19.03.2018 – A second chance

Our guests on this morning’s tour were blessed with some warm, sunny weather and milder conditions out at sea, very much in contrast to the last days. We left the harbor and headed east for the waters outside of the small fishing village of Madalena do Mar where we encountered a herd of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in a travel dive. The group was mixed with large, offshore Bottlenose dolphins bow-riding in front of our zodiac and young, coastal animals exposing their pinkish-white bellies as they leapt near our vessel. Bottlenose dolphin herds can be sighted all-year round in Madeira and form part of a large, oceanic population that travels opportunistically around the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike the relatively fixed social groupings of Pilot whales and Sperm whales, dolphins tend to exist in so-called “fission-fusion” societies where pod composition is subject to constant change in accordance to a number of group-internal and external factors. During the sighting we also saw a young Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) basking in the sunshine and encountered a Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) gliding peacefully at the surface. I was thrilled for everyone on board that we had these encounters but was especially happy for two particular guests. They had joined us on a previous trip where the harsh conditions eventually lead to no sighting but, nonetheless, they decided to give us a second chance. Thank you for joining us again, it showed us that you understood our sincere and genuine effort on the last trip. It’s always extremely rewarding to have such guests on board.

by Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead turtle, Portuguese man-of-war