Despite some cloud on the island, our vigias (lookouts) have been spotting plenty of marine wildlife today where out at sea it's been much sunnier - firstly a group of sperm whales socialising at the surface, with this individual rolling over and spyhopping so we could see its lower jaw.

Sperm whales can have up to 26 teeth on either side of the lower jaw, each of which can meaure up to 25cm in length and weigh as much as a kilogram - here in the Azores many people still have teeth from the whaling days when whalers practised the art of scrimshaw, or engraving, on these huge teeth, to pass the time at sea.

The art of scrimshaw

Sperm whales diving this morning

Our swimming groups and whalewatchers also had encounters with common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. The bottlenose dolphins were especially friendly today - one group swam alongside our catamaran for quite some distance before we stopped to observe a sperm whale resting at the surface between its long dives.

Today we had a beautiful start to our morning whale watching trips. When we departed the sun was already bright and warm and it didn't take us too long to come across a group of sperm whales just outside of Ponta Delgada. We got to see many high tails as the sperm whales went on their deep dives. From our sightings we could confirm that there were more than 10 sperm whales in this group. There were also plenty of dolphins around: Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins. The spotted dolphins were particularly curious about our boats, so we got to have some great close encounters from our boats, as well as from the water for our dolphin swimming trip. The following photos our from our great encounters this morning:

Watching a sperm whale in the morning sun

One of the many sperm whale tails we saw

Atlantic spotted dolphins up close

Our afternoon tours were just as good. Our swimmers spent their time swimming again with Atlantic spotted dolphins, while the whale watchers had also encountered spotted dolphins as well as sperm whales, Risso's dolphins, common dolphins and striped dolphins.

Sperm whales, common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins have been sighted on our trips so far today..

Atlantic spotted dolphins

We're also keeping an eye on the news to see what is achieved at this year's annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission taking place this week. Seeing whales and dolphins in their natural habitat every day naturally makes us passionate about their welfare so we're hoping agreements are made to limit the whaling which still goes on in some countries. We have a very rich whaling history here in the Azores but we are very happy to have made the transition to sustainable whalewatching, in the hope that the more people learn about these incredible creatures the more motivated we will all be to protect them and our shared environment. English journalist and writer Philip Hoare visited the islands recently and raises some interesting questions here: http://gu.com/p/3vdf7 At Futurismo we believe in responsible whalewatching and hope that observing whales and dolphins in the wild inspires our guests to minimise their impact on the marine environment.

After a cloudy start to the day, the skies have finally cleared and the sun has reappeared so our guests are out enjoying encounters with a group of sperm whales, some very fast moving striped dolphins, and pods of Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins.

A guest from last week has kindly sent in some pictures from his whalewatching trip during which we spent some time with a big group of pilot whales - see below, thank you to Magnus Ekberg! We are currently putting together a photo ID catalogue of pilot whales to better understand the animals we see in our waters, and having guests send in their pictures is really helpful to ensure we identify as many animals in the group as possible. Our photo ID catalogues currently include sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. If you've been out whalewatching or dolphin swimming with us recently feel free to send in your pictures to futurismo.biologists@gmail.com - if the photo clearly shows the dorsal fin and/or tail flukes and any unusual marks we may be able to identify the animal you saw!

It's often possible to tell the diffence between male and female pilot whales by their dorsal fins - this looks like an adult male and smaller female swimming side by side

Another great photo from Magnus - a group of common dolphins bow-riding at the front of our catamaran Cetus

Today was another one of those great summer days at sea in the Azores. In the morning we had a very successful swimming with dolphins trip with a very large group of Atlantic spotted dolphins while our whale watching tour saw sperm whales, common dolphins and striped dolphins. In the afternoon we had more encounters with sperm whales and common dolphins. The day ended perfectly as we were just about to enter the marina we came across a very social group of common dolphins close to shore just outside of Ponta Delgada. Here are some photos of this great final encounter for the day:

Today was another great day for pilot whales, sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. Again it was another one of those really calm days and although the sky wasn't always clear we had some beautiful views of São Miguel island covered in patches of low cloud. Here are a couple of photos from today:

A clip of how friendly one of our resident species, the short-beaked common dolphin, can be: http://vimeo.com/25905484 This is a great example of how much these dolphins love to bow-ride and swim alongside boats. Sometimes we wonder who is enjoying the trip more, us or them..

