04.01.2024 – On shore sightings

The weather once again did not make things easy for our team today. Amidst the choppy waters and strong west wind, our spotter was able to locate a pod of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) around 250m off the coastline. This sounds very close and believe me, it is! But it seems that’s where the preferred prey of the dolphins was this morning and the pod raced after it in coordinated movements at the surface, which included a few impressive leaps. The wind even died down shortly before the sighting, allowing us to appreciate all of the action under comfortable conditions.

It isn’t rare to encounter these incredibly smart cetaceans by the coast and our sighting was even shared by guests who were joining us on our afternoon tour from land. However, before we sped off for our tour later on in the afternoon the wind picked up again, this time from the east. East wind is often stronger than the west wind and made finding this tiny pod near Cabo Girão impossible for our crew, particularly for our traditional boat. Our guests enjoyed the wild ride nonetheless and our crew was once again humbled by the rapid and unexpected changes that come with working out at sea. 

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:30 Bottlenose dolphins

14:30 No sighting

Stenella 

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins

13:30 No sighting