Humpbacks have whale of a time

A SEQUENCE of pictures capturing two humpback whales displaying off the West Cork coast have been described by a local marine biologist as one of the best captured on Irish waters.

And it was David Edwards, operator of West Cork Charters, who captured on camera the two humpback whales.

David, who was out on a trip on his boat ‘Silver Dawn’ with two friends of his who were visiting from the UK last week, said they had gone out to look for tuna and other wildlife.

‘We spotted three fin whales along with hundreds of dolphins before I noticed two humpback whales feeding not far from us,’ David told The Southern Star. ‘I cut both engines to see would they approach us and after a few minutes they started to display between 10 and 50 metres away.’

David described it as ‘absolutely incredible’ and said he had never witnessed such a sustained display such as that with both wales going through their full routine right next to them.‘My friends, Peter Bower and Barry Lonergan couldn’t believe what they were seeing and were getting soaked from the blows and splashes as they performed so close. I was lucky to have my camera with me on the flybridge and managed to get dozens of shots.’

David’s pics were so impressive that a local marine biologist told him that they were the best sequence of photos they had seen of humpback whales in Irish waters.

‘We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time and Peter and Barry went home to the UK with big grins on their faces!’