[CINC] Condor 9.21.08

[Carol C.]

	* 8+ Blues
	* 2 Humpbacks (Cow/Calf pair)
	* Mega pod of Common Dolphins
	* Naturalists on-board: Carol Celic, Debbie Shelley, and Eileen Avery (PID)An amazing day out on the water. The swells were high but seemed to subside as we got closer to Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa. We came across a couple of Blues who delighted the 29 passengers on board. 

I could see more whales in the distance, in particularly 2 that seemed to be blowing often. Captain Dave saw them too and decided to investigate, we were all glad he did. It turned out to be a cow/calf pair of Humpbacks! I could have sworn I recognized the cow, as she had this distinctive white stripe down her dorsal, but the last time a few months ago she did not have a calf with her. They stayed right near the boat during their dives. All of a sudden 2 Blues appeared at the bow at a very quick pace, we were surrounded by both Blues and Humpbacks! It seemed as though both pairs were hurrying to meet up when they were around the boat. We then found another pair of Blues that seemed to be resting, then all of a sudden picked up their pace and decided to cross the bow at a pretty good clip, one of them even brought its' head out of the water as it crossed us.

After the amazing viewing of the whales we began to head to Santa Cruz Island, but not before checking out a mega pod of Long Beak Commons. There were so many calves and a bunch of acrobatic ones in the bunch!

Another amazing day of whale watching!

~ Carol
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