It was an absolutely perfect day in the Santa Barbara Channel, complete with the SB GRAND SLAM! FOUR baleen whale species + common dolphins. Here's how our day went,
We headed towards the feeding area where all of our whales have been hanging out for about the last week. To our surprise, we went from 20+ whales here to 2. We enjoyed great looks with two tail-fluking humpback whales. Whales often feed in one area of the channel until they gobble up all the food and continue searching for more. We knew they were around, it was just a matter of where. We ran the '07 line East along the front side of Santa Cruz Island. We soon found a small group of common dolphins and enjoyed spending time in their presence. We saw more active humpbacks in the distance but decided to continue toward a known blue whale feeding ground. Just our luck, we soon found a pair of giant blues! The skies lifted and we enjoyed this pair of giants in glassy seas and sunny skies. Their iridescent blue sheen awed all of our passengers. A few miles to the north, in the shipping lanes, another feeding hotspot included 3+ more giant blues and a small fin whale. All had Great looks as one of the blues displayed its massive flukes. We sped home towards the harbor and were surprised to find a small juvenile gray at the entrance! It was a perfect way to round out our incredible day in the channel!
Until Next Time,
The SBWW Crew
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