Whale shark sighting 2012

[Ralph Capeling]

I have been posting sightings on a thread about the best days in May for seeing whale sharks but it doesn't seem to get the number of hits whale shark sighting reports recieved last year, so starting a new one just to report on 2012 Whale Shark Sightings. Reports for the previous two days are repeated here, followed by todays report.
April 8 Whale sharks are back!!!!! Today a 20footer swam right between the snorkelers and the divers! The snorkelers followthe divers bubbles as the whale sharks are drawn to the bubbles which theythink is part of the snapper spawn.
Also saw bull sharks and silky sharks and of course lots of snapper. Sawdolphins on the boat ride on the way out to Gladden Spit.

April 9 Today both Splash boatssaw whale sharks!!!!! Divers on one of our boats saw a 20 footer in the morningand a 17 footer in the afternoon plus saw 2 bull sharks. During the surfaceinterval they jumped into the water with dolphins and saw a lemon shark. Thedivers on the second boat saw a 20 to 25 foot whale shark and the bull sharksand a huge ray when they pulled up inside the reef for the surface interval.Both boats saw really big turtles during the surface interval fighting overchicken bones and both boats saw dolphins.

April 10 Today one of our two boats saw whale sharks and did they ever see whale sharks!!!!!

Five whale sharks at one time! Size ranged from 15 to 45 feet and they came within 10 feet or closer to the divers. Unfortunately, only one of the Splash boats saw whale sharks, no one else saw them. the snorkelers and the second Splash boat did not see them
Besides whale sharks they saw about 15 bull sharks and 5 or 6 silky sharks.

Some of our customers got photos. We are overly busy right now rinsing gear and getting it ready for tomorrow, filling tanks, had 7 boats our including trips to Glovers, Blue Hole, Southwater Caye Marine Reserve, Laughing Bird Caye National Park, etc but we will try to post some of the photos on our website. Will let all know when we have done that.

Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added April 11th, 2012 at 05:43 PM ----------

April 11 Today two of our boats each saw 5 whale sharks on the afternoon dive. They were deep (circa 100 feet) so not a great view. Snorkelers could only dimly make them out. No whale sharks seen in the am. However, the rest of the usual suspects showed up.
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

April 12 Today the first Splash dive boat saw 3 whale sharks on both dives (but the same 3 whale sharks). The second dive boat, with the later time slot which traditional wisdom says is the best time to dive, did not see whale sharks. One of our group of snorkelers saw 2 whale sharks fairly close. The other group saw 1 fairly deep.
Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added April 13th, 2012 at 11:02 PM ----------

Friday the 13th - we had two boats in the whale shark zone today. Three whale sharks seen at surface on the first dive! A fifteen footer (immature) hund around the boat for a long time. No whale sharks seen on the second dive but did we 4 bull sharks, dolphins and a turtle. The culbera snapper were very deep.
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Saturday April 14 - we had one boat to the whale shark zone. During the dive they did not see any whale sharks but while leaving the zone after the dive they heard a report that a whale shark at surfaced so turned around. All got to snorkel for about 10 to 15 minutes with a 35 footer. Waves were 10 feet high so divers decided not to do a second dive. Our boat could handle the seas but getting back onto the boat is a challenge in big seas so all agreed to do the sensible thing and head back to beautiful Placencia without doing the second dive.
Regards
Ralph

 

[peterbj7]

I'm never sure - does 10ft seas mean 10ft peak-to-trough or peak (or trough) to mean?

 

[Ralph Capeling]

I'm never sure - does 10ft seas mean 10ft peak-to-trough or peak (or trough) to mean?

Peak to trough

---------- Post added April 15th, 2012 at 04:12 PM ----------

Sunday April 15 Very windy this morning so cancelled all diving today due sea state.
Regards
Ralph

 

[peterbj7]

That's logical and what I expected. Anything else would be impossible to measure.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Sunday April 16 We did not have any boats go to the whale shark zone so no report. Had a trip to Silk Caye which is not far from Gladden and divers & snorkelers had a great time there.
Regards
Ralph

 

[oldladydiving]

Thank you for your posts. I am enjoying reading them. My current goal is to find the best liveaboard for finding whale sharks. When I was in Belize (late 2006), I did not hear anything about whale sharks in Belize waters but they were not a primary focus then. Again, thx for your input.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

I have gotten behind on a few things and updating this thread is one of them. Whale sharks have been sighted the last few days but usually only one and usually deep. Today we had two dive boats spot several whale sharks. The best sighting was 2 whale sharks at 80 feet as near as 10 feet from the divers. One photographer told me he didn't get a great photo as he had has camera on wide angle and was so close he thinks all he will see is the eye when he downloads. the also saw an eagle ray, bull sharks, a turtle and of course, lots of snapper. All had a great time.
I am less than gifted in electronic matters so have been having some trouble putting whale shark photos on the Splash website. A friend helped me via long distance and that resulted in one whale shark photo on our website (although it is a very good one) and I have since uploaded another 6 but while they show on my admisnistrator screen, they do not show up on the gallery on the website - hopefully my friend will bail me out and I will get more posted. The website is www.splashbelize.com.
Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added May 9th, 2012 at 06:23 PM ----------

Mixed results today. One of our boats saw three whale sharks. They were at about 90 feet and passed right under the divers. The other boat mostly blue water - snapper were very deep.
With some help from my friend, I managed to get some good April 2012 whale shark phtos loaded plus some from last year. Website is Belize Scuba Diving Packages, Snorkeling & Whale sharks|Splash Dive Center|Placencia Belize.
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Today Thursday May 10 we had 3 boats out, one snorkel and two dive. Both dive boats saw whale sharks but they were deep at 100 feet (divers were at 70). It seems that the snapper and the whale sharks are still deep and the best sighting are yet to come. Snorkelers didn't see whale sharks (did see a bull shark up close and remoras) but came back very excited about what they saw during the lunch break snorkelling inside the reef - squid, lots of baracuda, loggerhead turtle, tons of reef fish.
Regards
Ralph