell from the southwest, the Cave was protected and calm. As the day progressed the easterly winds flopped out and it was very calm on the way home and back in Santa Barbara Harbor. Before leaving the Island, Augie spotted a single southbound gray whale and it was very cooperative. Great looks were had by all and some of the photos (I'll post them up at the end of the week) showed the gray whale's tall spout framed by the majestic sea cliffs of Santa Cruz. On the way back home we ran into two more humpback whales, and one of them was Scarlet again. There were long-beaked common dolphins around all day long, and Dave estimates at least 1,000 were observed in total.
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A juvenile brown pelican soars across the mirror glass ocean.
Pelecanus occidentalis 2014 12-29 SB Channel-z-004
The bottom trawler "Sea Dragon" (a pun on their fishing method...dragging the bottom) has attracted hundreds of seabirds as the nets come up and non-target species are thrown back in the water injured or dead
vessel trawler Sea Dragon & seabirds 2014 12-29 SB Channel-014
