Whales Chasing Common Dolphins

Leaving Princess Royal Harbour we are told that whales have been seen over towards Limestone Head. We head in that direction and find them NE of Seal Rock. Two very quiet young humpbacks.

We stick with them for some time then see dolphins 500 metres away, we go over to them and when they are in our wake we head back to the whales. We watch them play for some time. Spy hopping and fluke slaps as they play / chase the dolphins

We head off to see what else we may find out towards Breaksea Island, after finding the seals on the northern shores, we head to the eastern end and head south. We cruise west along the southern side of  Breaksea Island with great visibility off to the south but to no avail. We cruise past a local small boat at the south western end of the island to see if they are having any luck.

Now head towards Bald Head cruising past the dredge as it empties and then continue to Limestone Head along the coast past Discovery Bay, Frenchman Bay, Goode Beach and over the passage at Mistaken Island and back to the marina.

How Many Whales Today?

Sunday saw a magic day.
Why would you live any where else?
School holidays coming to an end so its not too busy.
We head out towards Bald Head and as we pass Seal Rock while deep in conversation with passengers, blows are spotted off towards Michaelmas Island, about 1km away. We head over and cant find the whales. Ok where did they go.

There they are back there from where we came. What how could they travel so fast. We head back towards Goode Beach. We get close to the foot print and what would you know blows are seen close to where we just left. Ok so we have several whales that are not moving far, but are 700 metres apart.

If they don't want to be watched lets find some that do.
We are now heading east again I spot several blows towards the islands. It look like 4 or 5 whales and they are staying on the surface so we should get a good look. We get closer and now we have several pods. 4-5 here, 3 over there, 2 heading that way and 2 more 200 metres away. Which one's do we follow?
That decision is made easy as the larger pod and breaking the surface constantly. We follow at idle at times having to stop as the whales cut across our bow and then turn and head back in the general direction of Limestone Head.

As we follow these whales ahead we see 600 metres ahead 2 more whales heading west. Our pod slows and change direction and swim around behind the pair that are heading west. They now are close to the land and cruising along the rocks. The other whale watching vessel is very close to the rocks and travelling into King George Sound. The whales dive and go under their boat and continue on their way. We turn and cruise the coast back to the Marina. The wind is light, the sea is flat calm, the sky is blue what a great day for a winters 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.

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.

Well folks the end is neigh. After having some great interaction with whales this season it seams that the end is close. Today we did not find any Southern Right Whales, but we did find 4 Humpbacks as they make their way home to Antarctica. Here are some of the pictures we caught this season.

7 Whales

Calm conditions greet us today. I have spent time sitting at the car park on Marine Drive and seen 3 pods of whales cruising on the Humpback Highway. We head out towards Limestone Head, knowing that the whales I saw earlier from Marine Drive would now be well and truly past Bald Head and so we will not catch up with them. It dose not matter though as out spotter Bernie has seen several pods out on the line. We find the first pod, a pair of whales and they are just cruising. Looking east here come another 3 whales but one is making a bit of a splash. We go to get a closer look. The pod is made up of 2 large whales and a smaller one. Its the little one who is making the splash. We follow these guys until they get close to Bald Head and then we head off to check out seals in the Bald Head Cove. As we head in that direction we spot 2 whales off to our port side. We turn in that direction and the whales now head towards us. They disapiar for a little while, passengers question where they have gone. But then as if on key, a whale bursts from the water, within 100 metres from our vessel. Too quickly and unexpected for any one to get any pictures other than the splash as the whale crashes back to the sea surface.

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.

Season Start

I wake to light N-NE winds and I head past Marine Drive on the way to the boat. Calm conditions for our first whale watching cruise. As I walk on board the boat to head out a call comes in from a local tug. Eric tells me that 2 Humpback whales are crossing the shipping channel not far from where he is waiting, for a wood chip ship, which will be brought into the port this morning. We find the whales very close to shore at Point King. They are very quiet maybe because the ship is now coming up the channel. We stick with these whales for some time, even enjoying morning tea. At times the whales do come close enough to get a good look but they are very quiet. We head off thinking me might find some dolphins for those children on board whom seem more interested in dolphins than whales. We cruise over towards Frenchman Bay going through the shallow channel at Mistaken Island. As we round the mussel lease I see a large splash out past Seal Rock.  We arrive to find 2 young humpbacks, if you were quick enough you may have been lucky enough to get some photos, of them breaching. May be they are starting to tire be cause they don't breach again while we are close. We follow them as the head towards Bald Head. We leave them as the water becomes confused and head towards home in time for lunch. I can relax now as I have all the children up on the fly-bridge, driving us home, as there parents capture the moments, the smiles tell the story.

