How Cold is Today?

How cold is it this morning? 

We have a good crowd on and the sky is clear and as yet the winds have not picked up.

I have seen several whales from Marine Drive and when I talk to Bernie he tells me a couple of whales are between "The Perth" and Seal Rock heading east. 

I increase revs as I know the wind is forecast to increase and these whales are on their way. Bernie also says there was a whale heading towards Goode Beach.

We find the whales close to Limestone Head, they are about 500 metres away I reduce revs and head in the general area they have lifted their tails and dived. We cruise for a while at idle and then I see the whales just off our bow heading up to the surface to take a breath. I take the boat out of gear and the whales swim past our bow. Take two breaths and dive again.
We follow but these whales are spending a lot of time travelling deep and we have spotted several blows deeper. 

In all we see about 4 different pods of whales travelling on the line.
The first pod we find has 6 whales in it and they are spending time on the surface as they travel. Some good tail shots are captured but it can be harder than first thought to capture that great shot. Some people standing with me on the fly bridge have decided to just store it in "the memory bank"
These whales head off around Bald head and there are several pods behind us. 

We go into the seal cove to check out some New Zealand Fur seals.

We leave the seals and as we do the whales that we first saw are cruising past us. We watch them go and head to a pod coming from Breaksea Island. There are 2 in this pod. These whales dive so we head to the next pod. its a single whale heading out of King George Sound towards Breaksea.
The winds are picking up so I head into the Sound and we find a very small humpback with no particular place to go, we follow for some time but he is hard to track.

Its now 1135hours so we head for the marina.
Most have headed down stars to the warm cabin but Ill continue to drive from the fly bridge as it gives better visibility.

But its still Very cold:)

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.

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.

A Special Experience.

Bernie visits us at the boat to tell of several pods of whales in King George Sound.
We head out and although Bernie said there were whales over near Seal Rock but they are not that obvious when we cruise past on the way to some blows we have seen towards the middle of King George Sound.

We find 2 whales and follow for some time. 1 small whale lifts its tail and dives and then 2 more over towards Michaelmas Island about 1 km away and another 2 heading south east. We can see breaches out deeper so with the whales around us being pretty quite we head out to see if we can catch some action. No luck today.

We find another lone juvenile whale along side Limestone Head and 2 adults heading south out near Bald Head, but they are travelling and just taking a couple of breaths and then diving.

We go visit the New Zealand Fur Seal colony at Bald Head cove and as we leave the cove the juvenile cruises past us.

We cruise in along the coast stop out side Whale-world and then head towards Seal Rock. It is flat calm and as we head towards Seal Rock I spot a two whales break the surface over towards a couple of squid fishermen.

We head over and follow the whales as they head to Flat Rock just off Whale-world. The whales are very quiet and we knock the boat out of gear. The whales dive and we see their foot prints heading away from us. Then the whales surface and are now heading back towards us. They come in and swim past the stern of the boat as if heading back towards Seal Rock. They then turn and swim around us. Then head off again. Now they are back under the boat. Now they are swimming around us, surfacing at the bow and then at the stern. They swim around us for some time to the delight of our passengers. When they have had enough, they slowly swim away and we headed home.

One of my passengers, commented that they thought I would be over this, after 14 years of watching whales. 

I must say, I still to this day love when whales interact with the boat. I just wish I had more time to capture on video or with my camera.

PS a thought. Are these whales the same ones that swam around us yesterday?

First whales for cruise season.

Well it was a little overcast, but we have very light winds. The round the streets car race in Albany is playing havoc with people trying to get around the road detours. We leave the marina a little late so step up the pace a little. Heading out towards Limestone Head I spot a faint blow, reducing revs as I am not sure which way the whales are travelling. They are quiet so we knock the motors out of gear and then Eve spots a blow back towards town. We idle back to where the whales were last seen and I hear a blow behind us. Looking off the stern the whales are swimming towards us. Once again I take the engines out of gear and we drift as the whales swim up close to the joy of some of our Indian passengers. The whales are quiet and they swim around us and then off toward the headland. We follow them until they head around Bald Head. We head in toward some New Zealand Fur Seals and then cruise along the coast towards home. Even being overcast passengers comment on the beautiful colours of the water, we do live in a pretty place.

A Little Hit & Miss.

With great anticipation we leave the marina this morning.  Cruising out of Princess Royal Harbour I take my position up on the fly-bridge a great place to keep a good look out for any evidence of a whale. We had just 6 people join us on our first whale -watching cruise for this season. We head towards Mistaken Island and cruise through the passage. Then head through Frenchman Bay and towards Limestone Head. No sightings so we continue towards Breaksea Island. Cruising slowly along the northern side of the island we enjoy a spot of morning tea :) Spending some time watching the lazy New Zealand Fur Seals and then over towards Nanarup Beach. Still no sightings so we head through the centre of King George Sound towards the marina. We did not see any whales today but we did cover a lot of ground in search of them. On our way home I said to the passengers that they were welcome to join us again at any time this season. With genuine surprise they were very happy that we would make such an offer. But as I said we want to show our clients a whale and our job is not done until we have.

