Description
Aquatic Adventures is a well-established and responsible company that offers an exclusive, intimate whale-watching experience that will leave you with an entirely new perspective on humpback whales.
Located about 90 km north of the Dominican Republic, the Silver Bank is one of the few breeding and calving zones of the North Atlantic Humpback Whale. Declared a whale sanctuary in 1986, and later enlarged and renamed the “Sanctuary for the Marine Mammals of the Dominican Republic”, the Silver Bank and surrounds plays host to 5000-7000 humpbacks every winter.
Humpbacks aren’t called the “acrobats of the sea” for nothing: You’ll see frequent and dramatic surface behaviors including breaching, lob tailing, fin slapping and spy hopping. Rowdy groups of males battling for access to estrous females form frequently here, and mothers with new born calves are everywhere.
This weeklong whale watching expedition aboard the 130 foot luxury live-aboard dive boat M/V Turks and Caicos Explorer II also includes unique and carefully monitored opportunities to spend time in the crystal clear Caribbean water with the humpbacks.
In the words of Tom Conlin, the director of Aquatic Adventures, “… this “soft-in-water” experience is not scuba diving, nor is it aggressive swimming or free diving. It is passive, non-aggressive floating at the surface, in mask, fins and snorkel, allowing the whale to develop an interest in humans. It is finding a cooperative, tolerant and/or curious whale and meeting that whale in the water, calmly and peacefully, permitting a rare and treasured encounter between human and cetacean.”
The proceeds from this auction item will directly support the Center’s Humpback Whale Studies Program, which works to advance understanding of humpback whale biology, population status and human impacts.
Each expedition is all-inclusive (apart from airfare and transportation fees) and lasts for 7 days. Trips are available between January 23rd and April 9th. Recommended trip dates are March 5-12.