18.03.2022 – Far out

Our Ribeira Brava is back! What a joy to have our beautiful traditional boat, all freshly painted, back from the dry-dock and on the water. Our team set out with our complete fleet with guests on board that were all massively excited to encounter whales and dolphins at sea! Today, the Atlantic gave them both…but both our boats had to hear far out to sea to manage a sighting!

Our spotter found a large pod of resting Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) around 8 nautical miles off the coast of Paul do Mar. We had met the same group yesterday as they were heading west and already assumed that the pod had moved further out to sea. To understand this assumption on our end, it helps to consider the nature of the seascape in that part of the island. Sperm whales prefer to avoid “shallower” waters and the waters in front of Calheta are characterised by steep slopes that plummet into the deep, enabling these deep divers to approach the coastline. The waters in front of Paul do Mar, on the other hand, see the beginning of a large underwater plateau that stretches out around 3 nautical m miles from shore, prompting the Sperm whales to slingshot out into the open ocean.

You’d hardly expect coastal cetaceans like Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to follow the Sperm whales to such a distance offshore, especially in the company of their calves….but there they were! The small nursery pod was swimming energetically around the group of Sperm whales as we arrived, making the long trip all the more worthwhile. What a morning to kick off the return of our traditional boat, we are definitely ready for more!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales