Terrific picture from Guest aboard the sailing yacht Fidelity in the BVI.
“What a way to end our trip. WHALES! We think a Momma and baby. The baby was playing with us swimming back and forth under the boat. Just fantastic!!! My heart is still racing. Better pictures to come. Thanks Capt Scott for spotting.”
We may not have specific tours for whale watching in the Caribbean but it certainly is an added bonus to your yacht charter when they are spotted.
If you are lucky enough to be in the Caribbean in the early months of the year January – March, you just might see a mother Humpback whale and her calf. I have been fortunate to witness this on many occasions and even saw a pod of whales feeding while sailing off the coast of New Hampshire in late August.
Each season these magnificent creatures travel over a whopping 3100 miles between their feeding grounds and their breeding grounds. The warm waters of the Caribbean are where the Humpbacks mate and breed. Baby Humpbacks are not born with the blubber to keep them warm that the mature whales are known for. They spend the winter in warm waters feeding on their mother’s milk to build their insulating blubber.
Whales do not feed while in the Caribbean, instead they gorge themselves on Plankton and krill in the rich waters of the New England states and the Canadian maritime provinces. These whales can consume a ton of food each day to build up the blubber they will need to get through the rest of the year. Adult humpback whales can reach lengths of 35-45 feet. The calves are born around 12 feet.
