Discovery

Monday the 29th

Our morning out on the tender was a bumpy ride. We saw whales but none near us. I felt hypnotized by the water, wind and constant up and down bouncing of the small boat.

Behaviors seen this morning: fin slapping with whale floating on back bringing both pectoral fins up and down repeatedly. Since they are fifteen feet in length this is quite amazing and creates a huge splash and sound. Also saw lob tailing that was done many, many times. Oh, and breaching. Even though none of these were close it was amazing.

All afternoon the wind picked up in intensity. Twenty-five to thirty knot winds meant no afternoon on the small boats as the transfer from big boat to little ones was simply too dangerous. We sat grounded on the mothership watching whales in the distance as they continued the behaviors from the morning. One group of whales stayed about a thousand feet to our stern for hours teasing us with fin slaps, breaches, lob tailing and all we could do was sit, clap and whistle. Some on board were known to hoot and holler. Even though we weren’t as close as yesterday, it’s still awesome being in the presence of humpback whales.

A mother and calf were part of this small group of three whales. All afternoon the big whale splashed and made quite a statement, but what is she saying? In my imagination she gave birth and was letting all the whales know of her newborn. I shall call her Stormy. Maybe a children’s book will give birth to this idea…did I just do a whale pun?

Now pale rays of sunlight shine through heavy, gray clouds and touch the blue-gray ocean at the horizon. Their brilliance creates a living, silver horizon. To the left, dark, slate-colored rain clouds. To the right, clear skies. Between me and the horizon lie humpback whales, living in the salty sea.

A circle opens overhead in the thick cloud layer and one ray of light pierces the darkness to illuminate the sky. I feel it illuminate me. What is this life-long call to be with humpback whales? Where will it lead me?

Tuesday??

I can’t remember the day of the week or the date. No electronic distractions…no social media, no email. I realize how much my life revolves around a piece of plastic with metal and glass bits. I am sinking into whale time which seems to function in another dimension.

In-water experience with a baby today. From only twenty feet away the graceful pectoral fins slowly floated past. Humpback whales are like angels…angels of the deep.

My discovery for the day? A juvenile humpback whale is HUGE! I mean HUGE! Eighty miles offshore, in this vast ocean, I was only 20 feet from a baby humpback whale. Just ocean and whale. And bliss. There was bliss.

Then….my reality was shifted.

We had the short encounter with the mother and juvenile and were back in the boat when the captain heard a radio call about a group of folks from another boat listening to a singer. He got out his hydrophone and recorded it. We took turns listening through headphones.

As soon as I put on the headphones and the vibrations of whale song reached me, I was changed. Whoooop, whooop, whoooop…..then deep bass notes trembling through the water. Whoooop, whooooop, whooooop….higher, eyrie treble notes. I felt my face light up and my entire being shift. And one-by-one, we listened. There was no concealing what each person felt as the faces shifted to expressions of pure light and love.

The reverberations of deepest bass mixed with high squeals and whooop, whooop, whooops made my heart open in an explosion of joy. I sat on the bench seat and wept with the purest expression of love I have ever experienced.

After the recording was done we quietly slipped into the water and even though we were far from the whale, several of us heard the song as we dove down beneath the surface. Humpbacks truly are the voice of the Ocean. They are angels of the deep.

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Whale notes: Even though humpback whale songs have been studied for decades now, scientists are no closer to understanding why they sing. Many theories exist but none have ever been proven. It is thought that the males are singers and they sing to attract females for mating but females don’t approach a singing male. Most of the time males sing alone but it is common for a male to sing with a mother and juvenile. Sometimes other males gather around a singer. The song of the humpback whale is the same between all whales in a group and changes each year. After careful study of their song through graphs and notation of the sound it is found they rhyme. Also, whales from all over the planet that supposedly never have contact with one another, sing the same song or songs that are very similar. Not long ago a scientist discovered that humpback whales have special brain cells that are also in human brains…the cells that are associated with emotion. My theory is they sing simply because they love to sing and it is their way of expressing emotion…and they are telling the story of their species, of the Ocean. 

Whale Diary Day One

Whale Diary Day Two