Sun July 21 – Whale Watching

We are running out of superlatives to describe the Viking/CRESLI whale watches this season…and its
only July! It was the trip of a lifetime for our passengers yesterday as we continued to find the large
humpback whales feeding offshore including two mom/calf pairs and a large pod of short-beaked
common dolphins. With the Summer Olympics starting soon, it was no surprise that these animals were
showing off their athletic prowess. Dolphins leaped in unison and charged toward the vessel offering
everyone incredible sights – and sounds – of these fast-moving animals. Not to be outdone, a calf began
breaching nearby, rolling over, flipper slapping, and inverted lob-tailing (throwing the tail up and down
while in an upside-down position at the surface). We sat safely out of gear as the spectacle surrounded
us with close, intentional ‘swim-bys’ by adult humpbacks, a playful calf, and swarming dolphins. More
breaching could be seen in the distance, so we eventually moved on to check out the action. Not
surprisingly, we encountered a second calf, who was breaching right next to another humpback (likely
mom) over and over again. This calf would breach, swim, breach, repeat, as it circled the vessel. As we
waited excitedly for each leap, the calf would occasionally surprise us with a spyhop right next to us.
Large splashes ahead of us revealed two more whales breaching, which turned out to be the calf’s mom
and her escort. The breaching ended when all three united, that is, until the calf got playful again. More
spyhopping and breaching continued until the calf leaped immediately ahead of the bow surprising
passengers and wrapping up an incredible day at sea. Please join us and tell your friends – these
experiences are not to be missed!

16-24 humpback whales (and many more ‘blows’ in the distance)
120-160 short-beaked common dolphin
1 finback whale
1 minke whale
60-100 Cory’s shearwaters
40-60 Great shearwaters
30-40 Sooty shearwaters
120-160 Wilson’s storm petrels