Dear <<First Name>>,
Welcome to Conscious Breath Adventures'
Whale eMail
CRUISE REPORT
Humpback Whales of the Silver Bank
Jan. 21-27, 201
Vol. 9, Issue 1
Hello Dear Readers,
Welcome to Conscious Breath Adventures' first Cruise Report of our 2017 Silver Bank humpback whale season. It doesn't seem like nine months since we last reported from the Dominican Republic, but the time has flown and we are happy and excited to be back. Thank you for joining us.
It's great to see our friends the captain and crew of the M/V Belize Aggressor IV again too, along with their new name. It is the same boat and crew as before, but no longer the Sun Dancer II. They come a long way from Belize and we are always happy to see them safe and sound in Puerto Plata.
With an enthusiastic group of guests aboard, our first crossing out to the Silver Bank was among the calmest we've had, a good way to start the week, and the season. As usual, the whales were waiting for us, with a few guests reporting sightings from their stateroom's picture windows before they even got out of bed on Sunday morning.
The ensuing days brought us all the variety and excitement we hope for. It is breeding season here on the Silver Bank so there are lots of surface social behaviors on display, such as lobtailing, breaching and pectoral fin slapping. At different times we were able to see all of these behaviors from very close range and because the whales will often repeat behaviors, it gave the photographers in the group ample opportunity to get the shot.
During one such observation we were able to take many clear images of a whale that had very distinct but healing wounds at the base of the fluke, the caudal peduncle. These wounds are typically the result of entanglement, usually from commercial fishing equipment, and most likely while on their summer feeding grounds. This whale, tentatively identified as Partition (thank you to Mandy Houston for the match), was lucky in that it had freed itself from what must have been a serious entanglement. Not all fare so well and it is one of the leading causes of death among cetaceans, killing an estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises per year. If there are any of our readers who know about this whale or anything about the entanglement, please drop us a note.
In the water we had several good interactions. Wednesday being the high point when all of our guests spent several hours swimming with a few different whales. With beautiful weather, half our folks swam with two resting adults which were very curious about us. Their pattern of behavior was to rest down below but to rise up quite close, sometimes passing directly beneath us, before circling at close range to have a closer look. Most of our guests dream of looking into the eye of a whale, and these whales helped that one come true! Meanwhile, our other guests shared time with a mother humpback and her calf, as well as an escorting male. The playful energy of the calf, and the loving relationship between mother and baby make this kind of interaction a heartwarming favorite.
We also had the chance this week to track along with a group of competitive males or "rowdies", with four males vigorously competing for the attention of a single female. These rowdy groups are always exciting as they charge along with the testosterone-fueled males engaging in all sorts of aggressive acts and intimidating threat displays, such as the "alligatoring" behavior shown in the header photo. The battles can last for hours and be quite heated with a lot of physical contact so most of the older whales bear many scars as a result.
Not all outings were as action-packed and during some of the quieter moments we will often stop to snorkel some of our favorite patch reefs. The overall health of the reefs here is not great as a result of environmental stressors like climate change and overfishing. But in places there are very healthy stands of coral such as this beautiful elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), growing vigorously at the top of the reef. Elkhorn coral is one of the major reef-building corals in the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic Ocean, and it gives us some hope for the future to see it.
Overall we had a fine first week on the Silver Bank! There was a little wind as a cold front passed through but on average great weather for late January. We hope the rest of the season will be as kind.
I had some time to think as the days passed and had an encouraging realization. We had a diverse boatload of guests this week, with people joining us from Canada, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Panama and the U.S. I noticed that even in these globally uncertain times, when divisiveness and tension, mistrust and fear are everywhere and on the rise, the whales help bring us all together. This week, and in seasons past, it is heartening to see how people of different countries, colors, creeds, languages, religions, ages, places, come together to share an experience with each other and the whales and part as good friends a week later. It is just too bad that there are only ten weeks we have to help spread this special kind of peace.
Thank you for reading. Until next week,
Capt Gene Flipse
Follow Us for even more information and updates from Conscious Breath Adventures
|
