On the boat trip from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Friday, we were lucky to meet several giants of the sea. On a single boat trip we saw 2 Fin Whales, a group of Bottlenose Dolphins, Pilot Whales and 3 Sperm Whales. Such a sighting is rare in the Strait of Gibraltar - despite a large whale density- and was of course a cause for great joy. Even Diego - our longsuffering seaman - couldn’t contain himself from taking out his camera and he shot one picture after another. Of course, we don’t want to deny you the pleasure of viewing these pictures.

Photo above: A back can be a wonderful thing. The giant Fin Whale crosses towards the Atlantic ocean (photo: Diego Diaz)

Photo above: this Fin Whale was swimming only a few metres under the water and always surfaced very flat for breathing (picture: Diego Diaz)

Photos above: the biggest Toothed Whale of the world is beginning his descent leading it to its bounty - the Giant Squids. (photos: Diego Diaz)

Diego Diaz has been working as a seaman for firmm for 4 years. His experience in the Strait of Gibraltar and his knowledge as a seaman has been a great advantage for firmm. Even after countless boat trips to the whales he is still excited about the animals. (photo: Carine Zimmermann)

-casi-

So far this season, one Sperm Whale sighting on a single boat trip was not unusual, but what we experienced today on the 1:00 PM boat trip was pretty close to being a record. We observed a Sperm Whale and after watching a big group of Pilot Whales during their lively social interactions we suddenly spotted a familiar angular spout. We headed towards it to observe the mighty animal before it dived again and eluded us completely. After this sighting, when we already to move on, we discovered another Sperm Whale blow about half a mile away from us. When we got about 200 metres away from the animal it had already dived. Meanwhile, approximately 600 meters west from this point, another Sperm Whale appeared on the surface. Unfortunately the whale had already begun its descent, so we barely caught a glimpse of its fluke. There was hardly any time to celebrate these sightings because the next giant had already appeared on the surface. We were approaching the animal at a leisurely pace and were about 200 metres away when another whale watching boat that had been following us spotted it and sped up trying to get there before us, scaring it needlessly. Thereupon the whale changed its swimming direction and passed our boat at a distance of about 20 metres. We didn’t want to stress the animal any further and as we already had seen several Sperm Whales and wanted to avoid another situation with this second boat, we drove away. At this moment we spotted yet another spouting. Only a few hundred metres westward the next Sperm Whale was waiting for us. Upon reaching a respectable observing distance, we realized that on the left side of our boat, at nearly the same distance away, there was a second one. Finally, after both animals sounded (dived) we made our way back to Tarifa - fully aware that we had just experienced an incredible boat trip.

(photos: Carine Zimmermann)

-casi-

The spectacle began with the 2nd school of Pilot Whales that swam towards the boat. There had already been some highlights in the first group: a tiny newborn and an injured animal; but watching an adult Pilot breaching is a really rare occurrence.

Photo left: newborn calf breathing close to its mother. Photo right: an injured animal, which was, as seen by the obvious teeth marks, bitten by an other Pilot Whale (Photos: KH)

It takes a lot of stamina to lift the body of an adult Pilot Whale out of the water: Up to 8 metres in length and a weight of 3-4 tons has to be moved so it is understandable that such a sight is not seen every day. But today was such a day and one of these gentle giants wanted to show us what he is capable of. We turned the boat, to avoid cutting off their path, but the animals seemed to seek our boat out and emerged right beside it. The very fact that they approached the boat is not a rarity in itself and we are often fortunate to experience their presence close to our boat, but it was very impressive how the male Pilot Whale looked us in the eyes, through the clear water. He was so close that you could see the red blood vessels at the edge of the iris. The giant then started rolling and showed us the anchor shaped spot on the chest.

Photo above: Pilot Whale on the back, the long flippers are very clearly visible (Photo: KH)

He then proceeded to make a complete spectacle of himself. Fluking is basically the opposite of breaching. The body is not lifted out of the water with the help of the tail fin, but like a handstand whereby the head and the flippers stay under the surface and the tail is displayed. It is difficult to imagine how such a big animal is capable of performing such acrobatics, unlike their smaller cousins, the Bottlenose Dolphins, who are about half of the size of a Pilot Whale and breach with ease.

