29.05.2019 – The perfect wave and a lottery win

Today, Ribeira Brava, at the best sea, created the perfect wave. How nice to watch. In the morning we saw some Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) in the distance and had a school of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) around us. Today, like yesterday, the animals were widely distributed but there was also some close encounters. Please take a look at the photos today, because we had (like yesterday) an animal with a very distinctive dorsal fin. This time it was a Bottlenose dolphin. While in whales the identification of the individuals often happens via their tail, in contrast in the dolphins, the dorsal fin is used to detect the individual identity. We will keep an eye on this specific dolphin with his special dorsal fin.

In the afternoon, thanks to Carlos Drumond, our spotter, we had the perfect wave of sightings! So we surfed from the feeding Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) to Bottlenose dolphins with Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Then again to Bottlenose dolphins and to the Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and back to the Common dolphins now mixed with Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and to finish off to observe a Baleen whale from farway. Claudia, our boss called this “winning the lottery”! And she was right, there were six different species that our guests enjoyed today. 🙂

The feeding Common dolphins in the beginning of our trip were a wonderful visual appetite snack for all that was to come.

The single Sperm whale was not pleased with the dolphin escort. He did not seem to feel well in his skin with these active dolphins at his side and he turned to swim to his fellows. During this sighting we were allowed to witness the breathtaking descent of a Sperm whale. Certainly something that you will not forget so fast!

At the resting Pilot whales we could hear their breathing sound very clearly. A nice little reminder to inhale deeply once in a while and to take it easy 🙂

At our sighting with the mixed dolphin doubles, the bubbly Common dolphins and the Striped dolphins instigated interactivity with us. That was dolphin power of the best!

The Baleen whale we could only admire from a distance. He was busy eating near a tuna cutter. So neither a photo nor an identification was possible. Still, it was exciting to see such a marine mammal roaming our waters.

Such a tour can only be described as follows: fantastic, great, brilliant, outstanding, phenomenal … or just WOW … maybe one or the other just did not have the words. In any case, a six in the lottery! The joy was definitely in all hearts. A big thank you to our spotter Carlos! Foi giro!!!!

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Pilot whales, Bottlenose dolphins

Stenella

15:00 Common dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Sperm whales, Pilot whales, Striped dolphins, unidentified Baleen whale