Whale Diary

09:00 - Last night's wind slowed down a bit, but we could still feel the effects at sea today. It was choppy and splashy and we were having a great time navigating the waves. We headed out with two boats and both started off the trip with a harbour porpoise sighting! One boat saw 1 and the other one briefly had 3 of them zooming past. Then we went further into the bay. One boat came across 2 white-beaked dolphins that were swimming very slowly. They were not spending much time at the surface and seemed to be sleeping, so we did not stay with them very long. After some more exploring, a minke whale showed up close by. The sighting only lasted one surface sequence, before we received word of a humpback whale also not far away. We checked out that whale briefly. Meanwhile, our other boat spotted a blow - then two - and then three!! They had found not just one but 3 humpback whales! This was already extremely cool, but then we recognised one of these humpbacks as Davy Jones II, one of our beloved regulars! This was so great. Both boats joined by this sighting. Conditions did get a little more adventurous, so we started making our way back. It was very splashy and we got caught in the rain a little too. When we arrived back with everyone soaked, but big smiles on their faces!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Sam, Captain Kylie & Guide Hannah

12:00 - The rain of the morning subsided as we set sail this afternoon, which allowed for some better visibility. After a short sail we spotted one harbor porpoise. This individual was a focused feeder and so after a few surfaces they disappeared and so we continued. We sailed to an area that had an abundance of bird life and found another two more harbor porpoises. Then, we spotted the blow of one humpback whale! As we got closer, we realized that this individual was accompanied by three white-beaked dolphins. The dolphins appeared to be having more fun than our humpback, as the humpback started to trumpet in annoyance while the dolphins jumped all around them. This led to some exciting behaviors as the humpback did some tail-slapping, threw their tail side to side ad even showed off their pectoral fins. Meanwhile, the dolphins were going back and forth between inspecting us and ´playing´ with the humpback. After some fabulous fluke dives and a wonderful encounter, it was time to set our sights for port. As we were leaving the area the dolphins started bow riding and followed us for quite a while before swimming off. Hopefully the humpback could relax a bit as we inadvertently took the dolphins away from where they were feeding. What an exciting encounter making for an excellent afternoon!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Sam

15:00 - This afternoon the skies had lightened and we had some sun brightening up the clouds as we sailed out. After a bit of a sail we encountered 2 humpback whales  and a pod of 8 white-beaked dolphins! Just like with the afternoon tour the dolphins were seemingly having a great time while the humpbacks were not as pleased with the company. These humpbacks were different from the individual we had the tour before and one of them was the one and only Davey Jones II! As the dolphins played around they seemed to alternate their interest from our boat to the humpbacks and back again! The annoyance of the humpbacks could be heard through their trumpeting. They further proved their annoyance by pectoral slapping, rolling, swishing their tails back and forth. There was also one minke whale that was periodically popping up. We also had some spy hopping where one of them raised their head out of the water. Between the dolphins jumping and humpbacks rolling, we truly had a fantastic encounter. After this brilliant showing we continued to see who else was around. We spotted the blow and fluke dive of another humpback whale. As we awaited this humpback we had a pod of 4 harbor porpoises that kept popping up around us! It was so cute to see them swim through the water and through the waves. The humpback did not pop up again although another minke whale popped up a few times. With the great porpoise encounter we set our sights to port. With all four commonly sighted cetaceans spotted, and a very entertaining encounters, we ended the day with big smiles on our faces!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Sam