Diving Today

Well No whale watching today as we have St Mary's School down from Perth for 2 days diving.
 
We head out to the HMAS Perth for 2 dives and after the girls have finished their first dive as I am walking around the boat I look up to see blows North North East of us over 1 km away.

The girls do a second dive and on our way home I keep a lookout and find 2 Humpbacks in the channel to Princess Royal Harbour.

2 Hours with The Whales

After 2 days of strong winds the fans were turned down today, allowing us to head out towards Limestone Head I spot a some white water over towards Goode Beach, some 600 metres away. I don't see it again, but ask Jason who has joined me on the fly bridge with a coffee to keep a look out in that direction as we continue on.

"BREACH" is the cry from Jason and with out looking I start turning in the direction of Goode Beach.

Bernie calls over the radio asking what we have seen as the breach was very close to the beach and out of Bernie's field of view.
We arrive to find 2 humpbacks heading out from the beach now. We loose them for a while and then foot prints appear just astern of us. The whales have swum under us and pop up on our port side and are heading into the mussel lease.

The other whale watching vessel has heard our radio conversation with Bernie and is now in the area too, although they have no idea where the whales are. They leave but we follow the whales around the Twin Sisters and towards Outer Brambles. The whales head towards Marine Drive and now the car parks are filling and people are out of their cars as the whales get to Whale Head Rock and pass 2 snorkellers. They head into Ellen Cove turn and then head towards Gull Rock. 

We leave them after spending 2 hours slowly cruising with them, getting back to the marina after 1215 hours.

Ok we have only seen 2 whales but they were cruising and not in the 5 metre swell that is running outside King George Sound, We have missed the rain and at times whales have been very close to us. 
Over all a pretty good day.

Sheltered whales

We leave Princess Royal Harbour and Bernie tells me that 2 whales are out by the ship at anchor. We head in that direction and find the whales heading towards Michaelmas Island slowly. They are joined by 10 to 15 Bottle nose dolphins. Chasing them as they do giving some good photos.

With the help of Dora and Boots, steering the boat, a couple of soft K9 toys that are along for the ride. We follow enjoying morning tea as we are in King George Sound and sheltered from the 4.5 metre swell that has been forecast out side.

The whales are cruising towards Herald Reef. We leave them and cruise the northern side of Michaelmas, spotting a breach further east.
We find 2 humpbacks heading towards the eastern end of Breaksea Island and 3 whales back between the islands about level with the light house.

Then as they head around the east end of  the island, we head back to shelter between the islands. More whales north east of Breaksea and then when we head back towards home we find 2 more humpbacks heading between the island.

Home by 1230 and the kids are giving me high fives for finding whales and letting the dogs have a drive.

Strong Winds But Worth the Effort.

Sitting on Marine Drive at 0820 hours and there are a few white caps in the Sound but weather is not too bad.

I phone Jason at the Albany Met office. Jason tells me that the winds will strengthen from the north west until the front arrives about midday.
The wind is strengthening as we leave Princess Royal Harbour and Jason and I discuss where we can find and watch a whale in reasonable comfort. We decide that we will go between Michaelmas and Breaksea Islands and if we have not found a whale we will continue to the eastern end of Breaksea.
I tack over to the northern side of the sound trying to keep dry while driving from the fly bridge. Then turn and head to the islands with a following breeze.
We have early morning tea and now cruise into the seals at Breaksea Island. We cruise along the northern side of Breaksea a little way off the island to keep conditions comfortable as the winds are now quite strong.
As we get about half way along the island Jason thinks he has spotted a blow. I then think I have seen a breach several km north east. Jason swings his binoculars to the area but nothing more. Ok it must be a whale breach, as its not swell hitting the coast, its not a boat and it has not happened again. We see Jason's blows again and continue east past the end of Breaksea. As we head east I scan the waters south of us and see a blow about 500 metres away. Ok this ones closer and the other whales are heading this way.
We find 2 humpbacks and conditions are not too bad, we are now sheltered by Breaksea Island, from the strong NW winds.
Funny how when you find a whale more seam to appear. I see blows further south and south east. But we stick with these whales for a while. The whales are now some distance from Breaksea and its getting choppy.
I don't want to push it too far so we head north. We will round the islands and head back towards the coast to head home in sheltered conditions.
We are on the eastern end of Breaksea and I spot blows at the eastern end of Michaelmas Island. We find three whales heading between the islands and they show us some great tail shots. And when we lease expect it throw their tails out of the water. We stick with them for a while and when they dive for quite a while we head for the coast.

