Episode 11 - Our Offseason, Whales around the World

After the Breach Podcast

We are back on San Juan Island after our winter offseason. People often ask us what we do during our offseason. We go whale watching in other parts of the world! Daven joins us on this episode as we share stories of our offseason whale adventures. Between the three of us we traveled to the Canadian Arctic, Eastern Pacific off Mexico and the Sea of Cortez, the Southern Ocean off Australia, the Sliver Bank off the Dominican Republic, and Antarctica.

Daven starts off the by sharing stories from his experiences in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, highlighted by encounters with Northern bottlenose whales, Belugas, and a fleeting view of Narwhals. He also talks about spending two months in Antarctica seeing multiple species of baleen whales as well as different types of Antarctic killer whales.

Our stories continue with Sara's adventures to Bremer Bay, Australia with Naturaliste Charters to see the killer whales of Bremer Canyon. These are a recently discovered population of approximately 300 orcas that are thought to be related to Antarctic type A killer whales. They primarily prey on beaked whales but also eat a varied diet that includes squid and tuna. Sara shares her stories from spending a month on the water with these whales while she collected data for the Orca Behavior Institute.

Next, Jeff talks a bit about his last minute travels around the Baja Peninsula to sail one of the breeding areas for North Pacific Humpback whales. He also talks about a friendly Gray whale encounter in Magdalena Bay and a visit to the Museo de la Ballena in La Paz.

Finally, Jeff and Sara discuss their return to the Sliver Bank, the largest breeding area for North Atlantic Humpback whales, 75 miles offshore of the Dominican Republic. They share highlights from snorkeling with Humpback whales while out with Conscious Breath Adventures. For even more information on what it's like to experience the Silver Bank, you can listen to Episode 7.

There are several common themes throughout our discussions, including the remote locations of many of these special, wild places and the sometimes uncomfortable conditions that you have to endure to get there. But the payoff is life changing as evidenced by us choosing activities like this every offseason in the San Juan Islands.

Speaking of the San Juan Islands, our season has started and we are seeing amazing wildlife and whales. If you would like to join us on a tour you can get details and book your trip with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

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For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/our-offseason-whales-around-the-world/

Photos mentioned in this episode:

Photo by Daven Hafey

Photo by Daven Hafey

Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu

Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu

Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu

Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu

Photo by Jeff Friedman