Across the Water

Wonderful sightings from across the Irish Sea!..............

Hi folks, wicked whale watching in Waterford/Wexford waters......Sunday 17th delivered some awesome whalewatching experiences for the 11 hardy soles who braved the swells of the recent storms as we launched from Dunmore East at 11am today...in bright sunshine we soon picked up our first sighting of a lone fin whale about 5 miles south of Hook Head. The omnipresence of seals and sea birds and the busy herring trawlers suggested bumper fishing so we headed out a little deeper and picked up large blows a mile off our port bow and for the next 1.5 hours we were entertained by two humpbacks which were initially well apart but we were graced by their presence on seveal occasions, coming within 20 metres of our craft -in fact, they were so close that we could clearly identify one with a distinctive notch on his fin. The occasion was somewhat marred by the appearance of an angling charter who insisted on running over the whales and we were glad when they soon tired and left us to our more sympatethic approach by skipper Brendan who acted in accordance with protocols and ensured we had another 30 minutes of fabulous inter-action with these majestic beasts. Our only regret was the lack of fluking which will make matching more dificult but I'm confident that the humpback with the distinctive notch will be easily recognisable if it is on our database. Many thanks to Deirdre Slevin for organising the trip and to skipper Brendan Glody for launching amidst doubt over sea conditions and his sensitive approach and general care for welfare of whales. Kevin MacCormick