Fearless Travel

A small chain of islands are visible off the coast of Santa Barbara county (and parts of Ventura county)  which are called the “channel islands” and while they hold their own mystique (which I’ll get into in another post), they also serve to direct the ocean currents through the Santa Barbara channel. The water through the channel is cold and chock-full of nutrients that are washed down the coast of North America from as far north as Alaska. This draws all sort of creatures, but most spectacularly it draws WHALES. Blue Whales, Humpback Whales, Gray Whales, and even Orcas (hunting seals and sea lions which thrive on the fish which eat said nutrients) are drawn to the channel because of the abundance of food available year ’round. There are several companies which make their living offering tours of various quality to tourists - the one I’ve been most satisfied with is Condor Express , out of the port of Santa Barbara, though there are lots more that offer comparable service both in and around Santa Barbara.

One catch, though, is that they are fairly expensive. A way around that if you’re a budget-conscious traveler (and who isn’t these days) is to check out Santa Barbara organizations like the Natural History Museum - why? Because they sometimes offer programs related to the ocean and environmental awareness programs which can significantly reduce the costs of marine excursions. For example, in May 2008, there was a program sponsored by the Museum in conjunction with Save Our Shores , a non-profit environmentalist organization,  where ordinary citizens and tourists could take a cruise to see the natural oil and gas leaks in the Santa Barbara channel and their effects on the marine ecology, including adaptations by the local fauna. During that cruise - which was on a Condor Express catamaran - we saw sea lions, dolphins, sea otters, jellyfish, herons, cranes, other sea birds and (most importantly) a mother Humpback whale and her calf feeding on the krill in the channel. Over full with the abundant food, both whales ventured toward our boat to check us out - it was a mind-blowing experience!

Final analysis: The tour was two and a half hours and cost $15 each passenger. The regular price of a cruise through the same company costs anywhere from $48 to $94 per adult passenger. Even at the “spring” season rates, we paid less than 1/3 of the normal ticket price.

Lesson #1 when visiting Santa Barbara; find ways to reduce your costs by linking up with non-profit or public education services:

Other Links:

http://www.sbnature.org/seacenter/ - TY Warner (of Beanie Baby fame) Sea Center

http://ce.sbcc.edu/events.htm - Santa Barbara City College’s adult extension programs

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