Close Whale Encounter

Humpback calf approaching the stern of Mr Mac (the Pitons [St. Lucia] in the background)

So very, very cool. Motor-sailing up from Bequia to St. Lucia, about a mile off of the west coast of St. Lucia, we looked over and saw a couple of whales a few hundred yards away. White fins gave them away as humpbacks, a mother and calf. Cool, but it gets even cooler. We put the engine in idle to watch as they slowly swam along. The mother sounded, and the calf apparently decided that this it was its chance to check out the nearby visitor. That, of course, was us. The calf came right toward us, went around the stern, then back again, only about thirty feet away. It was fantastic! Chris got a little nervous about what the mother might think when she surfaced to find her calf so close to us, so we started up the engine and set off again. Highlight of the day!

Only about 30 feet away. Fantastic!