Marine day to remember
Added to website: 07 December 2003
It was another beautiful Caribbean day, the sun beaming down on a glass-like sea. Six of us had prepared our dive gear, boarded the boat and headed out to one of our local dive sites. As we arrived and prepared to kit-up, we noticed two boats circling nearby as dolphin-like figures broke the sea surface. The tension and excitement rose in the boat as we realized they were too big to be dolphins. “What are they?” many a voice shouted “Pilot whales?” “Whale sharks?” no one knew. As we approached we learnt it was a pod of migrating killer whales! The pod split into two and as our boat was in position right in front of them, I slid into the water first and looked up. To my amazement I saw five young killer whales, each the size of a large estate car heading straight for me. I was stunned into immobility before registering that I had to move - and quickly! As they passed by, they were no more than two meters away and gracefully swam under the boat and away. It was definitely the most awesome sighting I have ever had!
- Robin Ewart-James, Volunteer on Project Bay Islands, Honduras.
