[CINC] Condor Express 7-12

[TARA BROWN]

Great day on the water!
 
7 Humpbacks
1 Minke (did not see myself, but Captain Dave reported)
1,600 Common Dolphin
Lots of Sooty Sherwaters
 
We battled fog in the morning: however, when Captain Dave started following the ledge by Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands, we came upon a feeding frenzy of humpbacks, commons, sea lions, and birds.  The bait was mostly at the surface so the humpbacks stayed near the surface or would lunge feed from underneath.  At one point three humpbacks lunged upward through the same bait ball at the same time!  Several double tail flukes and one that approached the boat to "people watch", if only momentarily.  Two professors and several students from "Blue Horizons," the UCSB film and "new media" center joined Bob Perry and Hal Altman in taking photos --- so look on the Condor Express for some spectacular shots.
 
The sooty sherwaters are here on their 40,000 mile migration from New Zealand through Chile and to the Northern Hemisphere to feed.  The extensive summer trek is the longest animal migration ever recorded electronically.   Check out National Geographic's website to follow their course.
 
Captain Dave, Eric, Cassidy and Bob Perry were crew.
Hal Altman, Pat Hart and I as naturalists
 
- Tara Brown
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