Our Latest Flight
Earlier this year the Seabirds went on their first official expedition! We embarked on an exciting adventure to the Silver Bank, a shelf located about 80nm off the coast of the Dominican Republic.
Why, you may ask? It is one of the most important breeding grounds for North Atlantic Humpback Whales and in this protected area you get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share encounters with these sentient beings up close!
There are only three operators licensed to operate on the Silver Bank and we chose to go with Conscious Breath Adventures after one of the Seabirds had already had a fantastic experience with them before. Captain Gene is well respected and has been running tours for many years. This trip is a Liveaboard expedition, meaning you get live on the boat for the duration of your trip. The MV Sea Hunter is a beautiful vessel that operates diving trips in Costa Rica when not in the Dominican Republic. She can carry up to twenty guests and is very spacious (for a boat; don’t think hotel-room spacious!)
After we arrive at our moorage we spend our first morning on the Silver Bank with a detailed briefing on how we’ll be interacting with the whales if we enter the water. And that’s a big if. The whales come first. Gene explains that the guides will observe the whales for a while to see if there is a pattern before entering the water first and locating them. If given the sign, we quietly (!) enter the water and swim over to our guide where we all line up. Diving is not allowed and we stay on the surface the entire time. As we get ready for our first excursion, we do a dry (but wet) run, entering the water and swimming so the guides can ensure we’re all able to follow instructions.
During the first few days, we observe lots of amazing surface behaviour of breaching whales, competition groups (which are males courting a female) displaying a variety of behaviours like tail lobbing, chin slapping, etc. There are no words to describe how humbling it is to observe these 40 ton mammals from a close distance. Many of the calves are only a few weeks old and tiny in comparison to their moms. While in the breeding grounds, the whales don’t eat. The waters are lacking nutrients but the shallow shelf keeps them safe from predators that would try to attack their calves. The goal is to get their calves big and strong enough for the long journey north where they will start feeding again, regaining their strength. The calves all the while gain weight at a tremendous rate with the rich milk from their moms.
Of course everyone is waiting for their opportunity to get in the water with whales but our guides ensure the conditions are just right and we get very lucky.
For the last two days of our trip we share some once-in-a-lifetime encounters with a whale mother known as “TW” that returns to the Silver Bank every year and her brand new calf. She is known to be a very relaxed mom that will let snorkelers observe her and her baby. The calf is only a few weeks old at this time and exploring the world around it, as we earn their trust by being quiet and keeping a respectful distance the calf gets more curious with every swim to the surface and inspects us. Even at this age, the calf is the size of a mid-size SUV! It is a truly life changing experience to be in the presence of whales and being able to observe them in their natural habitat is a humbling experience. Many of us are giggling into our snorkels and/or crying in sheer disbelief.
None of us take this experience for granted and every person in the group is excited for one another and the memories we’re making together with these whales! We learn more about “TW” thanks to Happywhale where sightings of whales are submitted and now know that she spends her summers in the cold waters around Newfoundland, Canada, where she feeds and regains strength!
We leave the Silver Bank with a newfound appreciation for our oceans and the beings that call it home! We have made new friends all across the world and try to understand just a little bit the distance these whales cover every single year to breed and to feed. There are so many stories about our time on the Silver Bank and what we learned but this will have to wait for another blog post!