Everyone heads to the warm spacious cabin for the trip home. The winds are still increasing, we have not had any rain yet, but some of us have copped a bit of spray at times.
We arrive back at the marina at about 1230 hours, we have seen 5 humpbacks and some have some good photos to prove it. We beat the front as we thought we would, but its not far away. Going by the forecast we wont be going any where tomorrow.

Humpback Highway

Looks like Today will be the best day of the week. Things are not looking too good for the weekend. We have had a group of St Mary's students cancel a dive trip to Albany for the weekend and the forecast is not even so hot for whale watching. Hope the folks in the Urban Down Hill ride like it wet.

Friday though, we have blue skies and not too much wind yet. We have enjoyed morning tea and enjoyed the pleasure of some bottle nose dolphins as we pass Seal Rock but no whales have been sighted in King George Sound today.

We get out onto the line between Bald Head and Breaksea Island and I can see blows further south. Then a breach south east. Now blows south west of us. OK which pod do we go to first. The closest seams like a good idea. we find 2 humpbacks heading west they take several breathes then dive.

Ok they aren't too much fun so we turn and head east. Now we have what looks like 3-4 whales 1 km east of us. Blows south of those whales, blows south of us and blows east of those. It seems that the larger pod are staying on the surface for the longest time so we head in that direction.
They are also heading towards us so it is not long and we are travelling along side 4 humpbacks but there are 2 more whales heading in to join them. One of the whales has a lot of white on its side and we can see it easily even when it is under the surface of the water. We cruise along between the two pods.
At times we have whales throwing their tails from the water and I am hopeful that we ma have a breach close by. After all we are some way out and there is a bit of swell out here. But it seems not today.

We leave the whales drop in on some New Zealand Fur Seals and then head for home. As we enter King George Sound a small whale throw its tail from the water about 300 metres off to the east. I slow down still hoping for a breach but I don't see the whale again. Most folks have headed down stairs and are toasty warm in the cabin as we head towards home in time for lunch. 
Now we just have to work out how many whales we have spotted and fill in the CALM log book. 

10 whales close more in the distance:)

Flat Batteries

A couple of days of strong winds over, so we head out Thursday morning with word that a whale has been sighted at the entrance to Princess Royal Harbour. We find a small whale as it cruises along Outer Brambles. We follow for while and then head off to see what we can find.

We cruise between Mistaken Island and along Goode Beach, past Whale world and then we see a breach out east of us. The whales breach several times but by the time we get there they have had enough of that game. We follow the whales as they head towards Bald Head and then loose them for a bit. I knock the boat out of gear and sit for a while, every one is on look out and then they surface about 80 metres away from us. 

They are heading towards us so Jason turns the motors off. The whales are up wind so no rules have be broken and now the whales are at the stern of the boat. With motors off, the whales are quite happy to swim around the boat and we are getting some good photos. The other whale watching vessel arrives to see whales spy hopping along side our boat. Our passengers are getting a good wiff of whale breath as the whales continue to swim around us. 

The thought of putting the go-pro over the side comes to mind but of course the batteries are flat. Oh well I'll have to just put this one in the memory bank. We have had the whales along side us for about 45 minutes and now they have had enough, even though several Common Dolphins have now joined them.

We head back to shore. Every one scanning the photos they have just taken to see how they went. Hope we get a few people sending some through to our Trip Adviser link.

7 Whales Today.

We leave Princess Royal Harbour And Bernie tells me whales are hard to find.
Oh no please not today. We have a good crowed and after yesterday I have high expectations.

Jason has made us morning tea and is now on the fly-bridge and is on the look out for blows out on the line. Bernie is saying all is quiet from where he is. And the swell out side the sound is still a good 3 metres.

Now we are out on the line and heading towards Breaksea Island. We still have not seen a blow and I call Bernie. Still no sightings. A few minutes later Bernie calls back and says he has just seen a breach 1 km SW of us. I look in the general direction but cant see any thing and I just don't want to be out in the southern ocean if I can't be sure of a good viewing today.
We continue towards Breaksea and I am sure some of those on board now enjoy the calm conditions. We are just about to nose up to some seals and Jason tells me we have 2 whales heading for the north eastern end of Breaksea fast. So I guess we will have to come back to the seals later on.

We put the hammer down and head east, slowing down when we leave the protection of Breaksea, but I don't see these whales, but I do see a breach south of us. I head in that direction after I see a second breach.
The whales were may be 500 to 800 metres away when we first saw them and we are punching into a 3 metre southerly swell so we are taking it easy. The whales are heading west and we tag along. But now we have more whales in the area. Now we have another breach. Ok which whales do we follow, hang on how many whales are here 3 or 4.
There's 2 more just over there. Oh where are these whales oh just here, surfacing metres from the boat. Is that 2 more whales several hundred metres away.
Breach, 1 km South, and again. There are more whales further away but we stay in this area, I think its more important to watch whales than to count them. Some times all you need is 1 whale that comes close or puts on a show to make the day.

