......To make love.
So true to nature of Mother nature, the female humpbacks like their inquistive and complex mammalian cousins give birth to their live young in a blanket of warm watery love. Why? They're young mass have not enough insulating blubber to keep them warm. The same blubber for which their cruel and complex cousins hunt them.
The ship's crewmen came from many nations. Indians, a Swede, Germans, Americans. All with cameras. HP, our team leader, (no he's not an Android, I think I'ill call him Hot Pursuit from now on, I'ill explain later), collected the boat fare which amounted to about $43.00 after temperature scanning and with the weather an amiable usher we rush forth.
We head east. The boat bobs like a drunk lizard. While at the jetty Martha an American lady said she was "puzzled when she work up an found cars moving at 6:30."
"The city never sleeps" I said. I am puzzled, to me America is one big city. "I'm from Iowa." she continues..I've heard that's one big farm. A humpback washed up ashore on the receeding coast about two years ago. The local population rushed to the cadavar not out for scientific curiosity and investigation but they...and "they" were quite a number; vigorously flayed and swallowed the beast with the viciousness of an army of angry Ahabs!
Many boats litter the sea. Speaking of litter....yes even miles out at sea...this......
Time passes in crests and throughs. Aduke one the passengers didn't see anything on last years trip. "We're better see some whale out here today." an African American says. She is wearing a big gatsby cap and gold rimmed Rayban . "At least lets see a prawn."
I keep my spirits high and recite duas for whales to pop out of the sea. Then I turn to chat with Aduke about Scotlands possible exit from the UK, before pulling out my binos.....both my 15*25 and 15*70 Celestrons were with me...HP asks me to pass him a pair. I forgot to mention this HP smartly decided to take two trawlers in case one broke down. One of the trawlers stopped..we didn't know why. "Maybe someone on board is sick" a film director next to me says. The passengers in the front are calmly seated then a gale snatches a elderly lady's baseball cap......
The captain actually does a full 180 to rescue our cap lost at sea......
He actually gets out of his seat and with impressive athleticism and courage bends almost full length over starboard..captain grabs the cap. After returning cap returned to lady in distress. We lob forward.
Its almost 9:45. "Do you know how long is the english channel?" I ask Aduke. "No" she replies....but England to France is about a 30 minute journey. We've crossed the english channel..and then we come across a pair of teenagers yes teenage fishermen. There boat isn't even powered! Tom Sawyer and Huckberry finn can eat my sandals! The captian speaks to them in the native language. They excited point northwards. Our captain courageous spins us around we bob up and down for another 10 minutes and then he slows down.....
.......we're in the "love zone".
The African American lady, Tom a friend of HP, HP, and a African couple move onto the bow. We scan the waters, we're wet with excitement....very very wet. The Ocean motions my thoughts to the victims of flight MH370, I understand just how difficult the search would be. I think of how Nature just made a mockery of our supposed sophistication.....of how their Time just came....suddenly...without warning...of how they now lie...in the belly of the sea.
....and then, our captain points starboard.......
......a flute and then........
...... a fin....and then....very human cheer.......
...........the cousins have come! time for a big family reunion!
"What brings them here," the African American lady asks the crowd.
"They're here to mate," a tall gray haired gentleman replies.
"Mate...I knew it..everyone comes to this city to mate....maybe they would like some Marvin Gaye."
My eyes meet HP's "Its like that all the time.....I was just about to tell him (the captain) to head back...persistence..persitence..."
I remember a shot HP made of a beautiful but rare bird at a conservation park on the coast. He had spent almost three hours on the stakeout.
A humpback is roughly 36 tonnes.... we stay at a "safe distance" our big brothers are regraded as very intelligent species. Knowing their cousins killer habits they stay at a safe distance.
The whales in these waters belong to the "Gulf of Guinea" stock found off the coast of Nigeria, Benin Togo and Ghana.
We see the giants pop up, the dip upward into the atmospheric ocean for air. Popping upward our euphoria each time.
Our friends didn't put up any free willy style breaches, but then I am grateful...grateful for this moment....after a three years of being stranded ashore my prayers to click with the whales of West Africa clicked. After our souls could be stirred no further the captain turns around, the compass needle points west.
