TOP ENCOUNTER 2012
How close can you get to a whale...?
Never in my five seasons by Gentle Giants have I experienced a humpback scratching its nose to the keel of our boat nor examining us so closely, calmly and for so long as this one did this morning...
I jumped onboard as a second guide on Sylvía for the 9:45 tour. Flat sea, no wind and the sun shining bright from a clear blue sky made the best conditions possible for any tour at sea. I really hoped we would find some good whales for our full boat – but did not expect what we actually ended up with...
As soon as we came out of the harbour captain Valdi Hún spotted a big breach-splash in a distance. We decided to head there even though we saw at least four other humpbacks on the way. The star of the tour was something like I do not remember I have ever encountered before.
This humpback was all the time around our boat, went under and came up on different sides. The boat was just drifting. Slow and peaceful movements of the whale showed how comfortable it was around us, just having fun. It was blowing in people's faces, scrubbing itchy parasites off against our keel and rolling around on the surface. Really as if just showing itself and seeing others.
(LIA)
This humpback encounter is my top 2012. Enjoy the photos I captured this morning:
