THE WHALES ARE BACK!!!
"Sail-a-Way"
ALBANY WHALE TOURS
Whale Watch Newsletter No 7: 24 July 2010
Hi Everyone
I thought I would give you a precis of the wonderful recent sightings we have had.
For the past three days I have left "Sail-A-Way" saying "that was the best whale sighting I have ever had....breaching, tail-slapping, close-up encounters, and whales, whales, whales...everywhere!
Wednesday 21 July: Mid cruise: I asked my 28 guests 'How are we going to describe this on my website?" I put the question "How many of you thought the whale against our bows would respond to recorder music being played on board?" Not one person expected the result....but when I asked "Now that you have seen it?" Unanimous agreement. The whale travelled 70 metres to explore the sounds of music from the stationary boat. Later talk showed how profoundly winderness adventurers are affected by the experience of 'knowing' interaction from wilderness mammals. Once again, it is not only the seeing....but also being seen...like the tail wagging on our dog or the purring of our cat, the swim by the seals towards the boat, the diverted dash of dolphins to ride in our company, or the languid caress of a whales tail along our boat hull...is what leaves us silent...contemplative....richer.
Tuesday 20 July: For some reason, this cruise wasn't so much fun. Overcast, low swell, low chop, 14 people on board....5 Humpbacks, one calf, up close. The ingredients were right, but the cake just wasn't flash. Never mind...everybody got an invitation to come back when, perhaps, sunshine and the magic of wilderness would present us all with a chance for a different mix...no charge, of course.
Monday 19 July: Fine, mild conditions, but rough seas beyond Bald Head made us very glad of the company of 2 Humpbacks near Mistaken Island. But like hungry people at a banquet, our passengers insisted we churn through the chop to watch the 8 Humpbacks in the oceans past Bald Head...good decision, the whales were breaching.
Sunday 18 July: End of school holidays. A very busy time for tour providers in Albany. Two trips, much joy from the young people. Sightings of 12 whales...one of them the smallest new born we have ever seen....one keeps a very respectful distance, but the mother led it by, oblivious??? of the boat passengers delight.
Saturday 17 July: Rainy, windy, cold and wet for humans and whales alike. On the hill, two shivering humans wrapped in overcoats, staring out across King George Sound with high-grade optics designed for killing, but used for bringing pleasure from the survival of a threatened species. The 'hill spotters'...looking for whales to bring pleasure to the human visitors to Albany Whale Tours. Their phone messages led us to the 11 or more Humpbacks and Southern Right whales....joy for passengers, who otherwise, would have been deprived as the wind chop made finding whales difficult from 'Sail-A-Way'.
Friday 16 July: Adding dolphins to a whale pod is like adding salt to a soup. Everything changes. The whales start moving around with considerable energy...slapping here...slapping there....rushing left....rushing right...oblivious of boats. I can only compare it to being in the middle of a soccer field watching a World Cup game...breaches...tail slapping....and high speed dashing of 40 ton mammals, while around them the dolphin prize fighters duck and weave. Twenty two enchanged people. What a species mix!
Thursday 15 July: Humpbacks Honeymoon Hotel....6 Humpbacks, like teenagers at a Drive In Cinema in the old days....not really caring who was watching their courting.
Wednesday 14th July: 10 Humpbacks today spread from the Harbour Channel to the rolling swells from Bald Head.
Yesterday was too stormy a day to travel on the water. Then, good news for Tuesday's guests....whales in the harbour, then in the Sound, then back again to Middleton Beach. Our shore-based watchers, Trudy and Chester, 'kept us posted' as we took our passengers to the party. Joy!
John & Forrest Woodbury
ALBANY WHALE TOURS
Tel: 08 9845 1068 Mobile: 0408 451 068
www.albanywhaletours.com.au
"Sail-A-Way"
ALBANY WHALE TOURS
Whale watch Newsletter No 6: 6 July 2010
Hi Everyone
Sea-sickness - the joy of watching whales.
Yesterday a Southern Right became very curious about our "Sail-A-Way"...just outside the channel by the lookout. My guests loved its curiosity and gentle sighs as it responded to our music. I thought of the shore-bound watchers and wondered if our information could help them get past their fears of sea-sickness.
To begin, sea-sickness is actually cyber-motion sickness and is the body experiencing shock. The shock is caused by the vestibular system of our body getting conflicting information from our senses - particularly eyes, inner ear balance, knee and ankle tissue and our skin. It is NOT all in the mind. The vestibular system is a neural mass which triggers our medulla oblongata - an ancient part of this brain of ours - producing a reflex of nausea.
On 'Sail-A-Way' we teach our guests how to manage their sensory receptors so that they can avoid or hugely reduce the body-shock of a moving head and stationary legs. The result for them ....much more joy as they stay on board
That joy was greatly increased as we powered out to meet three charging Humpbacks. A hundred metres from them, we stopped....but they came charging on driven by lust and excitement?? They leapt, stroked, rolled and charged by...mere metres from our astonished guests.
Cheers, John
PS "Strapped toes" next time.
"Sail-A-Way"
ALBANY WHALE TOURS
Whale Watch Newsletter No 5: 5 July 2010
Hi Everyone
We had a wonderful day of whale watching yesterday. Our guests so enjoyed it I thought I would let them tell you about it.
No word describes how good whale watching is. We love the wind, the waves, the crew, the experience as well as the whales and the seals. Albany Whale Tours cruise was recommended to us by an old, old mate (since 1960). He said "don't miss it!" We didn't!
Ray and Fay Carlin, Green Point NSW
Truly incredible! We've been on 4 tours in Alaska; This one is far better. Passionate Captain. You can see he loves his sea beasts. Beautiful creatures! Thank you very much for this incredible adventure!!!
Jean, Yves, Valerie and Gaela, Isabel Marine USA Gourmelon Perth. USA. France.
Awesome! Well worth the trip. Just remember to 'strap your toes' It really works!!!
Julia and Mark, Mindarie WA
We saw between 7 and 11 whales - courting couples, groups?? (Difficult to count, they moved about so much). More about 'toes strapping' and our tours, tomorrow.
Cheers, John
John & Forrest Woodbury
ALBANY WHALE TOURS
Tel: 08 9845 1068 Mobile: 0408 451 068
www.albanywhaletours.com.au
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