La Contenta - Day 16: Whale meet again, don’t know where don’t know when

Day 16: Whale meet again, don’t know where don’t know when

 

Yet another day with no wind.  We are still in the doldrums but our spirits are a little brighter.  Our spirits were lifted even more when Cal spotted a whale 25 meters away.  It was so close that we could see the white on the underside of its fins as it gracefully arced through the water.  It stayed close to us for a while and then swam deep below the boat.  The water was so clear that we could see it circle around and follow us off the stern for a short while before disappearing. 

 

Cheered on by this beautiful sight we decide that it was time for another swim.  We played off the back of the boat relishing in the swell of the ocean.  The swell was huge with big rolling waves moving mysteriously towards the boat lifting it, and us, as they passed by.  Its a very surreal experience being in the water and seeing these gentle giants advancing towards you temporarily obliterating the horizon. Dave was enjoying his swim when Ewen spotted a fin in the distance.   I have never seen Dave sprint so fast back to the boat!

 

I was just coming onto my watch at 3am this morning when Ewen came down to wake up Dave with an urgency in his voice.  He had been sitting quietly up on deck when he had started to hear the ‘blow’ of a whale coming from alongside the boat.  He waited a while and heard it again coming from a different location.  He came to wake Dave as whales have been known to damage boats and wasn’t sure what he should do.  We all sat on deck listening and waiting.  It was an eerie night.  There was a low mist on top of the glassy ocean and the sky was dark.  The horizon was invisible as sea and night sky merged seamlessly together.  As we waited we heard the blow again.  It appeared to come from very close to the boat.  A while later there was a fainter one on the other side.  Later still a third from a different direction.  These intermittent blows carried on for about one and a half hours.  We toyed with what to do;  should we play Jimmy Hendrix or make loud noises?  We chose to sit quietly and stay in their presence.   At first we were fearful, but overtime we started to feel privileged to be accompanied on our journey by these magnificent beasts of the sea.   It felt as thought they were supporting and protecting us on our journey.  It was difficult to tell whether we were joined by one whale who was moving around, or as we believed a pod.

 

Just before sunrise when the sea turns a mix of orange and pink Dave and I were up on deck together.  As we looked towards the sunrise we saw the fins of a whale in the middle distance.  As we looked in other directions we saw further fins.  It confirmed what we had thought that we had been escorted by a pod of whales.  We felt very blessed.