[CINC] Captain Don's Sunday June 8 Trip!

[Christopher Carlson]

Hi again naturalists!

Whoops, another delayed report by me! This time I just plum forgot about
reporting. Maybe a bit late to be of interest, but if you're utterly bored,
maybe you're still reading?

Sightings:
-150 to 200 Common Dolphins
-25 Risso's Dolphins

Just one trip by the Capt. on Sunday, 12-2:30. Keith Hale and I were the
naturalists for the day. Humpbacks had been spotted all week but were fewer
in number on Saturday, and, true to the trend, not a one was spotted on a
cloudy-ish day out in the water. The people were all pleased to see the vast
Common Dolphin number, however, which sparked a lot of genuine interest.
And, best of all, a good grouping of Risso's Dolphins were spotted! This is
the first time Captain Don had spotted some in at least a year, so it was
quite a rare sighting! I had never seen one before, so it was a real treat
for me to see their blunt heads and scarred bodies. Joy! It was also the
first time the crew had seen them so far inland. I don't have the GPS
coordinates for them off the top of my head, but they couldn't have been
further than two or three miles offshore. Wikipedia says (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risso%27s_Dolphin ) that these guys like to
stay just off the shelf at very steep slopes, so this was kinda unusual.
Good for the Risso's, breaking the stereotype.

The people all seemed to have a good time. We had a lot of Santa Barbarians,
but also one from Detroit, one from England, and a few scattered others from
around the area. Man, I sure have encountered a lot of Brits on my trips!
One person was a tad outspoken in his views against a government-run park
for the Channel Islands, but, staying true to form, I buttoned my lip and
allowed him to keep his opinions. ...Well, I did mention at a later point
that the park had done a lot to reintroduce and protect native flora and
fauna. But then, the lip was rebuttoned! He was a good bloke though. I will
say, on an aside, a lot of people ask about sharks, and if it's likely we'll
find one, or what kinds are out there, or if I've ever ridden one (well,
maybe not that last one). They are quite popular among the...uh...populace.
This lecture on Tuesday will be a good one to clue us in!

The afternoon trip was canceled due to no whale sightings and whatever. I
disembarked the boat to overhear some rather disappointed customers speaking
with the booth attendant. I'm sure he had a good day!

Anyways, yep, that was all she wrote for Sunday! Now, if you'll excuse me, I
have to go wallow in pity about the Lakers loss tonight. :-\

Have a great weekend, crew! :-)

Chris Carlson
chrisjamescarlson at gmail.com
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