Late winter and early spring in the Caribbean waters between the southern Bahamas and the Dominican Republic means that North Atlantic humpback whales are in the area for their annual rituals of mating and rearing the young of the year calves who were born in late December or early January. A 40 square mile area of sand, known as "The Silver Bank" is the mating grounds for more than 16000 humpback whales from various locations in the North Atlantic. At any one time from Janua

For the 4th consecutive year we made our way south out of the frigid New England winter to spend time with our friends at Aquatic Adventures who run expeditions from the Dominican Republic to the Silver Bank to observe North Atlantic humpback whales in their winter habitat. As many of you are aware 2015 is showing the northeast portion of the US and Canada some of the coldest temperatures ever recorded in addition to record amounts of snowfall. The Boston area, near where we

Thinking of these magnificent creatures making their way on the long journey from summer feeding grounds some females heavy with calves makes a visit to the Silver Bank off the north coast of the Dominican Republic very special. This was our third trip to be with Tom Conlin and his brilliant crew of Aquatic Adventures on the Silver Bank. Weather conditions on the Bank had been a little breezy with the afternoon trade winds blowing up to 25 kts for a few days presenting some c

After leaving Dominica and our fantastic experiences swimming and observing Sperm whales we made the 1000 mile journey northward via Puerto Rico to join the team at Aquatic Adventures in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Since it is not easy traveling in the Caribbean our journey took several days travel but we finally climbed on board the Turks & Caicos Explorer, our live-aboard dive boat home for the next 6 days and headed out 80 miles to the NNE finding the Silver Bank. Th

This expedition brought us to the warm Caribbean waters off the north coast of the island of Hispaniola to the gentle nursery waters of the Silver Bank. Named for Spanish galleon treasures lost in 16th and 17th century storms - this area was long before New World colonial times, the winter destination of 6 - 8,000 North Atlantic Humpback whales who arrive each year to birth and nurture new calf's and to cavort and mate to perpetuate the species. We worked with Humpback whale

The Friendliest Whale: photo credit Ted Cheeseman Swimming with whales is the thrill of a lifetime. The Silver Bank is truly one of the few places you can do this anywhere in the world. I bet just watching someone who is swimming with a 40 foot 20 ton mother humpback whale and her new calf will give YOU goosebumps! Check out these two clips shot by fellow traveler Mike Morelli from Seattle. Might take a minute to load. Mother and calf encounter #1 Mother and calf encounter #2