Season starting soon, as first whales now being seen.

2012's whale watching season is not far from starting, as today one of the dive operators in Albany told me that they had spotted a Humpback whale while diving out between Michaelmas and Breaksea Island. We had also heard of a southern right whale being sighted off "Two Peoples Bay" some 3 weeks ago. Our tours should start in the first week of June.

"Southern Rights off Middleton Beach"

We arrive at the boat and we have another great day. Bernie arrives to tell us that several whales have be spotted entering Frenchman Bay. We leave the marina and head towards Seal Rock. As we leave Princess Royal Harbour a call comes over the radio from a fisherman to inform us we are heading in the wrong direction as a Southern Right whale has been spotted off Griffith Street, Middleton Beach. I tell him that we have information on 4 humpback whales so we will come to the southern rights on our way home. We spot the whales off Goode Beach as we round the eastern end of Mistaken Island. The whales head towards Mistaken Island so we stop and wait for them to arrive. They don't care about us and head past us and in towards the mussel lease we turn and skirt the lease keeping an eye on 4 whales as they swim right through the middle of the lease. The whales then part and  rejoin each other again. Conditions are very calm so we turn off the motors and drop the hydrophone over the side to see if we can hear any whale songs. No luck today but can you beet a calm day, whales close, sunshine and a good coffee. Passengers are busy taking pictures and the whales playing mating games. We get a call from a mate on the beach and he informs me we have 2 more humpbacks heading towards us from Whale World. We spend about 1.5 hours with whales close and then with a breeze coming across the sound we head off to check out the southern rights. We find them not far from where they had been first reported. We watch them for a while and then head back to the dock.
"Master of the Vessel Silver Star II"
Paul Guest

"Things Calm Down"

As forecast the weather was better this morning. We head out towards Limestone Head and as we get close i see a week blow some distance off. Their is still a good south westerly swell running but at least we do not have an easterly sea on top of that. As we get towards Bald Head fortunately a passenger spots a blow behind us. "Their is a god" We have several young children on board and I really do not wish to head out side of King George Sound. We turn and head back to find s single whale which is heading towards Gull Rock. We tag along waiting for some good tail shots and then we get an unexpected surprise breach. We all saw it but no one got a picture. Then the whale went quiet again.The other whale watching vessel then arrived and stayed for just 10 minutes and then headed off. But knowing that no more whales had been sighted in the area we decided to stay with this whale. We enjoy a cup of Naked Bean coffee and wait for another breach that does not come. When we leave the whale we are close to Gull Rock and we have no wind, no swell, and plenty of sunshine. Its a good day to be alive. We leave the whale to cruise along the coast via Gull Rock and Middleton Beach.
"Master of the vessel Silver Star II"
Paul Guest

"Humpback Cow and Calf"

I get a text from Andrew Halsall who is doing the last section of a flight along the coast from Albany to Perth to count and photograph any Southern Right whales for John Banister and the Western Australian Museum. He tells us that we have 1 humpback whale south of the light on Breaksea Island at 0918 hours.

We head out towards Bald Head and as we get closer Bernie tells us he can see blows very close to the rocks. We then find the blows and a whale throwing it's self out of the water backwards so we head in that direction. As we get closer we see a calf traveling along side mum. We stick with these whales until they round Bald Head and then with a good swell still running we turn and head towards Breaksea Island to catch up with some new Zealand Fur Seals. Coming across a large pod of Common Dolphins who seam to have some place they want to be, can't see any schools of fish that they may be chasing so we leave them in their quest for what ever it is they are trying to catch. We catch up with the seals and then head back towards the marina via Cassey's beach and the coast of King George Sound.
"Master of the vessel Silver Star II"
Paul Guest

"Scotch Mist"

As we head out of Princess Royal Harbour, Bernie calls us up and tells us that 2 whales have been seen half way between Michaelmas Island and the Safe Water Marker. Its calm in King George Sound but I can see the white water on the south western end of Breaksea so I am pleased to learn of the whales position. We put the hammer down and over take our competitor as we leave the channel. We arrive at the whales after most people have enjoyed a coffee and are now ready with their camera poised. We find the 2 whales heading out and at times after they have taken a dive they surface close to the boat. We stay with these whales as they head over towards Bald Head. Now the scotch mist moves in and people comment that they are pleased we have a roof over our heads. We are getting close to the outer limits of King George Sound so we leave the whales and head over to Breaksea Island and check out some lazy New Zealand fur seals. We travel the length of Breaksea and then head over towards the northern side of  Michaelmas Island and then along the coast towards home. Hoping to find a quiet Southern Right whale laying close into the shore. No luck. When will we see the large numbers of Southern Rights like last year?
"Master of the Vessel Silver Star II"
Paul Guest

