[CINC] 09/26/13 Santa Cruz Island – Island Packers/ Island Adventure

[Chuck Carter]

AM Trip:
50
Common dolphins
4   Humpback
PM Trip:  
25   Common dolphins
The full
boat of passengers from Alaska, Michigan, Delaware and California experienced windy
conditions and 4 – 6‘ swells.   Captain Jimmy and the crew of Thomas, Jean and
Andrea spotted a feeding frenzy about 3 miles offshore.  We saw two cow/ calf pairs of Humpbacks up
close and about 50 dolphins along with hundreds of seabirds feasting on a large
school of bait fish.
The hike
on Santa Cruz Island rewarded about 10 guests with great views of the Island
Foxes, Island Scrub Jays and several endemic plant species.  We continued to Potato Harbor and back to Cavern
Loop.  About 10 other guests hiked on
their own and reported wonderful sightings including Island Foxes, a Yellow
Bellied Racer and Allen’s Hummingbirds.
On the
return trip we saw another 25 Common dolphins.  Winds were still 10 - 25 knots and swells were 6 – 8’.  Captain Jimmy’s excellent navigation, narration
and enthusiasm made this another great day in the Santa Barbara channel. 
Chuck
Carter
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.rain.org/pipermail/channel_islands_naturalist_corps/attachments/20130926/263629ec/attachment.html>