At sea with pilot whales

On Saturday, November 7th, we're in Varazze, Liguria. Maria, Gianni, and Agostino meet at the port at 9:00 a.m. and decide to head out to sea in our well-preserved and trusty boat. Just before leaving, I remember to grab my underwater camera: you never know...

It's a magnificent sunny day, the sea is calm, and a light breeze refreshes the still warm air.

We're heading south, away from the coast, to see if the sea will provide us with any interesting encounters again today.

A couple of miles out we encounter numerous feeding frenzies: frigate tuna, small tuna, a few bonitos, and many seagulls and terns gorging themselves on small anchovies at the surface, which, to defend themselves, gather together tightly, in "balloons" that can be made up of thousands of individuals.

I dive near one of these feeding frenzies. The camera I picked up this morning is the excellent Sony NEX-7 with the Nauticam housing, and I try to take some photos of these darting little fish, often the predestined victims of so many predators.

They move quickly, constantly changing direction. It's not easy to get a good shot, but I manage to get two or three interesting shots and then I go back on board.

We continue to move away from the coast on this summer-like day when suddenly, Gianni, with a Moby Dick-like cry, calls for everyone's attention: "Blow, it's blowing down there!!" In an instant, we are all on the flying bridge and see a large, steady "blow" about a quarter of a mile away coming from an enormous dark shape floating motionless.

We recognize it immediately: it's a sperm whale!

We slowly approach, but its breathing becomes more frequent and deeper, and we know this is a prelude to its dive into the depths. Indeed, when we're just over 50 meters away, it takes a final deep breath, slowly raises its gigantic tail out of the water, and disappears into the blue.

Wonderful!! Everyone was excited about the first sperm whale we'd seen this season, but then we realized that, captivated by the beauty of the spectacle, no one had taken a picture!

We feel that this day has something magical and that it could hold other surprises for us: we continue south.

The adventure with the pilot whales

 Cruising at 4-5 knots, around 13pm we are a dozen miles from the coast, on a seabed of over 1000 metres, and we spot some round, dark shapes on the surface, practically motionless.

It's been a few years since I last saw them, but I recognized them immediately: about twenty pilot whales lazily floating on the surface in the calm, still-warm water! I couldn't believe it; it was another stroke of luck to be able to admire such a fantastic natural spectacle, and I also had my camera with me...

 We approach slowly, then turn off the engines and, with momentum, get to within a few meters.

Meanwhile, frantic preparations: fins, mask, and a shorty that I always carry on the boat, and off we went. It was the beginning of a fantastic experience, a little apprehensive at first, given the size (3-5 meters) of these cetaceans, but then I became increasingly attuned to these beautiful creatures. After a while, they, too, became curious about me but never aggressive. They sometimes posed and sometimes did short breath-holds, alone or in groups of 2-3…

Out at sea, the boat now a little distant due to the breeze, camera in hand, and these creatures at arm's length, their breathing and mine the only sound. An emotion I can't describe, one I'd dreamed of a thousand times... beautiful, beautiful... I have no other words, only the memory of profound sensations.

After about forty minutes, a little chilly, I reluctantly leave the group of pilot whales, still perfectly calm, to return to the boat. As I prepare to climb aboard, my friends catch my attention: six or seven pilot whales have followed me right up to the side of the boat and remain very close to the boat for several minutes. Photos and video from on board, everyone's amazement and disappointment at leaving such a beautiful encounter: we talk of nothing else until we return to port...