Has anyone done a T&C Aggressor whale snorkel trip?

[sdwho]

When we were on the Turks and Caicos Aggressor last spring, we heard a lot about the whale snorkel trips that they do each year. My wife fell in love with the idea and she just booked us for a trip in Feb 2007 (yep..that was the earliest we could go).

We're trying to convince some diving buddies to join us, but they're hesitating because there is no diving -- just snorkeling.

Anyone out there ever do one of these trips? And if so, I'd love to hear what you have to say so I can pass it along to our buddies.

sdwho

 

[RP Diver]

Haven't done the T & C, but I did a Whale Shark trip in the Sea of Cortez on the Don Jose liveaboard out of La Paz, Baja Sur. All the time spent in the water with the whale sharks was on snorkel. Diving just wasn't practical, as you have be able to move pretty freely to keep up with those big suckers, and they mostly stay right at the surface anyway (I had to dive down about 10 feet to get eye to eye with them). During the week, we had 5 different encounters with whale sharks, and we saw a pair (mother and offspring we think) of fin whales, but there was no way to get close enough to get in the water with them. We also got to snorkel with a mixed pod of pilot whales and dolphins, and with a couple of mantas.

It ranks as one of the best "dive" trips I've been on. We did get to do a few dives as well, but with the amount of plankton in the water (the reason the whales and whale sharks were there), the diving conditions were far from ideal. But the snorkel "dives" were some of my best times anywhere, and have proud place in my log book.

 

[caymaniac]

When we were on the Turks and Caicos Aggressor last spring, we heard a lot about the whale snorkel trips that they do each year. My wife fell in love with the idea and she just booked us for a trip in Feb 2007 (yep..that was the earliest we could go).

We're trying to convince some diving buddies to join us, but they're hesitating because there is no diving -- just snorkeling.

Anyone out there ever do one of these trips? And if so, I'd love to hear what you have to say so I can pass it along to our buddies.

sdwho

I went on a liveaboard two summers ago in the end of June out of Port Douglas, we went north and we saw whales blowing far in the distance. The next day we had some really calm seas and the captain put us right in the path of a group of Minke whales. We through out snorkel lines behind the boat and hung on the lines as the whales passed under us about 15 to 20 ft. away. The whales turned on their side and looked at us with that eye rotating around and giving us the once over, they were so curious that they made a big circle and passed us again. We did this for a couple of hours. On the next dive at Steves Bommie, I was heading back to the boat...out of film and over an hour in the water when a whale passed right under me :dazzler1: It doesn't get much better than that with whales.

Dive Safe,
Caymaniac