"Working Hard"

As we get closer to the end of the humpback migration sightings are getting a little harder. We left the marina today with word from Bernie that their are whales out on the line. We waste time and head straight out in that direction. As we make our way towards Bald Head we see that their is good swell hitting Breaksea Island. This could make things interesting. We get close to the line and Bernie tells us he can now see the whales that have come around the back of Breaksea Island. And just at that moment I see blows from the fly-bridge steering station. They are south east of us about 2 km away. Then we spot more blows south of us. but a little closer, so that's the pod we will approach first. We find 2 whales cruising to the west but they are a little hard to watch as we are now in the southern ocean and we have a 3 metre swell to contend with. We watch these whales for a little while as the head even further south west. Bernie tells us that the whales to our east are heading in towards King George Sound, we turn and find their blows quickly so head in that direction, hoping that they continue on that bearing. As we get closer all those on the fly-bridge see the whales blow several times but then disappear. We travel in the direction they were heading for some time. I do hate when whales do this. Bernie tells us that he was watching 2 whales between the islands and they have vanished also. But to get a bit of respite from the swell  I think we will head that way and see if they surface again in calmer waters. We don't find them but we do get to see several Australian and New Zealand seals that are hauled up on Breaksea Island. We round the eastern end of Michaelmas Island and then over to Frenchman Bay hoping that the whales have cruised in shore as a couple did the other day. No luck. All in all a pretty hard day.
"Master of the Vessel Silver Star II"
Paul Guest.

"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

"Whales for 1 Hour"

We leave the marina after Bernie has told us of several pods of humpbacks making their way along "The Humpback Highway" We get to the area about 35 minutes after leaving the marina and find several pods of whales heading west as they do. We spend some time with them and then because of the sea and swell we head back into King George Sound.  Bernie had told us that a couple of whales had traveled between the islands and were heading towards Seal Rock. But he had to head off him self to do a couple of jobs before we were able to re-enter the Sound and pick up their blows. We could not see them so I decided to head towards Frenchman Bay and Whale World, hoping that the whales would be found off Goode Beach. We caught up with a local fisherman and checked out his mornings catch of squid. Then we head off towards Goode Beach then we see blows close to the mussel lease at Mistaken Island. The whales are very quiet and as we get closer they head towards us. I reduce reeves, take the motors out of gear and then turn off the motors. The whales are swimming around us in no time. For about 1 hour they come and go at times swimming under the boat and then getting up to 200 metres away and then turning to return to the boat. Much to the delight of all on-board. Yes folks even the crew. Several passengers can not believe our luck, commenting that they never imagined they would get so close to the whales. We will be late home but no one cares. Eventually the whales head off and we start the motors and head home our self, traveling over the passage between Mistaken Island and the mainland. A good day.
"Master of the vessel Silver Star II"
Paul Guest.

"Injured Humpback Whale"

We head out from the marina with calmer weather than over the past few days. Bernie has visited us at the office and said that the only whales spotted were half way between Gull Rock and the Safe Water Marker. We head out hoping that we can find these whales in side King George Sound as the swell from the storms from several days ago, is still running out side of the sound. As we get close to the Safe Water Marker, Bernie tells us that the whale is close bye but very quiet. Then the whale surfaces. WOW what are those white markings covering most of its back. This whale is very quiet but we spend some time trying to get close enough to get a good photograph of these markings. "Oh no" We get a little closer and it looks like this whale has been attacked as their is a large amount of skin missing down this whales back. One of our passengers gets photos that under closer scrutiny we see that their are even huge holes in the whales tail. We call the local CALM office and report this whale. Peter Collins tells us that he will launch their boat with in 30 minutes and come to get a closer look. We leave this whale and head over to 2 humpback whales over towards Ledge Beach. We find them and passengers are encouraged to try and catch that picture of water dripping from the tail as the whale lifts its tail from the water and shows us the individual markings underneath. These whales are moving in no set pattern so staying with them at times is a little hard. We leave to cruise past Seal Rock, Whale World, Frenchman Bay, Good Beach and we stopped off to chat to a local squid fisherman to see what he had caught.
"Master of the vessel Paul Guest"

