08.04.2022 – Homage to Filipe

Today we had a morning in blue paradise. The sea had wonderful surprises in store for us. Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) were at their best. Our captain Filipe approached the animals with a lot of patience and sensitivity. The shy species of marine mammals in particular show whether a captain has experience, and how he deals with the animals determines the success of the sighting. Thanks to Filipe, we had a very close and wonderful encounter with the otherwise shy beauties today. The gentle and respectful approach is entirely in the hands of the captain. This makes for a special experience for guests, but it’s also good to know the animals are in great hands. Thank you, Filipe, for your profound knowledge; your open eye; your great skills with our marine mammal friends; for your amazing ability to create wonderful experiences for our guests and the guides through a respectful and gentle approach! You are great!

Afterwards, there was an encounter with another species of dolphin, which is no less beautiful to look at. The Short-beaked Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) are immediately noticeable because of their special body markings. A guest wondered about the attachment on the flukes of two dolphins. The Goose barnacles (Pedunculata) that settled there gave the dolphins a pretty hippie look. Goose barnacles feed on the plankton, which they filter out of the water at the rapid pace of the dolphins.

On the way, we also encountered Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and some Portuguese man-o-war (Physalia physalis).

The sea was calm in the afternoon as well. Also in the afternoon, we had Striped and Common dolphins. In addition, a Loggerhead turtle showed up and several Portuguese man-o-war. So we had another nice trip.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Striped dolphins, Common dolphins, Loggerhead turtle, Portuguese man-o-war

15:00 Common dolphins

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Striped dolphins, Common dolphins

15:00 Striped dolphins, Common dolphins, Loggerhead turtle, Portuguese man-o-war