Whale Watching Luncheon

 Today we had the pleasure of Community Care for a whale watching luncheon. Leaving the jetty a little later than normally we headed out to Limestone Head. Found 3 whales and followed them until they headed around Bald Head. We headed towards Breaksea Island to check out some New Zealand Fur seals. Then headed towards Nanarup to enjoy lunch. As I scanned the horizon a huge splash could mean only one thing. I put it to our passengers that if we went to investigate, our lunch may be a little later than first planed. The vote came back in the affirmative to investigate and this is what greeted us.

7 Humpbacks Close, More Cruising By

Another beautiful day. Once again from a lookout on Marine Drive, I have seen several pods of whales making their way along the "Humpback Highway" We are joined by keen passengers on this great day. We enjoy morning tea as we make our way towards the "Highway" Bernie tells me that several whales have been seen all along the line and more whales east of Michaelmas Island. The first pod we find has 2 whales and they are just cruising, we watch them for some time and every one is pleased when the whales lift their tails from the water but I know this means that the whales will dive deep for a few minutes and then re-appear some distance away. We know more whales are coming up behind us and we are constantly looking for a breach.  We turn and head east leaving the first 2 whales to head past "Bald Head" The second pod we find have 3 whales, 1 larger whale and 2 smaller whales, most likely a couple of juveniles. As we follow them one of the smaller whales throws it self from the water tail first every time it comes to the surface. Very hard to capture but I can hear the whirl of camera motor drives every time the whale surfaces. They too get close to Bald Head and we leave them, to check on the "New Zealand Fur Seals" in "Bald Head Cove". I make comment that if I am ever reincarnated I wish to be a seal. They don't seem to do much. We head home and as we cross King George Sound we see whales breaching ahead, in the distance. By the time we get there the whales have stop breaching we stay with them long enough to confirm numbers and then head on our way. Getting back to the marina late no one seams to be worried, passengers are still going through the pictures they have  taken to see if they have captured the moment. It is easy now days to take 200 photos on a cruise if the whales are doing the right thing.

Some Days are Dimonds.

But not today :(
With Showers coming over the harbour we head out towards Limestone Head. Bernie says he has seen a whale there but it is very quiet. We spend time looking but if it dose not want to be seen then who are we to argue. We head out to Breaksea Island and as we are heading to the seal colony I spot several blows east of Michaelmas Island. But rather than head straight there we go and check on the seals. Thinking that the whales will be heading west so coming towards us. Problem is when we head towards where we saw the last blows we do not see any blows. We spend time cruising back and forth scanning all around. I know I was not mistaken and passengers who also saw the blows don't believe how a whale can disappear. We cruise over Herald Reef thinking that they might have slipped past us and headed into King George Sound inshore. As we decide that we will not see a whale today and start to head home Bernie calls on the two way and tells me that he has seen several blows heading to the east of Breaksea Island. Well we are not that far away so I turn the boat and head out. As we are getting close we see a whale smash its tail on the sea surface. Sea conditions are not that good where the whales are, we get a bit of a look but when the rain starts to set in and the whales head out to rougher seas its time to head home. The rain stays with us until we are just about to enter the marina.
My guests all tell me that some times you just have to accept that when dealing with nature you have to accept that every day is not going to be amazing, but I  want my guests to go away with great memories of their cruise so I offer a return cruise tomorrow and everyone accepts. With better weather forecast lets hope that the whales will play the game too.

4 Humpbacks & Beautifull Conditions.

What a beautiful day. Very little wind flat calm sea conditions and blue skies. We head out and to day is a day you just love to be on the water even if you don't see a whale. We get to Limestone Head and i have not spotted any blows yet so we turn and head towards Breaksea Island. It is not long before I spot several blows and when I am happy that what I am seeing is not caused by waves breaking on the shore of Michaelmas Island I tell those who are sitting with me on the fly bridge that we have some whales ahead. I point out what I have spotted and with in a short time every body has picked up the whales as they head in to King George Sound. I increase the revs and it is not long before we with in 500 metres of the whales and we have once again reduced revs to just above idle. How many whales have we found? It can be hard some times as they don't all take a breath at the same time. We follow these whales for longer than 1 hour, at times one of the whales lurches from the water and I think we are about to see some breaching but that dose not eventuate. The larger of the whales is making loud snorting sounds at times, is this aggressive or is it just clearing hits throat. We leave these whales as they get close to Bald Head. We head towards Frenchman Bay where we find some dolphins just to top of the day. We had some guests booked on the tour today and they did not turn up. I know that tomorrow the weather will not be so good I will be disappointed if they didn't make it because they slept in.

