Family day

Double shift, meaning morning & afternoon watch without a break, a good 8h at sea on a small boat. Early sighting of a solitary whale, but no luck seeing it below the waves. Later on we find a mother with calf and male escort. They're not in a playing mood though, shying away from the boat each time we approach and diving down when we slip in the water and swim towards them.


After a short pit-stop at Linavera, we return to the same spot and soon find both the lone whale and the family again. This time we're allowed in the inner circle and get to swim close to the baby as it slowly comes up to the surface for a couple of breaths, while its mom and her escort remain below.

Baby humpbacks can measure up to 6m and weigh about 2 tons at birth... so keeping a respectful distance isn't a bad idea, unless you don't mind being accidentally bumped into. [ → humpback whales ]

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UPDATE: Yesterday a tourist tried to pat a baby humpback. It patted back. The lucky tourist got away with only a few broken ribs.