The Dolphins Steal The Show

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Shea and I took a quick day trip out to Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands National Park to do a little whale watching. We were searching for the migrating Gray Whales which can be seen in the Santa Barabara Channel at this time of year as they make their migration from Alaska to Mexico. For $32 dollars, we reserved spots on a 3 hour boat trip with Island Packers, a local outfitter in Ventura Harbor. We left Ventura Harbor at 9:30am and the crossing to Anacapa Island took about an hour. Along the way, we saw sea lions, pelicans, and other marine birds. However, the most abundant animal seen were the dolphins. For almost the entire duration of the crossing, it was as if the dolphins were constantly following us. Wherever you looked; towards the front of the boat, behind the boat, to the right or to the left; the dolphins seemed to be everywhere. Their fun loving spirit of jumping out of the water or swimming right next to the boat created such an excited buzz with everybody aboard. Since this was not one of the trips that actually landed on Anacapa Island, we just circled the island which had been transformed into a lush green paradise from all the recent rains. Once we were informed that 2 Grey Whales had been spotted, the entire boat rushed out to the decks in excited anticipation. The captain shut off the boat's engines while the guides directed us on where to look. We saw the faint spray coming from the whale's spout. Then a few seconds later we saw the classic whale image of it's tail breaching the water while the whale dove to the ocean bottom. For the next 15 minutes we watched the 2 whales repeat this routine before we eventually left them in peace and continued our journey back to the mainland. Clearly, the whales lacked the excitement and fun that the dolphins provided. We returned to Ventura Harbor at approximately 1pm. It was a fun and quick day excursion but clearly should be re-marketed as a dolphin watching trip.

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Photos

Anacapa Island
A very verdant Anacapa Island after all the recent rains