March 23 – March 30, 2024 

Week 10 of our 33rd Season

This year Aquatic Adventures embarks on its 33rd season of providing our guests the unique opportunity to encounter the North Atlantic humpback whales on their breeding and calving grounds, the Silver Bank. As the season unfolds, we’ll highlight some of the various encounters and experiences of our guests each week. We hope you enjoy following along!

Our tenth week of the season starts off with a mother, calf and escort in the coral heads north west of our mooring area. The whales are moving through the coral heads but stop and rest when we enter the water. They seem curious but we don’t recognize them from previous weeks. We are starting to see new whales coming through the area. Whales from Samana Bay and perhaps even further south are beginning to make their way back north to the feeding grounds. The Silver Bank and particularly the northwest corner, where we are located, is one of their last stops before heading north, so not only do we still have some whales from previous weeks in the area but we are starting to see completely new sets that require some patience while trying for an encounter. We may not recognize these whales, but because of their calm demeanor and curiosity it is possible that they recognize us, or at least the mother does. Still a little wary, the mother makes large circles around the group while the calf comes to play. She allows us to swim alongside her and get some good photographs. Closer and closer they got all afternoon until finally we had to say goodbye as the sun was setting on our first day.

The next day. Quiet. It happens sometimes out on the Silver Bank that we have some down time. The bank is a very large place and we only cover about four square miles of it, so there are occasions when the whale activity is slightly low. There were mothers and calves in the morning; at one point we found three sets of them, none that we recognized and all of them traveling without stopping to give us a chance to get into the water. We didn’t proceed to “work” these whales in hopes that they will eventually get used to our boats and get more comfortable with us over the next few weeks. We did, however, have the perfect weather to make a stop at our favorite snorkeling spot, the wreck of the Polyxeni. This is a freighter that sank over forty years ago, less than a mile from our mooring area and in thirty feet of water. It is over 150 feet in length, but over the years has broken up and crumbled into pieces along the ocean floor. It does, however, attract different species in the area such as nurse sharks, barracuda, spotted eagle rays and other marine life.

After a twenty minute snorkel on the wreck we headed out again to see what whale action was to be found. It didn’t take us long to see a blow in the distance, so off we went! This time it’s a single whale resting at the bottom. We slip into the water and relax just above the whale. Glancing down you could see all the scarring that this young whale had over his body, as many males do from fighting in rowdy groups; he was relatively small, perhaps new to the Silver Bank in the last few years. Just then a faint whisper of song. The scout swam down just under the surface to get below the sound of the waves. This young male was singing, but singing incredibly quiet. It was very unique to hear and it made us wonder if he was practicing, warming up, maybe even warming down. Either way, we entered the water with him twice more after that for eighteen minutes each and each time he sang his quiet tune.

Early the next morning, with the wind very calm, we saw multiple blows in the south-south east. A rowdy group, high in energy and numbers. Seven whales all fighting for the chance with a female. Our tender rides alongside the rowdy group trying desperately to keep up. Bubble stream after bubble stream breach the surface, then a lunge breach followed by quick twists and dives. A rowdy group is such fun it’s hard to look away, if you can keep up. Thanks to our very talented tender drivers we were able to enjoy this rowdy group in close proximity for an hour and fifteen minutes! What a ride!

Following all that excitement we then came by a very friendly mother and calf with an escort. She and her calf were not shy and came extremely close to the guests. We would hang in the water as she swam away but then she would turn and come directly to us, stopping just in front and then diving below our suspended bodies. One of the guests said she was trying to take a picture but when she looked through her viewfinder all she saw was the eye of the calf staring her down. We make a point of never chasing the whales; we use a method that is non aggressive in the water and this we believe is what gets these whales comfortable enough to come in for these very close encounters.

 

 

The Aquatic Adventures team hopes that you are as inspired as we are to help sustain the humpback whale population. Through our partnership with the Center for Coastal Studies, we are helping to gain critical information on these charismatic creatures, and to seek ways to protect and preserve them. To find out more about this effort, join their mailing list or to make a donation, large or small, please visit: www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

We are proud to support SeaLegacy in their efforts to create powerful media to change the narrative around our world’s oceans. Their mission is to inspire the global community to protect our oceans. To learn more about SeaLegacy and help with this important mission, please visit: https://www.sealegacy.org

Thanks to all who have generously donated!

Learn more about Aquatic Adventures here.

Written by: Aquatic Adventures team member Gillian Morin
Edited by: Aquatic Adventures team member Heather Reser 
Images: Aquatic Adventures