01.08.2022 – Gone with the wind

We’d love to say that we started off the busy month of August with a bang but the Atlantic did not make things easy for our team today. A shy group of Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) decorated the windy ocean surface for the morning trip on board both our boats and a few little calves leaped high above the waves, flashing their pink bellies at our guests. These highly sensitive dolphins generally display an evasive behaviour here in Madeira but the few times they displayed a curious behaviour were reason enough for us to try and approach them. After a few careful efforts, our team left the group of dolphins and returned to the marina hopeful for better sightings in the afternoon.

The decrease in wind later in the day didn’t increase the chances of a sighting. Our spotters eyes scanned an ocean that was deserted before finally discovering a baleen whale close to Funchal. The animal was far out of range for our traditional boat but our zodiac managed to arrive at the sightings area, where it shared the encounter with a few other boats. Our team generally avoids situations that involve several boats at a sightings area and certainly will not approach a solitary animal that is already being observed so our team watched from a distance and left the area.

Some days indeed are harder than others but we are happy to see our guests appreciate our efforts and enjoy their time out on the ocean.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Striped dolphins

15:00 No cetacean sighting

Stenella

10:00 Striped dolphins

16:30 Unidentified baleen whale