In the warm waters of the Dominican Republic, the world's largest concentration of Humpback Whales converges to calve and mate on the Silver Bank. We travel at the peak of the breeding season to provide you with a once-in-a-lifetime experience of whale watching and in-water encounters. Your experienced guides and the crew of the Turks and Caicos Explorer II will provide you with comfort, safety, and excellent service. Witness males vying for the enviable "escort" role and even hear them as they sing their famous songs. Slip into the water to see curious calves as they follow their mothers and drink their rich milk. By the end of week, you will have a comprehensive knowledge of the behaviors, anatomy, and temperaments of the North Atlantic Humpback Whales at their breeding and calving grounds. If the weather cooperates, and it normally does at this time of year, we will get you very close for amazing shots of surface activity and mind-boggling, eye-to-eye, "soft-in-water" encounters. There is simply nothing that compares to being in the water with a whale!
See our website for more details! http://www.cheesemans.com
Months
February
Duration
Multi-day
Vessel types
Live-aboard boat • Small boat (0-50 passengers)
Times and prices
February 7 to 14, 2015
18 participants, not including leaders.
Eight days total, including estimated travel time. Six days onboard the MV Turks and Caicos Explorer II.
See our website for costs and more details! http://www.cheesemans.com/caribbean.html
About our skippers and naturalist guides
Ted Cheeseman
Ted grew up whale watching and traveling the world with Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris. He earned his graduate degree in conservation biology at Duke University and has been organizing and leading wildlife safaris full time ever since. His great passion is making expeditions possible for travelers to spend the maximum time possible with wildlife, believing that by coming to know wildlife and wilderness intimately, travelers will come to respect the value of wild places in their pristine state.
Tom Conlin
Tom is a veteran on the Silver Bank, is a tour operator, naturalist, licensed 1,600 Ton U.S.C.G. Master Pilot, Master Diver Trainer, professional photographer, and a leading expert in the field of whales and soft-in-water encounters. Tom has had the opportunity to contribute his work to some of the leading organizations and researchers in the cetacean community as well as film crews, leading magazines, television, newspapers, and professional photographers from around the world. Prior to the 1996 season, the Comision Rectora appointed Tom as their representative on the Silver Bank, allowing him to use his experience and knowledge to oversee all aspects of taking people into the Silver Bank (regulations, education and training, notifications, recommendations). Tom's entire focus on this voyage will be on teaching whale behavior and supplying you with incredible opportunities for whale interaction.
Facilities
Access to wheelhouse • Deck with 360?vision • Naturalist guide(s) as well as skipper • On board hydrophone • Reading material available • Restrooms / toilets on board • Snacks / drinks • Support conservation • Swim / snorkel included • Use a code of conduct