david korte photographs

The thump under the boat focussed attention, a not-so-subtle reminder that we were at least eight miles from land. To the east,  or what I thought was east in a featureless ocean, no rocks, no land whatsoever that might resemble Mamba Point. According to Captain Flash, the pilot of our fishing adventure, we had long ago passed over the continental shelf, and were trolling in waters as deep as 900 meters. We had spotted the whale 200 meters before us and were making our way for a closer look. She dived as we approached to within 50 meters, and as we scanned the waves searching for her next breach, she surprised us with the bump from below. I don’t think a whale could capsize this boat, but I’m no expert on whales, or boats.

The hulk of the Humpback whale rolled to the surface alongside the boat, perhaps to better gauge our intentions, then submerged again, finally resurfacing behind us at 100 meters as we slowly pulled away.

According to Captain Flash, perhaps she was warning us away from her calf.