Estartit, Spain 27/8-2011
N42°03.085´
E003°12.272´
Sailing distance made: 4242 nautical miles
Close and exiting encounters with the pelagic life of the Mediterranean.
After some windy days in Gibraltar we are happy when the wind is decreasing and we get the possibility to continue our work out at sea again. Our aim is to search for pelagic species and the total calm sea gives us now the best conditions for this.
The coast of Spain is disappearing behind us and I get the nice feeling of total happiness. Pelagic Oceans will always have a special place in my heart and every time I spend some more time in it I get even more amazed of the spectacular life living there. With a great smile I start look to the horizon, so far without knowing what is waiting for us out there...
Dolphins! Not a second later my dog, Laritza, is standing in the front of the boat watching every movement of these energic acrobats.
During our last weeks in the Mediterranean we have sighted the Common dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins and Risso´s dolphins. But from the sightings, so far, it seems like the dolphins here do not have the same interest of our boat like the Atlantic ones.
However, it is nice to see these playful animals even for a short while and there are always lots of positive energy in the air when dolphins are close by!
The water temperature of 32°C feels really warm when you nornallyare used to the colder waters of Scandinavia . Now I do not need to think about wearing any drysuit, even not a wetsuit is in my mind when the blue water calls for more under water experiences.
The bright light from the sun is playing above and gives a wonderful sight under the surface. The elagant movements of the Loggerhead turtle almost looks like a dance before it is disappearing into the depths.
Suddenly, there are something bigger moving through the total calm surface. Big black dorsal fins are slowly moving toward our boat. Is this what we have been looking for? Yes, there are Pilot whales!
Those elegant animals are resting together in big family groups. They are all laying close together, but when they get the sight of our boat they are all quickly getting curious and more active.
With the under water cameras in our hands we are soon in the water again and the whales keep their strong curiosity.
This whale species is quite big with a size of up to six meters. They are wild animals and with all respect for this we know we are just temporary guests in their territorium.
”Just Look-Don´t Touch”, it is up to the animals how close they want to approach.
The Pilot whales are social animals and the bonds between the family members are very strong. In the pod there are whales in all sizes, from small calfs and juveniles, to big old adults with lots of scars.
It is amazing to see this huge group of whales socializing together so close to each other. This social bonds between the Pilot whales are well known and have been used by whalers for a long time and are so even today...
In the Faroe islands they are still hunting these beautiful creatures. In small bays some of the whales are injured and with the knowledge that the rest of the pilot whales do not want to leave their dying family members the whalers slowly can kill the rest of the pod one by one...
Just to think about this I feel sad and I can not understand why humans still today are treating living creatures in such a brutal way. No one should feel the blood taste from its own family members!
I am happy we are in the Mediterranean and hope our new ”moviestars” never get the idea of heading north of the Atlantic...
The time we spend in the water together with the pilot whales gives me once again the reason to love pelagic waters even more! What a wonderful blue world! :)
After many days of nice pelagic sailing we are now in Estartit, at the east coast of Spain. Here we have more diving waiting for us at Islas Medes, a group of islands which are protected as a Natural Marine Reserve. So, with the local dive permission in our hands we now just need to get into the water again! :)
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