I rarely do reviews but if you like whale watching and want skilled boat handling and informed commentary from a qualified biologist then this may be for you. You'll need to visit Tenerife though.
The organisation is AtlanticEco out of Puerto Colon. Max size of party on board is ten people. Fast rib with 2 x 250 Hp outboards on back and the opportunity to use a hydrophone to hear whales as well.
As an ex school 'education for sustainable development' adviser, I am ways on the lookout for organisations with strong sustainability principles. Well this organisation make it clear from the start - no chasing and no going immediately alongside cetaceans. They will stay 50m away and will drift. If whales and dolphins then chose to come alongside then fair enough. But definitely no chasing.
They will also stop to collect every turtle, briefly, to survey it's health, de-louse it and then release it. If the turtle is ill or injured, it will be brought aboard, looked after and then taken to a rehabilitation centre and later released on the north coast.
Our first three hour trip saw plenty of short fin pilot whales - very exciting. The passion of Antonio, the on board biologist was evident from the start and his enthusiasm and outstanding knowledge made the trip special. Informative discussion, lots of questions answered. Exceptional boat handling on display by Capt' Jericho. The huge number of five star reviews on Trip Advisor were clearly not wrong.
In fact we so enjoyed the trip, we immediately booked a repeat trip for the following day and in all our travels across the years, we have never done that before.
This second trip proved even more special. Short fin pilot whales, bottle-nose dolphins and a stray hammerhead shark, lots of shearwaters and the occasional flying fish as well. This time the boat was full - twenty somethings from across Europe. Intelligent, good humoured conversation, excellent questioning, a desire to learn, informed discussions about sustainability practises. An excellent trip.
It ends with a quick snorkel in a secluded bay and a final discussion about what we have seen. Antonio gives his email and contact details to everyone with the promise that wherever they are in the world and whenever, people can contact him with any questions about cetaceans.
In an area where there are so many unregistered boats offering whale watching and where the majority of trips are unscrupulous offering booze, snorkel and up close encounters based on chasing cetaceans, EcoAtlantic stand out like a shining beacon of hope.
It was refreshing and joyous to hear their plans for the future and about the impact they are already having with the local government councils on the island. They have a long, long way to go, by their own admission, but small steps. 'From little acorns, big oak trees will grow'.
And so, I would recommend AtlanticEco without reservation and regular readers of this blog will know that I rarely, rarely ever do that.
After the trip, on the two mile walk back to the hotel, it made me think about how we treat cetacean visitors in our own inshore waters. In Plymouth, I have always been impressed that tour boats and small ferries tend to follow a voluntary code, staying a good 30m or so away from creatures but I am pretty sure not all yachts and boats follow that rule.
When I completed a recent RYA day skipper course, the course leader did discuss our responsibilities towards cetaceans, although it wasn't part of the syllabus. It was his personal interest and he generated much useful discussion. he said he knew of a couple of other sailing schools who were doing something similar.
For me, as global warming warms our waters, and after having a resident pod of harbour porpoise throughout the last winter, it occurs to me that all RYA courses perhaps need to add a compulsory short section educating skippers about how to approach and interact with visiting cetaceans in our waters. Most people exercise common sense. Well at least I like to think so but I could be naive about this.
For me personally, when interacting with cetaceans, sunfish, turtles etc in our waters, I try to do the following:
In the meantime, Antonio and Jericho - both trips were outstanding and we learned a huge amount. Thank you for such a great experience. Gracias Amigos
The organisation is AtlanticEco out of Puerto Colon. Max size of party on board is ten people. Fast rib with 2 x 250 Hp outboards on back and the opportunity to use a hydrophone to hear whales as well.
As an ex school 'education for sustainable development' adviser, I am ways on the lookout for organisations with strong sustainability principles. Well this organisation make it clear from the start - no chasing and no going immediately alongside cetaceans. They will stay 50m away and will drift. If whales and dolphins then chose to come alongside then fair enough. But definitely no chasing.
They will also stop to collect every turtle, briefly, to survey it's health, de-louse it and then release it. If the turtle is ill or injured, it will be brought aboard, looked after and then taken to a rehabilitation centre and later released on the north coast.
Our first three hour trip saw plenty of short fin pilot whales - very exciting. The passion of Antonio, the on board biologist was evident from the start and his enthusiasm and outstanding knowledge made the trip special. Informative discussion, lots of questions answered. Exceptional boat handling on display by Capt' Jericho. The huge number of five star reviews on Trip Advisor were clearly not wrong.
In fact we so enjoyed the trip, we immediately booked a repeat trip for the following day and in all our travels across the years, we have never done that before.
This second trip proved even more special. Short fin pilot whales, bottle-nose dolphins and a stray hammerhead shark, lots of shearwaters and the occasional flying fish as well. This time the boat was full - twenty somethings from across Europe. Intelligent, good humoured conversation, excellent questioning, a desire to learn, informed discussions about sustainability practises. An excellent trip.
It ends with a quick snorkel in a secluded bay and a final discussion about what we have seen. Antonio gives his email and contact details to everyone with the promise that wherever they are in the world and whenever, people can contact him with any questions about cetaceans.
In an area where there are so many unregistered boats offering whale watching and where the majority of trips are unscrupulous offering booze, snorkel and up close encounters based on chasing cetaceans, EcoAtlantic stand out like a shining beacon of hope.
It was refreshing and joyous to hear their plans for the future and about the impact they are already having with the local government councils on the island. They have a long, long way to go, by their own admission, but small steps. 'From little acorns, big oak trees will grow'.
And so, I would recommend AtlanticEco without reservation and regular readers of this blog will know that I rarely, rarely ever do that.
After the trip, on the two mile walk back to the hotel, it made me think about how we treat cetacean visitors in our own inshore waters. In Plymouth, I have always been impressed that tour boats and small ferries tend to follow a voluntary code, staying a good 30m or so away from creatures but I am pretty sure not all yachts and boats follow that rule.
When I completed a recent RYA day skipper course, the course leader did discuss our responsibilities towards cetaceans, although it wasn't part of the syllabus. It was his personal interest and he generated much useful discussion. he said he knew of a couple of other sailing schools who were doing something similar.
For me, as global warming warms our waters, and after having a resident pod of harbour porpoise throughout the last winter, it occurs to me that all RYA courses perhaps need to add a compulsory short section educating skippers about how to approach and interact with visiting cetaceans in our waters. Most people exercise common sense. Well at least I like to think so but I could be naive about this.
For me personally, when interacting with cetaceans, sunfish, turtles etc in our waters, I try to do the following:
- stay around 40m away from them
- try to stay alongside rather than in front or behind them - in this way cetaceans can see me and I don't cause them surprise by suddenly appearing
- not chase them them in anyway
- drift and slow if they come by choice to visit me - switching off outboard if safe to do so - or putting it in neutral
- not touch them if they are that close
- make a note in my log of time of sighting and location, any details about encounter, distinguishing features on creatures etc
I am sure there are other things I can do to not stress them. If you have any views, thoughts or comments, drop me a line in the comment box below
In the meantime, Antonio and Jericho - both trips were outstanding and we learned a huge amount. Thank you for such a great experience. Gracias Amigos
No comments:
Post a Comment