Photo above: Tonnes in motion - a bulky body smacks the surface of the water (Picture: KH)

To balance this massive body is a masterstroke and we were both ecstatic and relieved to see that this splendid specimen was able to exactly coordinate his movements. His majestic fluke towered over us, not a metre away from the boat and splashed a safe distance away.

Picture above: a precisely calculated distance to catch your breath without putting anyone in danger. (photo: KH)

He even repeated this gorgeous spectacle several times, giving us the chance to record it. Without this evidence it would be inconceivable that such a miraculous event had indeed occurred.

-Carine-

After Jörn’s two Fin Whale sightings yesterday, we were fortunate to experience another very special trip this morning! In the first 15 minutes, right in front of Tarifa, we crossed a school of about 200 Striped Dolphins. What a joy to accompany these dolphins that were jumping curiously around us! The children howled with delight!

Fifteen minutes later we crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, heading for the Moroccan coast. From far away we spotted a big blow, which could only be that of a Fin Whale. Again, a big group of Bottlenose Dolphins was accompanying this giant. They leapt in front of the Fin Whale as if to show us his whereabouts. He was swimming westerly towards the Atlantic and soon we passed a group of Pilot Whales with a newborn calf. Our guests did not know where to watch: the hilariously jumping Bottlenose Dolphins,

the Pilot Whales with the newly born calf,

or the high spouting Fin Whale.

I have never before experienced three different species together at the same location! What a lucky start to a new day!

(alle photos: KH)

-KH-

The third trip of the day started on slightly strange note. A guest who claimed to be a lifeguard refused to put on the obligatory life jacket. It was hazy and the sea was rough. When we arrived at the southern sea lane, a blow appeared easterly at a distance of approx. 2 nautical miles and to the left of it another one. This meant for us that we had to increase our speed and cruise against the wind and the waves. The people in the bow were bouncing in their seats as the ship jumped across the waves. The second blow disappeared but we still could observe one of the Sperm Whales breathing and plunging.

Suddenly the suspicious blow reappeared again, beside it, another Sperm Whale. We didn’t quite manage to reach it before he started diving under.

Half a mile away, some Bottlenose Dolphins were jumping and we thought that perhaps these splashes were the cause of the suspicious blow of before.

It was a bit odd though, that each time it appeared further east. Suddenly it appeared again and now we could see it clearly, a mighty Fin Whale, accompanied by four Bottlenose Dolphins that surfaced and dived with him. This group had been heading to the Mediterranean all along, while coincidentally, one Sperm Whale after another emerged in their lane.

After escorting the Fin Whale for about half an hour in an easterly direction, we had to turn around and decided to look out for some Pilot Whales. The sun was already low and illuminated the damp horizon. A big, dark cargo ship was moving towards our position from about two miles away, when we spotted another blow right in front of its bow. In fact the animal was hardly reachable against the currents but off we went. This time at least we were traveling with the currents so the people were not bouncing off their seats. After about half a mile, we spotted a big group of Pilot Whales and decided to stop.

The Pilot Whales were obviously in a good mood and some of them approached the boat, others jumped or splashed water in the air with their tail fin. After this very lovely ending we wanted to head back to Tarifa, when a Sperm Whale emerged about 200 metres away. The Pilot Whales started swimming towards him and we followed - why not watch a Sperm Whale before heading home?

On our way back we encountered another group of Striped Dolphins - what a trip!

It is unfortunate, but there are always people who are not satisfied. We had no time to stop to look at the Striped Dolphins so one guest was not able to take photos, but with such strong seas in the location the dolphins were swimming they would have probably not turned out anyway.

After such a wonderful experience it is difficult to imagine that anyone could be upset. Alas, the more a man has, the more he wants.

-Jörn-