WHALES

Hi All, I've been looking forward to taking a long trip around the islands. Today, is supposed to be the best day in sight for the long trip. The wind however is much higher than predicted earlier in the week. We have invited David who is dying to see a whale. I met David through JoJo. I actually have quite a few friends that I never would have met if it hadn't been for a common interest in JoJo. Even as we leave at the crack of dawn, there is already quite a bit of wind. I thought we might at least get a start on our journey without wind and waves. We head out the South side and travel 22 miles leaving sight of land before seeing our first destination, French Cay. It is a bird sanctuary and I am so happy to see birds swarming around the island. I was worried about what damage hurricane Irma might have caused. The water calms down a little on the lee of the island. We see a lone dolphin rocket under Spy Hop. There is almost always a dolphin or two to meet you when you arrive at French Cay. We head out past the wall where the water's a dark blue and the waves start mounting. We hear some faint whale vocalizations with the hydrophone and decide to head to West Caicos with hopes that we will find quiet water and whales on the West side of the island. The waves are getting bigger and bigger but we are going with them so no worries. I'm thinking how JoJo would love our wake if I were to stand up they would come to the top of my head. David sees a spout! A Pilot whale swims right near our boat. The water is an emerald green as we reach West Caicos. We put the hydrophone in again, There are definitely whales in the area, but where? John radios a dive boat captain that is motoring by after their first morning dive and asks him if he has seen any whales. He hadn't but shortly there after he radios us to say that they have two whales in front of their boat. We motor over to watch these whales for quite a long time but they keep diving showing lots of tail. We want them to hang on the surface so John and David can get in. They seem to be traveling farther away with each dive. We leave them and head into the marina for lunch.

I've added a big bag of Cheetos to our usual menu. We watch a small turtle popping his head up for a gulp of air. I start getting antsy. We have whales to find! We head out with renewed energy to find an adventure, hopefully with a humpback whale. This time when we put the hydrophone in you would have thought it landed on their heads their vocalizations were so loud. I have put in a recording from the whales but wasn't clever enough to do it without video which is clearly from a calm day! Please ignore video and enjoy vocalizations!

My Movie from Jay Sargent on Vimeo.

We still can't find them and think we'd better head home. The ride is going to be long and I know it won't be an easy one. I tell David not to give up we may see more whales yet. We are now heading into the wind and waves. Once we pass the end of West Caicos the waves start building. John does a great job navigating over the mountainous waves. As we go around Northwest Point I yell above the churning engine "stop I see a spout" There are two whales not showing their tails as they blow at the surface. I yell to the boys this is your chance. I take the wheel and tell them to hurry into their masks and fins. The whales are coming to Spy Hop. David gets in right as both pass under the boat! I almost backed up over David not wanting to run over the whales. John climbs in. The whales swim around them for a while before moving off. The boys get back in the boat exhilarated from their encounter. David had his Go Pro and John used a Liquidimage. Both got some footage. We see a few more blows but we are in the area where the waves are the biggest. We actually had water come crashing over the deck from a few of those mountainous waves. We all agreed we'd best head home. No wonder there weren't any other boats out here! The only boats at West Caicos came from the South side not past Northwest Point for good reason.

Juvenile Humpbacks from Jay Sargent on Vimeo.

This great footage is courtesy of David Green not only seeing whale from a boat for the first time but swimming with them! John did a masterful job captaining the Good Boat Spy Hop through some seriously heavy seas.