[CINC] April 2 on the Vanguard

[MARILYN FRANEY]

The morning trip left Channel Islands Harbor with only 6 passengers aboard. Those who stayed away for fear of bad weather did themselves a disservice - the seas were exceptionally calm, the day was comfortably cool and the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. Perfect whale watching weather to view the pods of Orcas we encountered on the back side of Anacapa. It appeared to be 3 pods of Orcas, which eventually swam together to form one larger pod. Individual Orcas of all sizes put on a great show with up close viewing of many flukes and high arches. Altogether we determined that the total number was approximately 20. Quite a sight!

The afternoon trip had 16 passengers, many of whom had heard about the Orcas and were excited to see them. The Orcas had been heading northwest, however, and were probably long gone by the time we returned to Anacapa. This time we encountered a lone Humpback who cooperated with a show of its tail on every deep dive and a proceeded at a very slow pace so we were able to get many great looks.

No dolphins on either trip, but both groups of passengers left the boat very happy with what they had seen.

Marilyn Franey
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