[CINC] Vanguard April 12 = ORCAS

[sue johnston]

2 Gray (one calf)?
10 Fin Whale
20 + Orca
 
 
On April 12 I took a new volunteer out on a shadow trip. Swells were large as we exited Channel islands Harbor. Captain Jason asked everyone to be seated as he expected the ride to be rough. He said he thought the water would be calmer out by Anacapa and headed that way. Tough to interpret when you are asked to remain seated and the trip is so bumpy everyone is just holding on!  As we passed Arch Rock we saw a few California Sea Lions and the kids on board were happy. We had a group of students from Pinecrest in Van Nuys who were very knowledgeable.
 
Then spouts! We headed off East and soon were surrounded by whales. There were so many whales we literally could not count. We saw at least 10 Fin Whales and more then 20 Orca. No that is not a mistype TWENTY or more Orca. We had whales all around the boat and spouts as far as you could see. Orca approached close enough we could see the white side markings.
 
One child was so excited he kept telling me "It looks like a killer whale!" "Look there is another killer whale!" There were times as you looked out over the water you would see several dorsal fins as they swam upwards. It remained a G rated experience for the entire hour we stayed with the whales.
 
It was the most amazing experience. Several passengers commented it was like being in a National Geographic film. The crew was wonderful ... keeping comments to a minimum letting all just enjoy the experience. Lots of questions after. The crew mentioned over and over again how exceptional and unusual this was.
 
Sue
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