17.06.2026 – Madeira classics & rare visitors

We never know what to expect during our tours but unexpected visitors can always be expected…Todays tours were full of the classic summer visitors including Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) – beautiful whales who can only be identified through the threee rostral ridges on their snout that we got lucky to get a glimpse of today – as well as the inevitable encounter with the charming Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). Besides our summer visitors, we also had encounters with some good old residents; a pod of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the morning and a pod of Blainville’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) in the afternoon. These Madeira classics combined with their seasonal cetacean cousins are the expected lineup for the summer but, occasionally, the ocean surpasses us with a few of its rarer masterpieces.

The Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola), the largest bony fish alive known to man, also pays a rare visit. This shy ocean giant is absolutely harmless to humans and only shows its strange-looking face when feeding on prey at the surface. Its slow, almost clumsy swimming unfortunately makes it a frequent victim of boat collisions and we have had some sad sightings with these magnificent animals. Todays encounter was far from sad – our guests were thrilled to see this rare visitor, who helped wrap up a perfect day out on the Atlantic

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Bryde’s whales

13:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sunfish

Steno

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Bryde’s whales

13:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whales, Sunfish