"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

"Easterly Wind"

I have heard strong winds blowing all night from the east, although the forecast was for lighter winds. So on the way to the boat, I go to the to the lookout on Marine Drive. As expected, the sea conditions are not too good. I scan the Sound to see if any whales are close but no luck. I head to the marina and when passengers that have  book on start to arrive I tell them that conditions are not very nice especially for those families with young children, I ask if they have to opportunity to cruise tomorrow. Two couples cant make tomorrows trip. One couple decided to get a refund from the visitor center where they purchased it yesterday and one couple say that they don't get sea sick so choose to travel with the other operator in town.
I don't give this advice just because people may get sea sick, it is a range of reasons.

Seasickness of course.

Enjoyment, why go on a day that the weather is not good when you can go on a day that the weather will be much better.

Ease to find the whales, their were no whales seen in King George Sound so we would have to venture some distance and with these conditions it can be very hard to spot the whales and then to follow the whales so that passengers get a good view, after all isn't that why you have purchased the ticket.

People have told me that I should just take your money. I'm sorry folks I take pride in my business and wish that you will remember your cruise with us with fond memories not with contempt for me.
"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