20.10.2017- Gifts from the Atlantic

The conditions out at sea were marvellous as we sped out this morning on the Stenella. Our tour began with a sighting of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins which, personally, gave me alot of joy because I hadn’t seen these animals in a while and was hoping to see them again before they head off to warmer waters. As always, the animals were remarkably charming and interactive. The group was quite large which allowed the guests to enjoy the company of the dolphins for a long time while the crew was already preparing to speed off to the next sighting. Our second encounter was with Bottlenose dolphins before encountering a peaceful Sperm whale calf in close proximity to its wary mother. Despite the natural maternal caution towards the vessel on the part of the large animal, they approached the Stenella and slowly drifted past us leaving the whole boat silently watching in awe.

My second trip today was on the Ribeira Brava and our search for animals took place on a windy and choppy ocean. This didn’t spoil the mood on board, on the contrary; our guests laughed with delight as the vessel rode high and low over the high swell. We had a guest on board who was celebrating her birthday and was especially excited to see whales. Well, ask and you shall receive. The Atlantic granted her wish on our first sighting, where we spotted a Bryde’s whale mother and her young calf. We then encountered the large group of spotted dolphins we had seen earlier in the day with a few young animals even following us while we were en route back to the marina.

by Paula Thake

Sightings

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Bryde’s whale

14:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bryde’s whale

Stenella

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales, Bryde’s whale

15:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bryde’s whale

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