Whale Watching Cruise With The Condor Express

by Stephen Haight

We drove to Santa Barbara early in the morning on a Saturday. There was still a bit of mist hovering over the Bay as we pulled in. A group of eager whale watchers were gathered on the pier, waiting to walk the plank down to the catamaran. The crowd was still wiping sleep from their eyes, unaware and excited about what we might encounter during this bright clear day- after all, we were searching for the largest, and some of the smartest mammals on earth. There were around thirty people that settled themselves into the main cabin below to have a continental breakfast of coffee, fruit and bagels with cream cheese, to get us fueled and ready for our trip out to sea.

As the crew took stock of the passengers and made ready, most of the passengers gathered on the two decks in preparation for our voyage around the Santa Barbara Bay on the Condor Express. This large catamaran was built specifically with our underwater mammalian cousins in mind: by relying on jet propulsion and no rudder, we were keeping in mind the safety of the whales and porpoises that frequently tag along for the ride. The owner has been a skipper since 1972, and has a great love of the behemoths of the deep.

Over the boat's speaker system our skipper, Fred Benku, announced our departure. It wasn't long after we left the docks that we were pulling out our long sleeves and zipping up our jackets. As we picked up speed, you could see the ride was exhilarating for the kids and adults alike. Our younger riders hung on fearlessly at the bow of the boat, eyes wide open, taking it all in.

It wasn't long before we saw a large school of dolphins feeding, frolicking and leaping out of the water. When they heard our engines they scurried towards us. The skipper slowed and told us that this was a game they like to play. The dolphins darted in and out of our wake just below us, as we all followed their movements and noticed that the tiny baby dolphins were keeping right up with their mothers and jumping up out of the water too.

The kids on the boat were glued to the front railing watching everything intently, and all of us had our eyes peeled on the horizon watching for any telltale signs of Humpback or Blue whales breaching the water or spouting high into the air. Soon we saw our first spray from a humpback, and we took pursuit in the general direction. Our skipper was amazing in his ability to intuit where they were going to come up after their dives, ranging from just a few minutes to upwards of ten minutes. We would coast into range and wait, often right over where they would surface, and there right in front of us would be a Blue behemoth, lazily surfacing and taking several deep breaths after each spout of water, sometimes circling and feeding under our boat, well aware that we were watching them. They seemed as curious about us as we were about them. As they dove down for their deep feedings, we would search the horizon for another sign of yet another species of whale, this time a Humpback Whale. As we came up to the spot where we had seen them breaching, we watched as one curious guy rose right up under us and surfaced alongside the boat, rolling on one side, peering one eye into the faces of the passengers aboard our boat. We were dumbfounded at the size and beauty and how close they would allow us to get to them.

By the time we were back at the docks, we were completely satisfied with our trip, and the amazing experience of seeing the largest creatures on earth.

This adventure aboard the Condor Express is available through The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific's Whale Watching Adventure Trips. These excursions are a must for the whole family. It's not only a day of education, but a day of adventure as well. You can find information on how to plan your own whale-watching trip by visiting http:

www.aquariumofpacific.org index.html. Enjoy your adventure.