Thar She Blows!
A moment of joy
Coconut Court guests saw humpback whales from our beach last week - but it’s definitely no fluke as sightings are on the rise off the south coast of Barbados.
We're on the lookout for a photo of the event - especially if it can match the one above - which was taken by a local photographer just a few hundred yards from Coconut Court.
This great sight, pictured on another occasion but still visible from our hotel, shows the humpback whale breaching - leaping into the air in a celebratory moment of ocean joy.
Photo: Mike Harris
A whale of a time
It's an awe-inspiring spectacle. Another humpback was filmed last month with its calf off Needham’s Point, just a few hundred yards from Coconut Court. And it was only a few days later that Coconut Court guests sunning themselves on our beach also spotted a humpback.
Whale watching is not an organised excursion in Barbados, but these wonderful mammals, which can grow to 52ft in length and weigh about 20 tonnes, are regular visitors to our island shores during the winter months.
The humpbacks feed in the cold Arctic waters and then travel south to the Caribbean to breed, living off their accumulated blubber before returning north again.
Song of the sea
The humpbacks are truly the great acrobats of the sea and are known for their tail and flipper slaps as well as that magnificent breach where they launch out of the water and create a huge splash.
Photographer Mike Harris, who took the extraordinary shot from neighbouring Drill Hall, said the whale played around for about 15 minutes and was "pretty close to shore".
The humpbacks also sing long, complex songs that last for up to 20 minutes. Scientists think the whales use the songs to communicate. They were once hunted to the brink of extinction, but the numbers of humpbacks across the world is on the rise.
Guests who enjoy the turtles nesting on our beach and swimming with reef fish in the Coconut Court lagoon can now look further to the horizon for a chance to see these ocean mega fauna making a splash. So if you took any photos last week, please let us know!