"10th Humpback Calf in Albany"

Well folks, we left from the marina today having had reports from a local fisherman, of a very large Southern Right whale at the port channel marker at 7am this morning. And Bernie our spotter told us that humpbacks were between the islands, blows were also seen off Goode Beach and Herald Reef, so we were confident that it would not take long for us to find some whales to watch. Today was one of those days when we get reminded that we are dealing with wild animals. We headed towards Herald Reef because of the forecast north westerly winds. Not finding the whales we were sure that they had headed towards Nanarup beach so continued on. No whales there either. So we now turn and head towards the eastern end of Michaelmas Island. Stopping off at the colony of New Zealand Fur Seals at Breaksea Island. Then towards Limestone Head. Bernie tells us that blows have been seen out deep. Do we really want to go out their. The winds are strengthening now but may be we can go and have a look before they get too strong. We head south east and have trouble finding any blows. After some time a passenger spots a small blow about 400 meters away. As we get close we find 2 humpbacks travelling slowly just under the sea surface. Then we see why. A little calf pops up for a breath. We stay with these whales, they are just slowly swimming to the west. This tells us that we have a cow calf and a midwife. We are told that a pregnant cow will at times be accompanied by another cow for a few weeks at the time of birth. If it had have been a bull the cow and calf would have been moving in an erratic way to try and get away from it. I have seen a cow and a new born calf that was just several days old, swim away from approaching whales so fast I did not see which way it went.
 We left these whales as they continued on their way and headed towards home, we find 1 more humpback whale as it cuts across our bow. And 1 more humpback whale as we travel along the coast towards Limestone Head.
We travel in to Goode Beach hoping to find the whale that was seen earlier in the channel entrance. But alas no.
So we continue back to arrive at the marina just 35 minutes late.
"Think Whales Think Albany"
"The master of the vessel Silver Star II Paul Guest"

"Strong Winds But Worth The Trip"

Strong winds and rain cover the harbor we leave the marina. We have a few brave souls on board who where encouraged to cruise after yesterdays beautiful weather. We head out to Michaelmas Island after whales were sighted in the area. Passengers enjoy a hot coffee down stairs as I drive from the fly-bridge as it gives me better viability. After making our way between the islands we head over towards Nanarup Beach, I see what I believe is a blow some distance away and spend some time trying to find it again. I give up and continue towards Nanarup. We cruise the beach in calmer waters hoping to find a Southern Right whale, but no luck. The weather is abating and when we clear the head land so we can contact Bernie our spotter he tells us that whales are off the NW end of Breaksea Island. As I am talking to Bernie I see a huge splash that can only be a whale breaching. We head in that direction and more breaches as we approach. I loose the whales for a while and then see a breach out of the corner of my eye. The sea conditions are a little choppy so I have to tack as I make our way to the whales as they are now heading inshore on the northern side of the island. As we get close we count 6 to 8 whales. Following them as they turn and head towards Bald Head we follow for some time and then with all of our passengers happy we head for home. On the way home with wind strength increasing again, I even head down stairs to the warmth of the main cabin and get some of the children on-board to take the wheel to drive us back to the marina.
"Think Whales think Albany"
Master of the vessel Paul Guest.

"Whales Everywhere"

It is a glorious day, no wind, no clouds and a high of 20C forecast. I do love my job! Bernie comes to the boat and tells me that he thinks that there is a humpback cow and calf past the channel markers over towards Gull Rock. But there is also a large pod of humpbacks between Limestone Head and Seal Rock. We head out of the channel and Bernie from his lookout spot tells me that the whales now are east of the safe water marker. Naomi Bail from Whale world rings me to say she can see whale from work and they seam to be between Mistaken Island and Seal Rock. It took longer than I expected but we catch up with the pod as they charge towards Bald Head. I count a dozen whales as they break the surface to take a breath. We follow them around Bald Head and they start to play. Whales are lurching from the water and landing on whales that have just taken a breath. Several pods of whales come in to join the main pod and then leave again. Then we see the pod change direction and charge over towards a lone whale some 200 metres away. A lot of bumping is going on now and whales are throwing them self from the water tail first at times. We have great photo opportunities, thanks to digital cameras, even some breaches. We head home and as we round Bald head on the way home another whale is just ahead of us. I think we get to about 25 whales for the day.
We drop in to see the New Zealand Fur Seals for some more pictures. As we head home many people are checking to see if they are happy with their pictures.
"Think Whales think Albany"
Master of the vessel Paul Guest.