18.09.2026 – Kryptonite

This might be obvious to most of you but, as land mammals, we are not equipped with the sensory hardware needed out on the ocean. Vision is our primary sense and this sense is severely compromised under certain conditions, below a certain depth and after the sun sets. Dolphins and sea birds use their acoustics and sense of smell, respectively amongst other things, to find what they need out on the ocean and are usually successful. Us humans only have our eyes – so we work with what we have to find whales and dolphins out there. And, thankfully, what we have are two incredible spotters.

The ocean conditions did not make it easy for them today. While our crew at sea struggles with finding animals with wavy and windy conditions, our spotters kryptonite is the glare of the sun on the surface and there was a lot of that during today’s trips. Nonetheless, Carlos’s and Silviano’s sharp eyes enabled encounters with Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) this morning and with Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the afternoon.

A spotters job is a hard one. They work under immense pressure to enable a sighting and do so for long hours during the day. We are extremely proud and grateful for their work and I am certain that our clients also appreciated this great effort during our tours today.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:00 No sightings

13:00 Bottlenose dolphins

16:30 Bottlenose dolphins

Steno

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins