Hello Naturalists,
A.M. Trip:
1 Gray whale
1 Humpback?
2 Common dolphins pods ~ 2000 animals each
It was extremely cold this morning, but it didn’t matter to any of us, we were
ready to go! The Islander was full to capacity on this A.M. trip. Passengers
were locals as well foreigners. Represented were; Finland, Russia, India (folks
living in Chicago now), Alabama, Maryland, Colorado, San Francisco … Two of the
passengers wee infants only a few weeks old, and they slept the whole trip,
snug in baby carriers. There was a lot of excitement and expectations, since we
had learned that two Fin whales had been sighted yesterday.
We found ourselves in the midst of Commons twenty minutes after leaving Ventura
Harbor. The huge pod was very dispersed so we enjoyed them for quite a while.
Many people were taking pictures galore, and the kids on board were having a
field day. We then continued on our quest for whales, enjoying the day.
Although it was very cold, there was no wind, and the sun was shining.
At 11:-00 a.m. we spotted the Gray’s spout, north east of Anacapa Is. The shy
whale went under and we waited, and waited, until ’she’ came up 180 degrees
from first sighting, before going under and ‘vanishing’ from the area, she was
heading south. Twenty minutes later the Humpback was spotted but we could not
locate it. Captain Luke then took us around Arch Rock which is always a treat,
but there were no sea lions basking on the rocks as in summer. He then headed
way out south east, from where, out in the distance, we could see all three
sections of the Anacapa lined up. Then we headed back to harbor. Although the
sea was calm the entire trip, I unfortunately had a bad headache and was
feeling very weak, as a result of not having taken the time to recuperate fully
from a bad cold I’ve had since last Tuesday morning. I was hoping to get well
and avoid canceling the trip. My understanding was that a second Naturalist
would be on the boat today, but I was the only one and truly regretted not
feeling well to finish the day, so I cancelled the P.M. trip.
Thank you Captain Luke and crew for a great morning. And Happy New Year to
everyone!
NOTE: There was no iPad on the boat.
Maria Ornelas
maria@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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