Kayaking With the Whales
in Puerto Rico
Contributed by Dennis D'Inzeo
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Dennis
D'Inzeo ready
to go
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I am very happy to be able to share my experiences! There is just too much
beauty out there for one person.
February 2, 2003
I hit paydirt Sunday in my quest to kayak with the Humpback
whales. The conditions were perfect in that there was virtually no wind
making the sea calm and silent.
I was scanning the horizon at about 11:30 not really having a clue as
to where the humpbacks might be when I spotted a blowhole geyser about
1 mile to the east and slightly inshore of my position. Next I could
make out some black forms as I began paddling in the direction of the
blow.
I couldn't believe they were so close to shore: less than 1/2 mile.
They were nowhere in sight when I reached the position about 20 minutes
later but then I saw a huge form rising nearly straight out of the water
about a mile and a half to the north-northeast then crashing down into
the sea, 2 or 3 times. It appeared to be white in color, perhaps the
underside, as the tops were entirely black in color.
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A large flipper spotted
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Close contact
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Again I paddled in their general direction catching occasional glimpses
of the tailflukes of what appeared to be a small group. I finally reached
their position and heard a sound like very loud sneezing; apparently
the large one exhaling. A large flipper emerged from the water about
30-50 yards away with the irregular white underside facing in my direction.
She lifted it almost vertically then slapped it down on the surface in
what seemed to be slow motion owing to the great bulk. I tried to stay
behind them but found that they consistently resurfaced about 5-10 minutes
after sounding, sometimes in a direction completely opposite to their
apparent direction, as if they had doubled back. I don't know if they
sensed my presence, I never saw their eyes. I started to worry that they
would surface under me or breach right on top of me beccause their motion
was unpredictable.
I had my disposable camera between my teeth as I paddled (it had no
neck-strap) but I froze when I saw the flipper come out of the water.
I did get some photos of tail flukes but they were rather far away and
I didn't have a telephoto lens.
The group surfaced and sounded several times in the next hour or so
but they were gradually moving away from me to the north and I could
not keep up. The beach was getting very small and my ride was due at
3 so I reluctantly paddled back. I was about 2 1/2 to 3 miles offshore
when I gave up the chase.
I found it difficult to leave them and kept looking back. It was almost
a religious experience to see them, enormous intelligent creatures completely
oblivious to the world of humans. I will try to get back out next weekend
or maybe even after work during the week.
February 9, 2003
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Very rough seas for a
kayak
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I was out "whaling" again Sunday but had only mixed results.
I spotted a humpback breaching and "porpoising" (diving repeatedly
and presenting the tail flukes each time) about 2 miles to my east at
about 0930 but I had to contend with a ferocious headwind and very rough
seas and was never able to get close. I could not tell if there was more
than one whale present. It was about 21/2 miles north-northwest of Isabela,
PR when I saw it. The next sighting was at about 1400, the whale being
about 3 miles north-northeast of Punta Borinquen. In this case I was
barely able to make out the whale's form but was alerted to it's presence
mainly by the enormous splash that results from breaching. Again, the
wind made it impossible for me to get close and return to my agreed pick-up
point in time.
My tactic next outing will be to have my wife or son drop me off several miles
upwind of my usual kayaking haunts and use the wind to help me get into position
when (and if) I spot them.
Apparently they are quite abundant though, as it is unlikely that pure luck
would have enabled me to spot them on 2 consecutive Sundays. There was a photo
of an upraised flipper in the Sunday "San Juan Star", reportedly
off Punta Tierra, which is very close to San Juan. I wasn't aware that they
traveled that far east before turning north.
February 16, 2003
As you can imagine I was anxious to take advantage of the President's
Day Weekend in order to see some humpbacks. Saturday was chores as usual
but Sunday I attempted to get afloat upwind of their usual haunts.
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Kayaking out to sea
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The sea is usually rough here in February and Sunday was no exception.
I was unable to launch at any point upwind because I would have been
swamped by very angry surf (not a good idea, especially when there is
a tendency to be swept into sharp rocks). I did see one large humpback
breaching about 1 mile north of Punta Sardina, which is about 5 miles
east of my usual kayaking domain. Very frustrating.
I finally launched near Punta Borinquen, which I consider
to be my "home
port" (after getting swamped once) and was afloat no more than 15
minutes when a smallish humpback silently surfaced almost directly in
my path, about 15-20 yards away. It was heading west, which is unusual
in itself, and less than 1/2 mile offshore. For the first time I observed
a brownish tinge to the coloring of the upper body, whereas they had
previously appeared to be black. There was an oblong patch of unnatural-looking
sky-blue on the lower portion of it's body, somewhat abaft and below
the left flipper.
It is difficult to make accurate observations (at least
for me) because something like a state of shock sets in when meeting
such intimidating
creatures in their own domain. This one appeared to be somewhat subdued
and did not present the tailflukes when sounding. It may have been irritated
by a small "yola" (a locally-crafted wooden fishing-dory) with
three men on board which was shadowing it. I imagine that the high-pitched
sound of the outboard motor was not exactly music to its ears. I wonder
why it was alone. It was somewhat larger than the two I spotted the first
weekend out, maybe 12-15 feet in length.
My descriptions should be taken with a grain of salt, though, because
of the lack of visual references and the fact that I am totally flabbergasted
when making the observations. I had my camera with me but I was struggling
to stay pointed into the wind in order to avoid being swamped and could
not take the time to aim and shoot. At any rate, in an instant it was
gone and I never saw it again.
Eventually the wind started blowing me off track so I
had give up looking for whales in order to make for "Crashboat" Beach,
which is in the lee of the island. The sea on Monday was even wilder
than Sunday
so I decided to hang up my paddle until next week.
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