Some times its amazing how the whales become active at the same time. We follow our 3 whales, although at times they are changing directions and  we are not sure where they are going to come up.
Every one is ok even though the conditions are not the best we stick with the whales for some time, I don't want to push the limits and have people get sea sick and I don't want to leave too soon, not allowing people to enjoy the experience.
When I think its ok we head for home it will take us 40 minutes to get back to the marina from here arriving at about 1230. 

Huge Humpback

At 0820 hours as Jason and I stand on Marine Drive we spot several blows half way across King George Sound. 

We leave the Marina at 0930, whales have tails and we don't have fences so we put in a call to Bernie to see where the whales have gone. Bernie replies that at 0920 one of the whales was breaching south east of the mussel lease south of Mistaken Island. I explain the tell tail signs we are looking for to our passengers as we round the lease and head towards Seal Rock, keeping a look out towards Goode Beach. 

We cruise slowly past the dive wreck HMAS Perth and several hundred metres off to our starboard side the biggest humpback whale I have seen for a long time slowly surfaces. Its takes 2 breaths and dives again. We cruise over to get a closer look and from some distance we can see the whale glide through the water just under the surface as there is a lot of white on the side of the whale. Its calm and the foot prints are the size of a room in your house. The whales surfaces and its blow goes higher than the roof of the top deck of the boat. 
We cruise along and enjoy morning tea with the whale cruising along side us, taking several blows and then diving giving good tail shots, with sun glistening of the water as it runs off the whales tail. I am sure this whale is a cow and I would not be surprised if she was looking for a quiet place to give birth. 

We leave her as she cruises towards Michaelmas Island. We continue towards Bald Head but its not long before we find a very small quiet humpback, it takes two breaths and dives, we don't waste time as we have heard that there are more pods of whales "on the line". 
We cant see any good blows and the swell is still uncomfortable out here so we put the hammer down and head for the Islands. As we are getting close we spot the back of 2 whales as they break the surface followed by 2 blows east of Michaelmas. They are heading towards us and although we now are going quite slow the whales pop up behind us. We try and put the boat in a position for some good photos. They are heading to the western end of Breaksea and once they get past the end, we peel off to check in on the seals. 

Ok its time to head home, all we need now is some dolphins.

What A Difference A Day Makes

We leave the marina with blue skies but with a shower in the distance. Bernie tells us that there is a whale close to the safe water marker. I spot blows as we get to the area.

The 2 adult humpbacks are heading towards the mussel lease at Mistaken Island but they change direction and we have overshot them. Now they are heading towards Middleton Beach. Its calm and the shower has cleared, its not hard to follow the whales as their foot prints are easy to see.

The whales foot print is a calm patch of water caused by the tail as the whale moves through the water. We are often asked if its oil but the best way to describe it is a bubble of water coming to the surface. Amazing how long it may last on the surface even in a choppy sea. Well the whales are just cruising this way then that way with no real direction. And not going to fast at all. We have been joined by the other whale watching vessel but they only stay for a short time.

Rain showers cover the islands and outer sound and we were out there yesterday and conditions were not that nice, lets just enjoy morning tea and stick with these whales for a while.
Lesley Webb and her children who were with us yesterday and told me I have a great job, is all smiles and glad they decided to take up the offer of a return trip.

The whales are now slowly heading east. About 200 metres east of them some one spots bottle-nose dolphins heading towards the whales. When the dolphins reach the whales passing either side of them, the whales turn around in their own length and chase the dolphins. The whales have woken up and are now chasing the dolphins around. We see huge splashes as the whales change directions, tails brake the surface, heads pop from the sea surface as if they are trying to see which way the dolphins have gone. This continues for some time and we are privileged to be able to watch.

We could have left after a short look and tried to find more whales, we may have even found some. But with conditions out side King George Sound rougher even on a calm day and knowing it was not very nice out there yesterday I decided "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" And some times you just have to be patient. 

We left the whales after enjoying their company and antics for over 90 minutes as a shower of rain reaches us. We cruised past Whale World along Goode Beach, over the passage and Mistaken Island and back to the marina.

As every one disembarks its good to hear people are happy with some of the photos they have captured and Lesley tells me she will post some of the video when she gets back to Alice Springs in a week or so.

Happy some of the crew from yesterday could come again and get to have such an experience.
A Good Day at The Office.

