Whales!

BogMonster · 03 April 2008, 10:37

Fine afternoon yesterday so we left work early and headed for the high seas for a look as there are supposed to be whales about. We hung around for ages and only saw a single blow but on the way home nearly ran through the middle of a pod.

Taking photos of Sei whales blowing is about as impossible as taking photos of dolphins jumping (lots of shots of snaps and tail fins) but here are a few of the better ones of them at the surface.

Beautiful, serene, and bloody huge when you are 20-30ft from a 20 odd ton whale in a 3/4 ton RIB - we didn't get too close as they were weaving all over the place and the thought of one surfacing underneath us (we weren't sure how many - think there were 3 or 4) quite a long way from home was enough to encourage caution

got a couple of "large returns" on the fishfinder which might have been kelp beds but was enough to increase the heart rate a bit

as was the characteristic "row of holes in the water" caused by the wash of the tail - especially when it comes past the boat a couple of dozen feet away!

After a while I gave up on the photos (which were taken from further away) and we went in a bit closer and spent a while just following them and watching from a safe distance behind them. My first close up whale encounter since getting the RIB and a very special experience

three-rex · 03 April 2008, 11:10

Me? jealous, Oh no, not at all

Stoo · 03 April 2008, 12:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by three-rex

Me? jealous, Oh no, not at all

You said it.... Fantastic shots~

jyasaki · 03 April 2008, 15:34

Nice pics, Stephen;

We were out following a couple of greys in the middle of March. To be fair, it was a couple of greys and about 4 whale watcing boats.

I gave up on trying to take whale pics, as all I ever got were numerous pictures of a black sliver on top of the water. Despite all the reports of breaching humpbacks around our area, I've never seen one.

jky

Channel Ribs · 03 April 2008, 17:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Fine afternoon yesterday so we left work early and headed for the high seas for a look as there are supposed to be whales about.

Superb!

BogMonster · 04 April 2008, 10:43

An alternative version of one of the original images

Don't know how anybody can hunt them

Clipper · 07 April 2008, 11:50

"Don't know how anybody can hunt them" welcome to Australia's frustration, the Japanese exploit a loophole in the whaling convention and kill thousand of whales out of an Australian-Antarctic sanctuary, these whales travel up and down the Australian coast twice a year, it is really sad to imagine how many have been killed for the so called lethal research. Awesome creatures, got to swim with a female humpback and her calf 2 years ago, still very vivid in my memory.

by the way nice shots

here is one uw shot of the calf and her mum