We ran two trips for our May sperm whale diving expedition off Dominica. I was expecting some great days at sea with the sperm whales. Sadly this is nature, not a zoo, and the sperm whales had other plans... Survival was the main thing. Many predators were hanging around where we usually find them, so the sperm whales pushed out and away from the island further than our dive boat could go.

It was still a great trip and we had plenty of whale encounters, pilot whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, but of course we all wanted epic encounters with sperm whales that sadly did not happen during our first week.

Of course, during our second week the sperm whales returned to the island. They were still a bit skiddish due to predators hanging around and it made good interactions with them a bit difficult.

We did see them everyday and had many encounters with them, but the visibility was bad and they were still very shy. Finally on the last day of the trip, one of the friendlier pods of sperm whales returned tp the island and we finally had an amazing time in the water with them.

I guess before I go into any thoughts on the trip, here is a quick recap on what we saw each day;

Group One

Day 1 - No sperm whales. We saw pygmy killer whales from the surface, but no water time. We found a pod of pilot whales and spent about two hours swimming with them. It was an epic day.
Day 2 - no sperm whales. We found the pilot whales again, but they were not interested in interacting with us.

Day 3 - No sperm whales. Some pan tropical spotted dolphins, surface photos only.

Day 4 - No sperm whales. We did jump in with false killer whales, some proof of life videos, but no photos. A juvenile false killer used us as a baby sitter and hung out about 30 feet below us, vocalizing, and stayed to watch us. It was pretty magical. We didn’t dive down out of fear of scaring it off, we just enjoyed the encounter.

Day 5 - No sperm whales. We found the pilot whales again, and had some good encounters with them.

Day 6 - We finally heard our first sperm whales clicks on the hydrophone. Sadly we did not see them.

Group Two

Day 1 - We found a pod of skiddish sperm whales. We jumped in a few times but they did not allow us to get close. Also jumped in with a pod of pygmy killer whales. Bad proof of life photos only.

Day 2 - Sperm whale pod still skittish. No real water time with them.

Day 3 - No sperm whales. We encountered a pair of Curvier’s beaked whales, we tried a jump with them, but they were gone. Surface photos only. - Jumped in with the pod of pilot whales. Spent a couple hours with them. We had a few good encounters with them. We did not see sperm whales today.

Day 4 - Sperm whale pod still skittish, pilot whales still had them spooked. No real water time with them.

Day 5 - Sperm whale today, lots of jumps…we had a few good passes, but the whales were still a bit skiddish.

Day 6 - A new and familiar sperm whale pod returns to the area and we all had some really good encounters with these whales. Photographed a baby nursing. We left on a high and it was a great way to end the trip.

Overall it was a fun two weeks of searching for whales. A bit frustrating at times, but grateful for the encounters we did have on both weeks of the trip. The pilot whale encounters were special and of course anytime spent with sperm whales is a dream. Looking forward to our return trip this August for hopefully more opportunities to encounter whales.

Baby sperm whale coming in for a close up inspection.

Pilot whale. Below; Sara and Tommy hamming it up for the camera. A red footed booby lands on our boat.

A red footed booby decided to rest on our boat. Turns out this is an uncommon bird for the area. Below; Our world travelers, Alana and Robson. An Antillian crested hummingbird.

Pilot whale swims by. Below; Sperm whale Fluke and a pod of pilot whales swim by.

A Cuvier’s beaked whale comes up to the surface for a breath. These whales can hold their breathe for over two hours before they need to surface again. They are extremely rare whales to encounter.

Juvenile sperm whale flips upside down to drink milk from momma. Below; Sunsets do not suck here. The island of Dominica is always beautiful!

It was truly a privilege getting to swim with the animals that we got to encounter and our friends who joined us out there are such amazing souls. A huge thanks to the Island and the beautiful people of Dominica for hosting us, the wildlife and the ocean for sharing their magic with us and my friends… a BIG hug, and thanks for joining us on this adventure… Until the next one.