Feb. 25, 2007 — Tingling with anticipation, a group of about 20 stepped excitedly off the National Park dock early Sunday morning and climbed onto a 65-foot catamaran called the Jolly Mon in hopes of seeing some humpback whales.
Since Sunday's trip was the first of the season, expectations were high. Huddling close together, passengers quickly began speculating about where the first whale sighting would take place, and what other creatures would make an appearance during the day. The Environmental Association of St. Thomas-St. John sponsored the voyage.
Sliding the boat gracefully into the bright turquoise waters surrounding the island, the crew immediately began charting the best possible route. Sticking close to the eastern end of St. Thomas during the first hour of the voyage, they consulted various maps and listened to information supplied by Paul Jobsis, a marine-biology professor at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Throughout the day, Jobsis kept the mood optimistic, urging passengers to keep their eyes glued to the surrounding area, looking for a sudden burst of water or the sight of a majestic tail sweeping across the horizon. A sighting was possible, he said, since the whales were already in the area and had recently been seen on the northern end of the island.
A small population of humpback whales — about 1,200 out of the 2,000 whales identified in the North Atlantic area — migrates annually to the territory to give birth or to breed, Jobsis explained. The whales migrate from three different locations: the northeast gulf of Maine, Greenland and Iceland.
"The whales are identified by their tail flukes," he said. "And through these identifications, we have seen that all three of sets of whales are related."
The whale population used to be larger, but was cut down in the 1950s due to commercial whaling operations, Jobsis added. "About 50 years ago, there used to be 120,000 humpback whales worldwide," he said. "Now there are only about 12,000."
Jobsis continuously fed passengers similar tidbits of information throughout the five-hour voyage, adding that the group would most likely be able to spot some of the bottle-nose or spotted dolphins that frequent the waters of the Caribbean.
When the first two hours had passed without a whale or dolphin in sight, the crew pulled up alongside a local fishing boat, bobbing quietly near Hans Lollick. Leaning over the railing, someone shouted, "Have you guys seen any whales in the area?"
Tying an almost-invisible fishing line tightly around a small metal hook, one of the men aboard the second vessel gave a thumbs-up sign. The other, however, shook his head.
With a soft groan of disappointment, the crew of the Jolly Mon pushed on, charting a course around the entire island of St. Thomas, hoping to head off the migrating whales at some point during the voyage. "What we want to do is meet them as they're swimming down," said Kris Manley, the Jolly Mon's first mate and operator. "That way, we'll definitely be able to run into them."
With that goal in mind, the boat began to pick up speed, slicing through some choppy waters on the northern end of St. Thomas. Somewhere along the voyage, however, the passengers stopped looking at the horizon and began admiring the views around them.
To the left, a few of the territory's many cays loomed out of the water, their rolling mountains eventually giving way to sandy shorelines dotted with seagulls. To the right, a series of rock formations jutted upward, partially covered at times by heavy swells of white water.
The passengers pointed out various landmarks, laughed with each other and shared stories of other whale-watching trips. Some stretched out on the sunny deck of the Jolly Mon, while others sat near the bow of the boat, hoping to get splashed by the rough waves.
Around 3 p.m., the passengers were ready to dive in. Pulling up to Christmas Cove, near the island of St. John, the crew began to hand out snorkeling gear. A few of the younger passengers, ranging in age from 3-8, climbed cautiously down the boat's ladder into the warm ocean, while some of the adults jumped off the side.
Pulling back into St. Thomas around 4:30, passengers seemed satisfied. While they didn't see a whale during the trip, they did have a wonderful day on the sea, enjoying each other's company and basking in the beauty of the Virgin Islands.
Two more whale-watching trips are scheduled for March 4 and 11. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Environmental Association of St. Thomas-St. John at 715-3684 or 774-1837.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
