25.10.2017 – Salty shower

I spent the entire day on our Stenella… and what a day it was! During our search for „snorkeling dolphins“ (Atlantic spotted dolphins and Common dolphins) this morning we encountered a Bryde’s whale and her calf that surprised us by suddenly surfacing behind the Stenella, much to the delight of everyone on board. Afterwards we headed east to proceed with our search and found a group of large Bottlenose dolphins in the company of a few juvenile Atlantic spotted dolphins, who unfortunately didn’t stick around long enough for all our guests to participate in the snorkeling activity.

As the day proceeded the Atlantic became wavier and windier, causing alot of sea spray on the boat during our trips. The conditions were relatively mild during our noon tour, where we saw a pod of Bottlenose dolphins among a small, distributed family of Pilot whales. During the evening tour, however, several of our guests received a salty shower from the Atlantic as we sped off west of Calheta in pursuit of a Bryde’s whale. This did not dampen the mood on board and the lovely group of guests braved the Atlantic swell and the accompanying showers.

by Paula Thake

Sightings

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bryde’s whales, Bottlenose dolphins

14:30 Bryde’s whales

Stenella

9:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Bryde’s whales

12:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Pilot whales

15:30 Bryde’s whales