There was a moderate chop running through the Channel all day today, and the sun was bright ... the skies clear and blue. The ol Condor ran out to the feeding grounds and did not disappoint our guests. For several days now there have been balls of very small, young northern anchovies being chased down by common dolphins and humpback whales. Today we had a vast area of common dolphins and it was impossible to count them all. Suffice it to say there were many many thousands of animals that had come to the dinner table. Approximately 5 humpbacks were there too, feeding below the surface. The region was thick with sooty shearwaters and other sea birds. After a couple of hours we ran to the east and found another, small but still robust region of dolphin activity along with another humpback. At one point, early in the trip, a humpback that was moving forward at a pretty decent speed lifted its head, then the entire front half of its torso out of the water, as if simulating the leaping dolphins. It was not a breach per se, nor was it a simple chin slap .... but it was very impressive. There were a few other breaches off in the distance that we saw out of the corner of our eyes. So the food is spread out and there is a nice line up of whales to enjoy as we move from one hot spot to another.

"Epic." That's the word Captain Dave used to summarize the sightings made on today's trip. The ol Condor headed into more giant balls of bait fish near the surface and all that goes with it. At least 2,000 common dolphins were actively feeding on the bait non-stop. At least seven humpback whales were there too. They were lunge feeding on the bait on the surface and more. Behaviors included tail throws, lob tails, pectoral fin slapping, and many breaching humpbacks too.

Captain Dave reminds us that today (Monday) and tomorrow the old Condor has been booked up with private charters. Our next public trip will be Wednesday. On today's trip, a short 3-hour adventure, 3 humpbacks were seen in the Channel and one was a very animated, breaching like crazy, beast. Lots of bait balls again in the area. Make your plans to get out there and see the spectacle first hand starting again on Wednesday.

El Capitan Dave reports bright sun and a moderate bump on the water in the Channel today, but the ol' Condor encountered 11 humpback whales out on the feeding grounds. Several were extremely curious about the boat and came up to make introductions. One individual was the same one that had the prop scar seen yesterday. En route 50 common dolphins rode the bow and had fun.

Captain Dave reports from the West End of Santa Cruz Island, surrounded by humpback whales. He says at least 5 at the island that came up and make friendly introductions, plus one juvenile that breached over and over for at least a half an hour straight. Two more humpbacks were observed closer to shore, and you guessed it, one of them was our old pal "Rope." Rope's friend, sadly, had fresh propeller scars across its back. Two pods of common dolphins totaling over 500 animals were also encountered.

After a few days of gale winds in the Channel, the Condor sailed out to the Islands today in search of beasts. Here's the talley: 5 humpback whales, 2 blue whales. Amongst the humpback behavioral repertoire we had the good fortune to have one of them adopt the boat. It spy hopped and generally swam around introducing itself first hand to all on board. Others of its species were lunge feeding on the surface, according to CINC naturalist Maura who reported this to the corps. Let's hope the calm seas stay around for a while!

The 2012-2013 gray whale migration season has officially ended for the Condor and Condor Express team. We are now off to deeper waters in search of humpbacks, blues, minkes, and fin back whales. Today was glassy, calm, overcast and foggy for the first 2 trips of the day. The sun came out with a light breeze in the late afternoon. Even though the migration is slowing down, the mighty Condor prevailed on all three trips. Here are the counts: 7 gray whales (including 3 cow-calf pairs), 1 lone minke whale (seen only by yours truly out by Platform C), Lots of migrating loons and brandts were flying west all day. Several of the gray whale sightings involved whales making near-approaches to the Condor.

That's right. Tomorrow, Saturday May 11 is the last scheduled gray whale trip for this season. Henceforth we are out to the open Channel and the Islands in search of the big boys. We expect a multitude of frisk humpbacks to be out there ready to greet the Condor and its passengers. It is the changing of the seasons, marking the arrival of early summer. Looking back, this has indeed been a spectacular gray whale season, both south and north bound. Wow.

Captain Dave reports 1 gray whale cow-calf pair today along the coast, along with 20 bottlenose dolphins and about 50 common dolphins. The weather and sea conditions were nice. The old Condor is a "cetacean magnet" just like its younger sister ship. Naturally it helps to have an experienced veteran whale expert like Dave Beezer holding down the helm.

My apologies to Bob Dylan for that title, but the seasons are changing and today is quite symbolic thereof. The very tail end of the gray whale migration is winding down, and thus we saw 4 whales (2 cow-calf pairs) along the coast today. But having had a fabulous humpback experience on the special island trip yesterday, Captain Dave left the grays and pushed offshore to find, you guessed it, 4 nice friendly humpback whales. This weekend marks the end of our coastal gray whale trips, and starting Monday, May 13 the Condor will get back out to our Island whale watch schedule, with daily departures at 9am sharp...and a return time approximately 3 pm (depending on the weather, sea conditions, and abundance of cetaceans). And thus we enter the early summer season...and the whale "times" are indeed, "a-changin." Oh, and en route to the humpbacks, Dave reports about 500 common dolphins.