Hello Friends,
This was the first time we saw whales so close to the boat! We encountered these majestic creatures during our passage from Japan to Alaska, covering over 1,300 nm (2,600 km) which took us 14 days to complete. These whales were definitely a highlight and something you don't get to see very often.
About 60 nm (120 km) off the Far East Russian coast, we had the chance to see these fascinating mammals. We were sailing slowly under the spinnaker, so the whales were as curious about us as we were about them.
The whale in the picture above was the mother of a calf, and she was checking to see if we were a danger to her calf. As there's lots of fishing boats and some cargo traffic.
I believe the mother was very comfortable around us, as she could easily have done something to our boat without hurting herself. Once she felt safe, she even swam underneath the boat and released some bubbles directly below us.
I've read that a calf fin whale needs about 200-300 litres of milk a day over a 6-7 month period to gain 90 kg of fat per day to be able to grow to survive the harsh, cold climates.
We were about five days away from Attu Island, our first landfall in Alaska. The whales stayed with us for about half an hour. Eventually, the mother rejoined her calf, and I managed to capture a video of them together. It was an amazing moment, especially since it was quite unexpected—I had only 30% battery left on the drone and had to quickly film before landing it.
I hope you enjoyed this little blog, if you want to see similar content feel free to check out my profile.
Paul