28.06.2022 – Fluke!!
July 2, 2022
30.06.2022 – Flipper came to visit!
July 5, 2022
Our boats moved out onto a vast, flat ocean this morning, which was so calm that small movements of fish could be seen at the surface. Summer has arrived so many more of these mornings with glassy seas can be expected in the next trips. Across the deep blue expanse of the Atlantic ocean, our spotters eyes soon fell on a few spouts 5 nautical miles outside Calheta. A pod of Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) were moving west and engaging in several foraging dives as they did. Both our boats managed to observe the animals lift their enormous flukes to dive into the abyss, before our eyes returned to the rest of the ocean to see another surface. One animal even breached leaving an enormous splash at the surface before curiously gliding by our boats.
Other surprises were in store for our team on the calm ocean this afternoon. A group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), our curious little summer dolphins, was the sighting for our guests aboard our traditional boat on this hot, sunny afternoon. The species prefers warmer waters and belongs to the most frequently sighted species at this time of the year. It was a beautiful day with perfect conditions at sea!
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Sperm whales
14:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins
Stenella
10:00 Sperm whales