Breaching Whales

Bernie comes down to the boat just before we depart the marina to tell me that there are 2 whales close to a boat that is currently at "Gia Batter Reef" But he tells me that they are very quiet. We head out over a beautifully calm King George Sound to find the boat but can not find the whales. Bernie radios me and tells me that it looks like a couple of quiet whales are out close to Breaksea Island, we continue slowly out towards the seal colony on Breaksea Island, still not finding any whales. We head towards Limestone Head and as we get close and no doubt with the passengers now thinking we will not see any whales, I spot 2 very quiet whales heading towards us close to the coast. The call of "there she blows"  brings everybody to the bow or upstairs to see what I have found. I knock the boat out of gear so we can see which way the whales are travelling. The whales appear off to our port side so we turn to follow them. In my mind I am thinking that this is going to be a quiet day with just a few tail shots form these whales for our passengers to capture. Then they break loose, both whales burst from the surface and continue to breach for about 20 minutes. At times breaching very close to us. These whales were so close at times as they burst from the water you could see every marking on their bellies. It is about now I am wondering why I left my camera on the back seat of my car back at the marina. The whales are making their way towards Bald Head, and after a while they start to quieten down. At times laying on their side and slapping their pectoral fin on the sea surface. We follow them a little further and then head home. With the whales behind us every body is busy checking to see if they had captured the spectacular show we had all witnessed. There were some great shots. Message to self "don't leave camera in car again".

"Hard Day"

After a great viewing yesterday we leave the marina confident of a good day. How wrong could I be. We head south east from the channel towards Seal Rock, Bernie comes over the radio and tells me he has not seen any whales so far this morning. OH NO. Ever the optimistic I am sure we will find something on "The Humpback Highway" We travel from Bald Head around the eastern end of Breaksea Island, we have about a 2 metre south west swell with an .3 metre north west sea a little uncomfortable if we were to be stationary but we keep moving so no problems. We head to the seal colony on the north eastern end of Breaksea and then make our way north towards Nanarup with still no sightings. We arrive off Nanarup Beach and now have to change channels so we can stay in touch just in case he spots a whale entering King George Sound behind us. We travel along Nanarup hoping now to find a Southern Right Whale close to shore. We travel along the coast making our way back towards the Sound and as we get close to herald reef I spot a blow off in the distance. We make our way over and find 2 young humpback whales cruising west. Allah-lulu-a!! We have covered some miles today. We stay with these whales for some time and then head home. We will be about 45 minutes late, but hey we did find them in the end. As we get to the entrance of Princess Royal Harbour we see that the other whale watching vessel has just found the whales.
"Master of the vessel Silver Star II"
Paul Guest

"A Curious Humpback Calf"

Today we have a beautiful day, no wind and blue sky. Leaving the marina I do enjoy "days like these"
Bernie calls as we head past the wharf to tell us that 2 humpbacks have been seen travelling in to King George Sound and have just cruised along Middleton beach and are now heading out past Ledge Beach. We step up the revs  hoping that these whales wont be to far from where they were last seen. We catch up with these 2 adult humpback whales as they head towards Limestone Head. We tag along enjoying morning tea trying to get a tail shot but these whales are a little lazy. The water is so clear though we can see them as they swimming just under the surface of the water. As we get closer to Limestone Head a blow is seen about 1km to our stern. I decide, because we are close, we will go and visit the new Zealand Fur Seals that hall up on the rocks in Bald Head Cove. As I go to move away from the whales they seam to follow us at times even swimming under us. After some time they leave us and we head out to the seal colony. As we head back along the coast towards King George Sound the whales we have been watching are heading towards us. We stop and the whales swim up to us and continue with out missing a breath.
We head into wards Seal Rock and stop off to chat to a local squid fisherman to check his days catch. Leaving Graham we spot the whale we saw off to our stern 30 minutes ago, as we make our way in that direction we even spot one of the Fairy Penguins from the Mistaken Island colony conditions are so calm. When we arrive it is not long before we see the blows of a new born Humpback calf. It is very small but very curious and even brings mom over to have a close look at us. We stay with mother and baby for a little while and then head home via the passage between Mistaken Island and the mainland slowing down to check out a seal as it lays on the surface apparently asleep till we wake him.

"Master of the vessel Silver Star Paul Guest"

"Whales in Love"

Two whales today, just being whales in love. Folks it is mating season so we think when whales are seen in pairs it is probably a male (bull) and female (cow), and I think it is the cow in the front and the bull behind with his tongue hanging out, hey why should it be different for whales. Well we spent about 1 hour with a pair and then because they were pretty quiet we headed out to the eastern end of Michaelmas Island. We traveled out on the northern side of the island but we could not find any thing that looked like a whale. So while we were out there we decided to go and visit the new Zealand Fur Seal colony on Breaksea Island. Then headed back towards home still looking for more whales as we did.
"Think Whales Think Albany"
Master of the vessel Paul Guest.