[CINC] WW Condor Express, 17Jan.,'13

[Kenneth A. Tatro]

Hi Folks,

9 Grays
100 Common Dolphins
Kagillion Sea Lions

Brown Pelican
Western Gull
Common Murre
Black-vented Shearwater

Beautiful clear cool day, with glassy waters with a slight unnoticeable swell leaving Santa Barbara Harbor, following our review of the resident Sea lions of the outer buoy, Capt Mat turned east, having spotted a small pod of common dolphins in that direction.

Soon we cam on the pod, sure enough they were very ready to play with the boat, and entertain the folks on board from all over the world.

Crystal clear waters showed many a dolphin well under water, dashing here and there, surfacing for the moment to catch a breath before they are back at it, playing the bow pressure wave to the great delight of the folks. We followed them for about 15-20 minutes before Capt Mat, and we, bid them good by and turned toward the SCI-SRI gap in search of the Grays.

After the beautiful run across this glassy lake called the Santa Barbara Channel we finally spotted two to three blows very near Santa Cruz Island east of Panted Cave. Approaching it turned out to be five Grays drifting slowly and not directly east. It seemed to be a "mating pod" cavorting here and there, even sometimes heading west and north, before finally settling into an eastward run toward Baja.

So we hung with them for a good time following all the activities with great interest, especially their rond about travels.

We broke off and again headed for the SCI-SRI Gap, but soon encountered another pod of four Grays, heading east, but they too seemed interested in cavorting along the way, much to the delight of the folks out to see the whales.

Many a fluke was provided by both of these pods, as they would rise and dive almost in sequence, one right after another. on a few occasions we were treated to three and four flukes rolling in at the same time. NICE. 

A very small crowd was on board, yet the world was well represented with folks form Denmark, England, Spain, Michigan, Colorado.

Captain Mat did his usual eagle eye spotting, along with Captain Dave and Matt handling crew and galley detail.

Shirley Johnson was my side kick Naturalist, taking on the PID task, which was a bit challenging as the Grays were fairly submerged most of the time, yet with some good opportunities for good shots.

Just another spectacular day on the Channel, ... it never gets old.

Ken Tatro

	Gentle winds, mellow seas, and always,
		     	… a fresh breath of salty air, ... to ya.