After The Storm

You would hope that we could find whales every where. 
Well obviously that's the way I would write the script but that would be too easy.

We leave the marina and the showers have finished for the day. Bernie is having trouble seeing to far across the sound as the last shower is making its way across the eastern side of King George Sound. 

One of my passengers joins me on the fly bridge and tells me that I have a great job. My response is that it gets a whole lot better after I have found a whale for my passengers.

By the time we finish morning tea we are close to Limestone Head. We travel out of the sound a little but we do have a bit of swell running. As we cruise north east towards Breaksea Island we keep our eyes peeled south. No blows are seen and I dont want to head south unless we can be sure of a whale. 

We round the western end of Breaksea and we find the shelter from the southerly swell. We check out the seals and as we slowly cruise along the northern side of the island there seams to be more seals today than we have seen for some time. We reach the eastern end of Breaksea still looking for an elusive blow east towards Rock Dundar. No luck so we head towards Michaelmass Island.

Finding a few Common Dolphins we turn and head back towards Breaksea so the dolphins swim at the bow and we get a good look. Numbers are building and it doesn't take long and we have some where between 40 and 50 common dolphins all around us. Some are jumping full length out of the water. We have travelled from close to Michaelmass Island and are now close to Breaksea again.

Off to the west I see a large splash and ask Jason if he saw it. No. Well mate just keep your eye out over there as the splash was larger than a dolphin but I don't see a whale.
Oh its not looking good today. We slowly head west towards home, all the passengers are now inside for the trip home.

Then I see a blow. Its small and not too far away. From my first look I suspect this whales is quite small may be one of the 8-10 metre youngsters we were seeing last week. "There She Blows" was the call, the whale is about 300 to 400 metres away and now I just want that second blow.
Waiting, waiting, waiting and it just doesn't come. We circle in the area several times but no luck.

We head home with some of the children driving the boat and one of my passengers joins me upstairs to confirm her opinion that I still have a great job even though today we didn't find a whale.

Breaching Whales Suprise.

Once again strong winds are forecast but we don't seem to be getting to much as we leave the marina.

We have seen several blows over towards Limestone Head while sitting on Marine Drive earlier. As we get close to the line, we see a blow about 1 km away and heading around Bald Head.
As we head in that direction I see a breach off the port bow. I think that's the one, we will follow today.

We get closer and find 3 whales heading west. We follow around Bald Head and with the wind increasing a little, its better conditions in the le of the headland, as we travel along Flinders Peninsular.

Unexpectedly we have a whale breach, catching all the passengers off guard. No one gets a photo. All is quiet for about 20 minutes as we cruise along with the whales and then we get another breach. And the whales seam to have speed up. Then passengers count 4 whales as they surface for a breath. We follow for a while longer hoping that we will witness more breaching.

We are some distance from Bald Head now and have been with the whales for nearly 1 hour so we turn and head for the Bald Head Cove, where a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals reside. Our Kiwi passengers note that the seals are quite small compared to the seals in their home town who are a traffic hazard when they lay on the roads to keep warm on a winters day.

Here Come the Adults

Here come the adults.

Overcast conditions and no wind great us this morning although stronger winds are forecast.
We head out and Bernie tells us he has seen a quiet whale at the safe water marker. We cant find it so don't waste too much time in the area. We continue deep as he has also seen blows on the line. (The line between Breaksea Island and Bald Head)

We enjoy morning tea n the way and its not long after we see a blow further south. Its about 3654 km to Antarctica from Albany and I joke that its now only 3640 km now and hope people have packed an extra jacket. We find 2 adults that are cruising west and cruise along with them. We see a breach a good 1km south west of the pair we are tracking and 20 minutes latter we have a breach 2 km behind us.

We are now in the lea of the coast and this has given us calmer conditions and we cruise slowly with our whales. I am looking away scanning the area and there is a scream of WOW, I look back at where our whales should be to see a large area of white water. The obvious result of a 40 tonne humpback whale landing after launching its self from the water.

We follow for a little longer then head to the seals at Bald Head Cove. Then it back into King George Sound and we find 15- 20 Common Dolphins just to top off the cruise.

Very Shy Whale

Much harder to find a whale today. 

We head out and Bernie tells us that blows are seen over towards Limestone Head. We find 20 or so dolphins on the way with several babies in the pod. We get close to Limestone head and the whale blows and Bernie calls seconds later making sure we have seen the blow.

The whale dives and hen surfaces several minutes later. Takes a couple more breaths then gone again. The whale does this a couple of times then the other whale watching vessel arrives and we cant find the whale again.