Our new catamaran - "CETUS"

On the 29th of June Futurismo hosted an evening to inaugurate our new catamaran "CETUS". This new edition to our fleet is used to run sunset trips as well as whale and dolphin watching tours alongside our smaller boats. Our new catamaran allows a greater degree of comfort while travelling over the sea, so that a greater diversity of people have the opportunity to come whale watching with us. As well as comfort, the spacious upper deck and front viewing space of this boat offers excellent whale and dolphin watching opportunities and ease of maneuverability to give the best possible view. The ceremony involved presentation followed by a priest coming on board to bless the boat and cocktails and canapés to celebrate the occassion. It was a really proud moment for everybody involved to be able to achieve this stage that is a huge step forward for Futurismo. Throughout June catamaran has already had many sucessful whale watching trips, and we are looking forward to the many more to come in the future.

June sighting statistics

June was another great month for whale watching in São Miguel. This month we saw 8 cetacean species:

• Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)


• Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)


• Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)


• Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis)


• Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus)


• Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhyncus)


• Beaked whale (Mesoplodon sp.)


• Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)
  

This month is also turning out to be really good so far. Yesterday we already saw 8 species throughout the day!

Eight species in a day! Today has been a great day out at sea - this morning we had a fantastic sighting of two fin whales, an unexpected species as usually large baleen whales like these are seen in the springtime when they are migrating north for the summer - our last sighting was back in May. During the trip we also saw sperm whales, common, striped, Atlantic spotted and bottlenose dolphins... six species in total!

Watching a passing fin whale

The afternoon trips were eventful - pilot whales joined the list of sightings and were especially friendly. A sperm whale calf seemed to be enjoying spending time with them at the surface while they swam over and around the individual rolling around playfully.

Sperm whale calf and pilot whales socialising

For our eighth cetacean species of the day, one of our dolphin swimming trips spent time with a large group of Risso's dolphins this afternoon.. and were temporarily joined by a flying fish which flew into one of the crew members aboard the boat - a closer encounter than most of our guests had expected!

Looking down on bow-riding Atlantic spotted dolphins

Big male sperm whale!

The highlight of today was a very big sperm whale that was in the area. We had a few other sperm whales around too, but we ended up watching the big male between its deep long dives that lasted up to 73 minutes in duration. This morning we also saw common dolphins while in the afternoon we had a great encounter with a mixed group of striped dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins.

It's always an amazing experience to be able to see all these animals which unfortunately face a lot of threats today. One of these threats is entanglement in objects like nets, ropes and plastic. We like to help when we can by removing such items from the water. Today we pulled out a huge rope (shown in the picture below) which had a diameter of about 15cm, a length of more than 20m and a weight of at least 100kg! Eliminating such potential threats can make a huge difference so that we can continue to enjoy the dolphins, whale and other marine life.

Welcome to the Azorean summer

We are well and truly experiencing the Azorean summer now! Over the past week we have had some really great hot days with calm seas that have been perfect for our whale watching and dolphin swimming tours. During this busy week we have had encounters with many sperm whales, pilot whales, Risso's dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, turtles, and even a marlin. It was a particular bonus this week to see the Atlantic spotted dolphins arrive here on Friday for the first time this year. Now we can expect them to stick around for the rest of the summer while the water is nice and warm. We are looking forward to the many more great summer days to come.

Another beautiful sunny day in São Miguel.. And we can know be sure that summer is here to stay as yesterday the Atlantic spotted dolphins arrived! We only see this species during the summer months when the water is warmer, usually 20ºC or above, so it's very exciting to have our first sighting.

We also had a reminder of how careful we should be with our litter when we recently came across an immature loggerhead turtle with a plastic bag wrapped around its flipper. Luckily for this individual we were able to stop and remove the rubbish but many turtles aren't so fortunate - rubbish in the oceans, especially plastic, can be incredibly dangerous to marine life. It was an opportunity to remind everyone on board of the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling our waste before this little guy was happily released back into the water to continue basking in the sunshine..

Sperm whale group socialising!

