Snorkeling with Humpback Whales on the Silver Bank

Conchman

Conchman

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80 miles NE of Puerto Plata is the Silver Bank, where thousands of whales migrate from the Northern Atlantic to mate and have babies. Aquatic Adventures is one of three licensed live-aboard dive boats that are allowed to run controlled snorkeling trips with these gentle giants. (Private yachts can also get licenses from the government) Dive instructors control the guests and interactions in order to keep it safe for both humans and whales. It is a very professionally run trip, good people, good food, and not cheap.

I had the luck to go on one of the 6 day trips that they offer between January and April. The experience was quite amazing.

Free-diving with humpback whales on the Silver Bank, Dominican Rep. on Vimeo

Interactions can happen on the surface or near the bottom at around 60 feet. The video is of me with my gopro camera on a pole. My lobster fishing experience from the Bahamas definitely helped for the deeper interactions. I will post some photos later.
 
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anng3

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Jan 12, 2007
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That is so cool. Where do you stay for the 6 days? I would love to do that. Have lived here 5 years and only heard about the whale trips in Semana. Is there a website for Aquatic Adventures for more info?
 
Conchman

Conchman

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There is no land on the Silver Bank, so you stay onboard a live-aboard dive vessel. We stayed on the "Turks and Caicos Explorer" that leaves from Ocean World Marina every Saturday night. The boat can sleep about 20 guests and there are about 10 crew.

Next year is almost sold out already and they are taking reservations for 2016 already.

You can get more info here: http://www.aquaticadventures.com/
 
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dv8

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why is this thing not moving? the video is amazing but there is no way in hell i would put my fusa in the water with them big fishies (yes, i know those particular ones are mammals) because SHARKS. beautiful. but scary.
 
Conchman

Conchman

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It takes about 8 hours to get there, the ride can be rough but its usually calm on the bank once you get there, where the boats have moorings. The whales (and the boat trips) run from early January to early April. Tom Conlin of Aquatic Adventures pioneered this trip back in the 1990's. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it.
 
Conchman

Conchman

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dv8 said:
why is this thing not moving? the video is amazing but there is no way in hell i would put my fusa in the water with them big fishies (yes, i know those particular ones are mammals) because SHARKS. beautiful. but scary.
Click to expand...

In the video is a mother sleeping/settling, quite a common site but usually they are horizontal but sometimes in all kinds of weird positions. There is a baby in the front that is a bit hard to see in the video. We noticed many times that the whales didnt mind us around at all, and they would often close their eyes to sleep with us snorkeling around their baby. It is possible that babies that once encountered snorkelers many years ago are now having babies themselves, and getting used to having snorkelers around. Sometimes encounters are short, if they get spooked by clumsy divers or just are tired of hanging around. Sometimes encounters with a mother/calf can take all day.
 
Conchman

Conchman

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54x8rc.jpg
 
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anng3

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Were you scared? How did they train you for the encounter? You seem alone. Who else is down there?
 
Conchman

Conchman

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anng3 said:
Were you scared? How did they train you for the encounter? You seem alone. Who else is down there?
Click to expand...

Well at first it is a bit intimidating, just to see something that big underwater, but once you see how slow they move and how calm they are, then its easy to adjust. The instructors will tell you if you get too close, basically you cannot be in range of the tail fluke or the large pectoral fins which can be 15 feet long and weigh 1,000 lbs each. So its important to stay clear of those but the whales know you are there and will avoid you. The babies can be clumsy though, and they weigh over a ton each when born, so that is also a big factor in safety.

From the mother boat you go out in two smaller boats who each seek their own whale, 10 pax and 2 instructors on each boat. There are so many whales it does not take long to find one, but sometimes you have to wait until they stop moving and 'settle.' At this point an instructor gets in the water and checks the whales attitude, to see if it will stay settled, and then all ten snorkelers go into the water. No scuba diving is allowed.
 
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drescape24

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Nov 2, 2011
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Thanks for sharing. I never knew the whale congregated on the N.C., i thought that was only Samana.

drescape24
 
Conchman

Conchman

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drescape24 said:
Thanks for sharing. I never knew the whale congregated on the N.C., i thought that was only Samana.

drescape24
Click to expand...

The Silver Bank is technically not on any coast, it is an area of shallow water about 30 by 30 miles in area, about 60 feet deep, with some coral heads reaching all the way to the surface, 80 miles Northeast of Puerto Plata and surrounded by deep ocean water.
 
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