We leave head to Breaksea Island find some seals then on to Nanarup. The conditions are much better at Nanarup although no whales are spotted. We cruise the coast to arrive back at the marina just after 12 noon. 

I invite all the passengers back free of charge to try again and several passengers are surprised to receive such an offer. I hope all can take up the offer as we want our passengers to have an experience they will remember for the rest of their life.

Several Small Whales

Could it get any better. 
Welcome to Albany in winter. Light winds, blue skies and a glassy sea. 

We head out with word that whales were seen at Bald Head at 0800 hours so we head in that direction hoping that the whales have enter King George Sound. 
As we head out though Jason thinks he has seen a blow over towards Gull Rock. We find some dolphins on the way and then as we don't see the blow a second time so put out a call to vessels in the area. A reply comes back that no whales have been seen in the area so we change direction and then we spot a blow between us and Breaksea Island. 

Its like glass and we can see the whale as it cruises through the water heading towards Breaksea. We follow but the whale is quiet as I decide to leave and look further out I see a breach about 1km away. We find a very small Humpback its about 8 metres long. He has quietened down now so we leave and head towards Bald Head. Its even calmer out here than it was yesterday. 

We see several blows deep and now the first whale we spotted is breaching. But we are 500 metres away. We continue on our way, as we get closer to Bald Head we have more whales breaching, but they only do it once then stop. 

We find the seals chat to a fisherman catching some Breaksea Cod and then head for home. As we make our way back into King George Sound we spot two more whales and we idle along side until we are close to Seal Rock and the whales now turn and head east. 

 All the whales have been quit small non much over 10 metres. We cruise into Goode Beach through the passage at mistaken Island and on home once again getting back to the marina just before 1pm. 
Another relaxing day on the water.

What A Differance a Day Makes.

A quiet day today. Beautifully calm and we could see dolphins all over King George Sound. 

We could see that the Southern Right Whales had left Middleton Beach but heard that at 0900 hours at least 1 Humpback had been seen close to Seal Rock. 

We stop off on the way to enjoy some dolphins swimming at the bow. We cruise past Seal Rock and don't see any whales and Peter Bell at Whale World tells us he has not seen any sign this morning. 

We head towards Bald head and Jason spots a blow some 2km away. We head it that direction and this whale is being hard to find. 

But with 16 years experience finding whales I have learnt a thing or two. Although some times I do get more than a little frustrated. Knowing a whale is close and being able to show passengers a whale are two different things. Well we find the whale and its the same whale that spent 90 minutes swimming around us yesterday. 

Not today though it takes several breaths and dives. We watch it for a while but he is not playing the game today. We head off to Breaksea Island cruise past the seals then on to Nanarup Beach, and back towards the harbour. 

And we now know the Southern Rights have left the area.

Covered with Smelly Whale Breath

A perfect day for whale watching. Having seen a couple of whales while sitting on Marine Drive at 8.15am but they were very quiet. Heading out we get a call from one of the local tug skippers saying that the whales were last seen just out side of the channel. 

We head out and find 10 or 12 dolphins at the end of the channel markers. The whales are then spotted back towards Middleton Beach. We head in and find 2 Southern Right whales. I have been operation whale watching now for 16 years, (longer than any body else in WA) and never seen a southern right this early in the season off Middleton Beach. We watch for some time even enjoying some coffee and muffins for morning tea. 

We leave and find a young humpback about half way across King George Sound. We pull up and its not long before the whale is swimming around the boat. It surfaces each side of the boat swims away and then returns chasing several dolphins. One of our passengers while on the aft deck taking photos get covered with smelly whale breath. 

Cameras were going off and screams of excitement for about 90 minutes were the order of the day. Getting back to the marina 45 minutes latter than normal.

Whales Close to Marine Drive Lookout

All is well with "Silver Star II" 

Today we head out of Princess Royal Harbour and find whales just out side before the first channel markers. We find 2 whales rolling around 1 quit a bit smaller that the other. We also spotted 1 whale heading back towards the harbour. And another out at the last channel markers. We stick with the pair. After about 30 min we had 3 whales in the pod. Hard to say where the 3rd came from. They head towards Middleton Beach at times coming over close to have a look at us. Several dingies anchored fishing get a good look too and then the whales start to head east. 

We also spot a couple of whales out deeper but head south to round Mistaken Island and cruise along Goode Beach as we have a couple on board who wish to see if they can see their house from the water. We find a large pod of Bottle-nose Dolphins and spend some trying to get a good picture as they jump from the water in our wake. 

A casual cruise along Goode beach and between the mainland and Mistaken Island past Fisheries Beach, Outer Brambles and back past the wharf to our pen, ends a very relaxing morning on the water.