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CONDOR Cruises, A Legend in Santa Barbara!
For over 30 years CONDOR Cruises has been a part of the Santa
Barbara waterfront. Captain Fred Benko started the SEA Landing
in March of 1973 as a charter service offering sport fishing,
 diving,
harbor cruises, and limited whale watching. At this time the
Pacific Gray Whale population was extremely endangered and
estimated to be only 8,300 animals. Fortunately, with time
this number steadily grew and by 1985 the herd as over 15,000
individuals. It was then that Capt. Benko sold the SEA Landing
and went into whale watching pretty much full time.
As the whale watching business grew CONDOR Cruises upgraded
its smaller sport fishing charter boats with the original
CONDOR, which Capt. Benko built in 1979. Then in 2002 he replaced
the CONDOR with the all-new CONDOR  EXPRESS,
a state of the art catamaran powered by high efficiency diesel
engines driving water jets. This boat is the epitome of comfort,
speed, and safety and was specially designed to be environmentally
friendly and safe around marine animals.
Today, with the CA Gray whale population at a level similar
to their pre-whaling numbers (18,000-26,000), and the recent
appearance of Humpback and Blue whales during the summer months
(since 1992), whale watching aboard CONDOR Cruises has evolved
into a year-round adventure.
With thirty plus years of experience, over 100,000 satisfied
passengers, and a love and appreciation for the ocean and
its  inhabitants,
CONDOR Cruises has evolved into one of the most successful
whale watching and private charter boat operations found anywhere
in the U.S.
CONDOR Cruises is proud to work with a number of scientists
and research organizations to document and study the vast
and diverse animal life within the Santa Barbara Channel.
Some of the organizations we work with include:
In additional to research, the CONDOR EXPRESS serves as a
major platform for elementary and middle school marine education
programs. In the Los Marineros program, fifth-graders get
to go whale watching and observe firsthand the incredible
diversity of habitats and species found in the Channel. And
in 2002, CONDOR Cruises partnered with the Marine Science
Institute at UC Santa Barbara and NOAA's Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary to create a Floating Marine Lab Program that
offers an educational research cruise for 6th-8th grade students.
During these cruises students experience a rare and unparalleled
glimpse into the complex and fascinating underwater world
directly off the Santa Barbara coast. Working under the direction
of MSI professional staff and UCSB undergraduates, students
and teachers conduct marine biological and oceanographic research
in the Channel that is related to ongoing research at UCSB.
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