Here we go again: 16 days to cycle 1700 lumpy miles solo & unsupported from Seattle to San Diego. Hoping to raise funds for the Royal British Legion & Bloodwise: wheels turn on September 10th...please help these great causes!
Monday 25 September 2017
Days (Off)...Santa Barbara
Today was an 'off bike' day as promised: well, promised by myself to myself in order that I could get out and hopefully have a chance at seeing a whale or two. So it was a meet at 0930hrs to register for Condor (ahhh...Condor...) Cruises. Bit of a result as seeing as how it was Monday, there were only 30 punters: so the boat was one quarter-full. We wouldn't need a bigger one.
'Bye losers! Er, see you in 4 hours I hope.
Flawless sea, which the crew said was not normally the case: would we be as lucky as they had been yesterday seeing 7 Hump Backs and 1 Blue Nose (non-Evertonian, sorry Neil) whale? Look on...
"Men, we are here. Jerry is here and here. We'll blast the bridge here and deny him escape!"
We didn't hang around getting out out to sea, despite this being a 4 1/2 hour outing.
Top lolling-about action.
There's always one. Excellent work!
Before anytime at all, we were joined by dolphins who are the biggest attention-seekers and always great value! No apologies for the myriad of photos that follow...
And so it begins...
Pretty obvious the crew knew what they were about: the warmer waters here are great for whales feeding on krill and fish: when the females get a big bun in the oven, they'll leg it down to around Costa Rica to give birth, apparently. Bit like a budget 'Life On Earth', this.
"Just how high has that dolphin leapt?"
In a few minutes the crew said that they had spotted one and possibly two whales: all I could see was the water but in two or three minutes lo and behold there was a big old spout of water...wow!
Apparently the boats can manoeuvre within 100 yards, but if the whale wants to get closer then that's okay. Er, cheers...
This sighting was met with gasps and shrieks: I can only apologise but it was a big deal, hah-hah! Even at a distance, their slow and deliberate moves are a wonder. In total we saw 17 Hump Backs, according to the crew, who are obliged to log everything.
They surface when feeding: when you see their tales arc down, they will submerge for a few minutes. Grace itself.
Go on son!
I can only wish that I had bigger camera artillery with me but this was a joy regardless: no-one on board was unmoved.
Even the Galley staff legged-it.
They included a quick look at a cave on Santa Cruz Island. Thanks.
Looks how I feel, hah-hah!
On the way back in we saw a couple more Hump Backs: just a joy to see!
Wow!
Fair dos: because of the nature of these things, there is a fair amount of 'Hit & Hope': as I said, the crew have a ton of experience to draw upon but I reckon you could hear a gasp of relief once the first whale had been sighted, as that voided their 'no see/ go again' guarantee, hah-hah!
'Life On Earth' pt.2.
From there it was a case of sauntering, mooching, drinking, eating, pretending to understand American Football and failing and then back to this nonsense!
Same old lags, hah-hah! Bet it's a nice venue though.
Just to keep you fully in the picture, so to speak. Or in case I'm kidnapped.
So it's a tricky one into Santa Monica tomorrow: if that goes okay then it's 'San Diego or Bust' on Thursday: 140 miles. Top-notch planning as per, hah-hah!
If you can spare the price of a posh coffee or a poor-quality pint, then please steer yourselves to HERE!
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