Today was another great day at sea in São Miguel. Today we saw sperm whales, Risso's dolphins and common dolphins. The sperm whales were socialising throughout the day, so we got to see many of them on the surface together. Some of us were lucky to see one of the whales sticking its head out of the water (spyhopping) and another rolling on its side to show part of its tail above the water. In the morning we counted 7 whales side by side, and in the afternoon 4, including a very small calf. The calf looked like it was very young, possibly close to newborn which is when they are only 4 metres long. We also saw many common dolphin calves, including some that were recently born as they still had skin folds. Here are some photos of today's sperm whales:

Video of whale watching and dolphin swimming with Futurismo

Have a look at this great video kindly shared by Toni Poikeljärvi, one of our recent whale watching customers. It's always great to receive such good feedback, thank you Toni!

The real summer has finally arrived to the Azores! The past few days have been just perfect to go to sea. The sea has been calm and clear, the water is warming up and we have had some great sightings. Over the past few days we have been seeing sperm whales, pilot whales, common dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso's dolphins and many other species like loggerhead turtles, a leatherback turtle, sunfish, sharks and many bird species. The following photos are just a small sample of the many great sightings we have had off São Miguel island over the past few days.

Loggerhead turtle in crystal clear water

Pilot whale mother and calf

Sperm whale with two of our boats in the background

Pilot whale

Common dolphins bowriding with one of our semi-rigid boats

Striped dolphins

Discovering Sete Cidades in São Miguel Island

These are some of the photos taken during one of our walking tours to Sete Cidades yesterday. As well as our whale watching and dolphin swimming tours we also run jeep safaris and walking tours to various parts of the island. Although the morning yesterday started off a bit foggy and drizzly it soon cleared up as we made our descent down to the twin lakes of Sete Cidades. Our clients got to enjoy the amazing views as we made our way around one of the lakes to a picnic site where we enjoyed a relaxed lunch out in nature. During the end of the afternoon we went to Ferraria which is a special place where volcanic activity heats the sea water so that you can bathe and relax in the natural pool along this part of the coast. This is just one of the many tour options that we offer to show people the beautiful islands of the Azores.

A beautiful day on the sea with 5 species of dolphins and whales

Today was one of those beautiful days where the sea was perfectly flat and clear with barely any wind. It made for perfect conditions to spot and view dolphins and whales on our tours today. We were lucky that there were a lot of animals around today. In the morning we had a tour on our new catamaran "Cetus" and had some great encounters with sperm whales, pilot whales, rissos dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. On this tour we got to see many sperm whale females and calves as well as some amazing jumps from the risso's dolphins. The afternoon was just as good as on this tour we got to see an exeptionally high tail from one of our resident sperm whales, a very small pilot whale calf and a very friendly group of common dolphins swimming close to our boat in the crystal clear waters.

Some of the curious common dolphins swimming alongside our boat during the afternoon tour

Pilot whale calf swimming close to its mother

One of the sperm whales we sighted throughout the day

Today was an exciting day for crew and passengers alike as we took one of our first trips on our new catamaran "Cetus"! With plenty of space to move around and the opportunity to view the animals from different viewing spots on the boat meant everyone had a fantastic chance to see the whales and dolphins.

Our coastal vigia spotted sperm whales not too far from shore, so we spent time with a group of females and calves as they socialised and dived to feed. One of our biologists Miranda took this great shot of one of the whales diving.

Other species included bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and striped dolphins in the morning, and Cory's shearwaters flying alongside the boats. A great day to have one of our first days out on the water with "Cetus" - especially with the new open layout of the boat's bow so we can look down on the dolphins bow-riding.

May sighting statistics

The month of May was another good one for whale watching in São Miguel. This month we saw 9 cetacean species:

• Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)


• Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)


• Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)


• Rissos dolphins (Grampus griseus)


• Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)


• Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)


• Blue whales (Baleanoptera musculus)


• Sei whales (Baleanoptera borealis)


• Fin whales (Baleanoptera physalus)

This month is also off to a good start so far. In the past 2 days we have already seen sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and Rissos dolphins!

Today in São Miguel we were very lucky that it turned out to be one of those perfect days of great weather, clear calm seas and great sightings. Today we had encounters with sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins and common dolphins. The forecast for tomorrow is for another calm day, so we are looking forward to more sucessful whale watching tours.

Two mother and calf pairs of common dolphins swimming alongside our boat this afternoon

Common dolphin

One of the many sperm whales see today