28.04.2023 – Madeira blues

This spring has just been absolutely incredible! Our guests keep reading about our sightings and asking us questions like “When can we see this species?”, “When is the best time to go out?”. The answer is we simply do not know. A part of us always hopes that luck is on our side and that a few magnificent animals pass through our waters for our spotters to locate. A portion of luck is always part of the equation and today we were very lucky.

After enjoying lovely sightings with Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the morning, our spotter contacted us with the news that two Blue whales (Balaenoptera m.musculus) were swimming towards Calheta. Our crew made sure to leave the marina fast and, after a long search, had the two giants cruising alongside us. The enormous spout gave the giants away as well as their characteristic enormous grey/blue body, completely covered in cookie cutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis) bites. These deep sea critters occur in warm, oceanic waters near islands love taking a bite of larger marine animals and these scars often act as identification features for species like the blue whale. 

As we drove back to the marina, our team discovered two Sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) travelling west. These robust whales are known to be one of the fastest baleen whales, often accelerating up to 35km/h! The two Sei whales we saw today were simply cruising and we enjoyed an excellent sighting with them before slowly returning to the marina after this magnificent day. 

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Bottlenose Dolphins

13:30 Blue whales, Sei whales

Stenella 

09:30 Bottlenose Dolphins

13:30 Blue whales, Risso’s dolphins, Sei whales