[CINC] Condor Express, Sat, 9/27

[Bart Francis]

Sitings:  500 Common Dolphins

             4 Orcas

 

Despite a heavy ground fog stretching all the way from SB harbor to the
islands and beyond, we headed toward the gap between SCI and SRI with about
35 passengers (plus several representatives of the American Cetacian Society
(?) out of San Pedro) in search of Blues. Visibility was often less than a
mile, but ¾ the way across we encountered a large pod of common dolphins
doing their thing. Twenty minutes later, we almost ran into 2 orcas (one was
the male with the floppy dorsal fin) possibly just finishing a meal below
the surface. Two more females were soon spotted, and we stayed with them for
about 45 minutes as they dove repeatedly and milled around the boat.

We weren’t so lucky in being able to spot any blues with the bad visibility,
so we headed over to the west end of SCI and made our way past the cliffs to
Painted Cave before heading back to harbor. Not a very scenic trip due to
the fog, but the passengers were pretty happy about the orcas.

Bart Francis

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