Curious baby sperm whale

Today we saw several sperm whales, but the same group both in the morning and in the afternoon. Our boats saw lots of them around, and some jumping whales as well. But the highlight was the little baby in the family. In the morning the baby was a bit more shy but still wondefully cute next to the adults. In the afternoon, maybe with a belly full of milk, it all of a sudden jumped next to our catamaran and then it came right up to us to check us out. It swam under our bow almost like a dolphin. Amazing to see the intelligens of these animals and looking someone so small in the eyes and see a soul. Of course we also saw dolphins during the day, pilot whales, common dolphins, spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins.

Photos from the morning:

Common dolphin

Common dolphin

Female and baby

Female and baby

Photos from the afternoon:

Curious baby

Who is watching who?

Bottlenose day

Today we encountered a large group of bottlenose dolphins, a bit spread out and far offshore but wonderful to see. Our swimmers also had a lovely time with them, as they could see the babies underwater. After this encounter we searched lng and far in different directions to find more animals. Oneof our boats saw a group of common dolphins, but the rest of us had to be happy with the bottlenose dolphins. Such beautiful animals will make anyone smile for hours.

Photos from today:

Bottlenose dolphin

Perfec ID photo

Mr Liable is back!

"Mr Liable" the big male sperm whale was with us in São Miguel again this morning. He can't have gone far because we saw him just two days ago. In the morning we also encountered familiar bottlenose dolphins; the group of "Bubblemaker" that we see here often. In the afternoon we started off with Bubblemaker's group, almost in the place where we had left them in the morning. After some time with them we headed offshore to where Mr Liable had last been seen, but unfortunately he had left as quickly as he arrived to the south coast of this island. We did find another group of bottlenose dolphins out there, this time an unfamiliar group that was very large and included many babies. It was nice to see them enjoying the waves and they even put in their best effort to race our boats as we left them to head back to base.

Photos from the morning:

"Mr Liable" - a male sperm whale

Bottlenose dolphins

Photos from the afternoon:

The bottlenose dolphin we call "Bubblemaker"

A big group of bottlenose dolphins

Mother and baby

A day with Mr Liable

Today we had a visit from the most well-known whale here in São Miguel island; a male sperm whale who we call "Mr Liable". We have been seeing this whale here well over 10 years and we have registered over 120 encounters with him. In the morning we encountered him twice when he was at the surface between deep feeding dives. He was very close to Ponta Delgada, and also nearby an area of a group of bottlenose dolphins, giving us an excellent tour as we went between the two different species during the morning tour. Our swimming with dolphins tour was also a big success, as the swimmers had some nice underwater encounters with a group of bottlenose dolphins that includes an individual we call "Submarino" who has its dorsal fin missing. In the afternoon we returned to see the trusty Mr Liable. Again he did not dissapoint, as he stayed up for a long time and then showed us his beautiful tail, almost as if it was in slow motion. Another resident group of bottlenose dolphins also showed up in the afternoon. This time it was the famous group of "Bubblemaker", a group that just like Mr Liable has been sighted off São Miguel island for more than 10 years. It's been another fantastic day out on the ocean in the company of our familiar friends.

Photos from the morning:

Mr Liable outside of Ponta Delgada

Mr Liable diving

Mr Liable again - another great tail!

Bottlenose dolphins

Photos from the afternoon:

Bubblemaker, the famous bottlenose dolphin

Mr Liable one more time

Spyhopping sperm whales

Today was a sperm whale day, we did encounter dolphins, common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins, both in the morning and afternoon but the sperm whale were the stars stealing the show. A group of 7-9 whales, spyhopping everytime we encountered them. It gives you a certain good feeling when whales are looking back, we are not the only ones aware of the company of the others. In the morning we encountered five whales and later two whale and they joined the five and we had 7 together. It took time to find them in the afternoon but the reward was wonderful as we saw 9 of them. 

Photos from today:

Two spyhopping sperm whales

Five whales together

Four out of nine

Bottlenose dolphin surfacing

Bottlenose dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins - notice the one in the back without a dorsal fin who we call "Submarino"

Our catamaran Cetus

Dolphins whistling

We started of this beautiful end of summer day with common dolphins spread out close to Ponta Delgada, just outside of the harbour. For a while the dolphins went in different directions, making them difficult to see, but in the end a nice group came together and we had a great encounter with them from our catamaran "Cetus". A bit further to the west there was a group of bottlenose dolphins that we could enjoy from all our different boats. Our swimmers also got to have some nice in the water encounters with these dolphins.

In the afternoon tour we started heading to the west. We founded a nice group of common dolphins; they were socialising with each other and swimming in circles. After the common dolphins we changed direction, following the instructions from our lookout on land. We had to go far out from the coast to find an incredible group of Atlantic spotted dolphin. They were really active, jumping as high as 5 meters! When they were bowriding in front of the boat, we could even hear their whistles. What a nice encounter! Right at the end of the afternoon we also found a big group bottlenose dolphins going on deep dives. It was a familiar group that includes a dolphin we call "Submarino" who has most of its dorsal fin missing. It's good to see this familiar dolphin and its family doing well since we last saw them.

Photos of today:

Atlantic spotted dolphin

Our captain Verisimo with the dolphins

Catamaran "Quatro ventos" with Atlantic spotted dolphins bowriding

Bottlenose dolphin - one we call "Bubblemaker"

Watching the bottlenose dolphins from the bow of our catamaran cetus

A big group of whales close to Ponta Delgada

This morning there was a group of sperm whales very close to Ponta Delgada, where we depart from. We didn't have to travel far out from the marina, to an area where the water was less than 400 metres deep, which is considered shallow for a sperm whale, as it is a deep-diving species. At first the whales were going on shallow dives, not lifting up their tails. But with a bit of patience one tail was seen from aboard our zodiac boat and three from our catamaran. The group was big, with at least 10 different sperm whales spread out across a large area. At one point we got to see at least 6 whales together at the surface! Closer to land there was a friendly group of common dolphins. By the late morning the wind started to pick up a bit, creating some nice waves for the playful dolphins to surf in, creating a fun experience for dolphins and people alike.

Photos of today's sperm whales: