[CINC] Vanguard whale watching

[Maria G. Ornelas]

Hi Naturalists,

A.M. Trip:

37 passengers from Germany (Munich), Dallas Texas, Ventura, Oxnard and  
other
No whales
Feeding frenzy; Common dolphins, sea gulls, cormorants, sea lions and  
pelicans

It was a weather perfect day;  great visibility, calm seas, pleasant  
warm winds, and interested passengers with lots of questions. Captain  
Jason, Joel, Laurie, and Maria did their part in the best of  
disposition under such favorable conditions. Captain took us to Arch  
Rock, and then to the  back of Anacapa Is. The trip was uneventful  
until we were headed back to the harbor. That is when we came upon the  
feeding frenzy. The pelicans were most spectacular doing their  
powerful dives 20 feet from the boat. They dove one after another for  
about 10 minutes. Coming up to the surface to swallow fish they had  
caught. Both passengers and crew were mesmerized. The Commons (~ 200)  
were very active. As they would race the boat, they would 'flap' on  
their side. They were the favorite of many people I talked to. All  
were satisfied when we got back to the harbor.

P.M. Trip:
2 Gray whales
~ 250 - 300 Common dolphins

Captain Jason headed towards the west of Anacapa. Many of the  
passengers were European. I talked with a family from Estonia. There  
was a couple from Arkansas and another from Michigan. The 47  
passengers were treated to Common dolphins just 30 minutes out of the  
harbor. We caught up with this much larger and traveling pod of  
Commons. They stayed with us for about 20 minutes as passengers took  
pictures and video.
The 2 Grays we encountered in this area were southbound and traveling  
together. We got a good look at them. They dove several times and we  
were treated to at least 4 flukes. Enjoying the perfect weather and  
seeing the whales was the highlight of the afternoon trip.


Maria G. Ornelas
maria at rasnowpeak.com

          \ /                      \ /
´¯'·.¸¸..><((((º>.·´¯'·.¸¸.·´¯'·.¸><((({º>¸.·´¯'·.¸. ,.
          / \                      / \






-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.rain.org/pipermail/channel_islands_naturalist_corps/attachments/20110212/1777c8f1/attachment.html>