First Whales of the Campaign

Teale Phelps Bondaroff
Deckhand, Bob Barker

After an amazing lunch of vegan sushi, we began our fire safety training only to be pleasantly interrupted by a passing pod of orcas! The entire crew rushed out onto the deck, and into the pouring rain, to watch a pod of about seven orcas swimming off the starboard side of the ship. I was standing on the bow when a large orca swam just ten meters off Bob Barker’s bow.  That was the closest I’ve ever been to an orca and it was beautiful watching its tail as it dove. The whales swam methodically around Ralphs Bay, which is just off the Derwent River where we are anchored.  And as they did, we saw three calves swimming closely together, something I’ve never seen orcas do before. I’m sitting in the crew lounge and as I write this post, the sun is slowly setting behind Hobart, turning the sky into shades of salmon and tangerine behind the dark violet clouds. Today was a remarkable day.