08.06.2022 – Our ocean

Today is World Oceans Day, a day dedicated to the celebration and protection of our oceans. The Atlantic has been so generous to our team these last years so we always use the day to organise a little something to help raise awareness on ocean issues. This year our guide Fatima together with our Loja ladies set up a little documentary viewing in our shop for people to relax and enjoy learning about sea life through various clips.

Out on the Atlantic, our guests got a taste of the incredible diversity of marine life our  oceans have to offer during all our tours. Our team had sightings of several different cetacean species including a dispersed pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), two large Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and an extremely timid Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), a rare sighting here in Madeira!

This morning our Stenella crew had the pleasure of accompanying three free diving professionals onto the Atlantic; underwater photographers Judith van der Griendt and Diederik van den Berg and free diving world record holder Nanja van den Broek. These three have ample experience with cetaceans and use their underwater encounters with the animals to raise awareness on the threats faced by these magnificent ocean dwellers. Nanja is also an ambassador for Plastic Soup Foundation, which is dedicated to educating the public on plastic pollution, a problem which is at the center of awareness campaigns for world oceans day.

Meanwhile on the Ribeira Brava, our guests got a taste of the plastic problem in our oceans. A young Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) was entangled in a fishing net and, with the help of some generous guests, our crew managed to release her. Apart from enjoying beautiful sightings at sea our team is also consistently confronted with these sobering realities and it’s our duty to help where we can.

In the afternoon a school of spotted dolphins was discreetly heading west from Funchal and our team searched far and wide before finding them just two miles off the coast of Ribeira Brava. These curious dolphins gave our team a dynamic and fun finale for this incredible day! Thank you Atlantic Ocean!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Fin whales

14:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins

Stenella

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Humpback whale

15:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins