HUMPBACKS

One hot and steamy mid-July day Eunice and I went on a whale watching cruise.It was something we had done many times before and always in the Atlantic Ocean in the whale feeding grounds off the tip of Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. But this day was a day like no other.

As we left the harbor, the ocean breeze and occasional splashes of seawater was very invigorating and what one would expect doing a steady speed, cutting through the waves. It did not take long before we started to spot signs of whales at a distance and I then noticed Dolphins keeping pace with us and darting in and out of our wake. It appeared as if they were having a great time. We then started to slow down and the lookout shouted over the loudspeaker to look to our left. We would see the spouts of 2 or 3 humpback whales and the captain was going to try to get a closer look.

Then the spouts were gone, but the captain felt this would be a good spot to stop and sit and wait. So we did.As we sat, the air seemed to get thicker and change slowly, ever so slowly, in color. From a sparkling blue sea, it became a hazy orange to almost a reddish color and very, very still. Dead calm. Not a ripple. It seemed as though we were encased in a huge bubble and only the ship and the passengers were inside. Nothing else. Quiet

All of a sudden without any warning, a whale breached and crashed back into the ocean. Then another and another and then there were more and more and more. Magnificent Humpback whales. One after another they came. Breaching and crashing back into the ocean. Some with calves and some without, but all breaching. I had seen whales before and even fondled them, but I had never seen anything like this. I was not afraid. To the contrary, I felt it was one of the most wonderful and humbling experiences of my life. After a while they slowly began to stop and eventually some swam away and some relaxed a little and then disappeared.

I will not preach or judge others, but I will say this. We live in a world surrounded by living beings all very different from us and each other but all marvelous in their own right. Why do we kill them for any reason? I will say no more as this is a personal thing. As for this story, I had to share the experience. As I said when I started, this was a day like no other. A day like this I may never see again. But then again, you never know.

Frank Verdi - 8-5-2010