2017 04-27 SB Coast
-
Once again the marine weather forecast was for high winds and choppy seas. As he has so many times in the past, Captain Dave surveyed the situation and decided to move ahead with caution. We left with a load of passengers for our 9 o'clock whale watch. Total sightings for the trip included: 4 gray whales and 2 humpback whales. Conditions along the kelp superhighway were fantastic and so were the sightings.
9 AM
After leaving the dock and turning west, we immediately sighted a mother gray whale and her calf. Although they were a mile off the beach at the start, they soon turned in and we followed them in the kelp up as far as Hope Ranch. Here we start observing a second gray whale mother and her calf and followed them up to Goleta pier.
Some great gray whale interactions occurred and then Dave decided to go out to deeper water and explore. Soon the crew had located two eastbound humpback whales. They were both quite large and pretty much stayed on a migratory course with not much playing around. Considering the fact that the waves and wind were a bit stronger out in deep water, it was fun to see these two big animals breaking through the swells.
----- ---- --- -- - >< 0>
-
Read MoreOnce again the marine weather forecast was for high winds and choppy seas. As he has so many times in the past, Captain Dave surveyed the situation and decided to move ahead with caution. We left with a load of passengers for our 9 o'clock whale watch. Total sightings for the trip included: 4 gray whales and 2 humpback whales. Conditions along the kelp superhighway were fantastic and so were the sightings.
9 AM
After leaving the dock and turning west, we immediately sighted a mother gray whale and her calf. Although they were a mile off the beach at the start, they soon turned in and we followed them in the kelp up as far as Hope Ranch. Here we start observing a second gray whale mother and her calf and followed them up to Goleta pier.
Some great gray whale interactions occurred and then Dave decided to go out to deeper water and explore. Soon the crew had located two eastbound humpback whales. They were both quite large and pretty much stayed on a migratory course with not much playing around. Considering the fact that the waves and wind were a bit stronger out in deep water, it was fun to see these two big animals breaking through the swells.
----- ---- --- -- - >< 0>
-
Gray whale calf in the kelp.
Eschrichtius robustus calf in Macrocystis CLOSE 2017 04-27 SB Coast-a-044
