I had to share this
Another gem from Wayne Davis, the Rhode Island spotter pilot. Davis told me he found this pod, last week, in very deep water off Oceanographer’s Canyon, well southeast of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.
Sperm whales are mysterious creatures, a true leviathan of the deep. It’s the deepest diving air breathing animal in the world. Think of all the layers of light you’d descend through–from the blue of the surface, down and down, till you hit a place where the sun doesn’t shine, a place where the fishes and squids have headlights in their eyes and bodies that glow red. It’s always Halloween to a lantern fish.
A sperm whale can dive to 9,800 feet, or so I’ve been told. They’re rarely seen “on soundings,” and prefer to have at least 3,000 feet of water between their bellies and the bottom.
It’s hard not to become amazed and anthropomorphic about sperm whales. I’d be scared out of my socks to be in total darkness rummaging around for a massive cephalopod, some huge Jules-Verne thing with an eye as big as a frisbee and tentacles longer than a school bus.
Wayne’s shot is a beauty. Hope you enjoy it. Here’s his link for more. http://www.oceanaerials.com/
JP Lee.
nice pictures..what is wayne doing out there now that nobody is swordfishing anymore? rodman made one trip and got skunked this year,dont think anybody else is doing it…tuna boys? longliners use sat tech for water temps…
He flies for people who pay him to find whale sharks and sperm whales–then those people snorkel around and take photos. He also works for one of the last purse seine boats, and flies for bluefin harpoon boats. Also he does white shark work off the Cape.