Saturday 9th July

Wow! The last few weeks of Whale Watching in Nelson Bay have flown by and hundreds of lucky passengers have been able to experience a ‘Sail with the Whales’. Apart from spending time with the whales, each daily trip regularly consists of seeing the Port Stephens resident Bottlenose Dolphins and we also usually get to see a family of Australian Fur Seals on Cabbage Tree Island.

During the last week of June and just yesterday afternoon (8th July) guests were treated to a very special ‘audience with the whales’ as two male Humpbacks sang us their mating calls. Imagine is equipped with a Hydrophone which is basically an underwater microphone. With the wonders of Technology we captured some of this in the video below!

10th June 2011

Two posts ago we asked the question “Want to go Whale Watching this weekend?” and some lucky people chose to come out for a sail on Imagine…

‘The Humpback Whale traffic is steadily growing on the whale highway off Port Stephens and some of the most spectacular things for these huge animals to do is Breach or Spy-hop.

Breaching is when the whale flicks its tail three times and can launch itself completely out of the water, this is no small effort for an animal that can weigh up to 60 tons.  Spy – hopping is a term used to describe when a whale sits vertically in the water and raises (hops) its head out of the water to have a look around (spying).

… So, back to last weekend and why were our passengers so lucky? Well as you can see, these photos from both Whale Watch cruises on Sunday 5th June 2011 speak for themselves!

Passengers got the double treat of awesome whales and the benifit of having crew member Didj Hopkins onboard, camera at the ready to snap these great photos!

9th June 2011

NBN News gave the 2011 official opening of the Port Stephens Whale Watch Season some great coverage. The cameraman and everyone onboard were treated to some excellent breaching by a huge Humpback Whale. To see the video please click on the NBN banner to the right.

This years official opening was themed ‘Youth for Whales’ and Imagine was glad to welcome onboard 10 local high school students as well as National Parks ranger Leanne Ellis who got to be a part of this very special cruise.

Were you a part of the official opening..? Local resident John Longworth has put together this nice compilation video (below) of the days events!

Friday 3rd June

Passengers and crew of two of the ports whale watch vessels “Imagine” and “Spirit” witnessed a sad whale watchintg event in nature yesterday. A small humpback calf clearly seperated for some time from its mother was labouring along past the entrance of  Port Stephens at 11am.

Barely able to swim and struggling even to raise its head for a breath, the barnacle encrusted calf appeared near the end. Both skippers of Spirit and Imagine spoke with National Parks and Wildlife Service Manager Mick Murphy about the possibility of its stranding somewhere along the NSW coast in the next few days.

It is generally understood that a Humpback calf requires its mothers milk for a full year if it is to survive. Whatever the reason for this calf’s seperation, it will die within days unless by some miracle it is adopted by a lactating female that has lost her calf.

This incident is of a different nature to the strading of sick Humpback Whales recently on the Western Australian coastline.

Later in the cruise two healthy Juvenille Humpbacks were sighted going north and an amazing feeding frenzy involving hundreds of Common dolphin and thousands of Gannets massing to feed on bait fish.

Whale Watching in Port Stephens has begun!

The Humpback whale migration has begun in force and since last Friday we have not as yet missed seeing a whale on any of the 8 whale cruises. According to the weather sites we use, the sea and wind conditions will be excellent for Nelson Bay and the surrounding Port Stephens areas for the coming weekend.

The whales have already been showing off with some tremendous breaching. On the very first cruise, Imagine was mugged (when the whales come right up to the boat) and the close up action hasn’t stopped there. This weekend has seen some very friendly whales and more breaching. On Monday morning’s whale watch, not only did we get to see the whales with the amazing backdrop of Fingal Island’s historic lighthouse, guests were also treated to some more spectacular breaching!

Lucky passengers on Saturday got to see the rare sight of a Minke Whale with her calf, as Imagine sailed past the islands!

All of our whale watch cruises start with a Dolphin cruise inside the bay with the friendly Bottlenose Dolphins. At this time of year we also regularly see the offshore Pacific Common Dolphin that love to come and ride the pressure wave from the bow of the boat. The afternoon cruise is proving popular, although it may be a little colder we are sure you will agree that sailing at sunset is worth it!

Friday 20th May 8:30am

After a great week of weather and patiently waiting for the Humpbacks to arrive in Port Stephens, we can now officially say “The Whales are here!”

As the fog lifted to reveal a beutiful sunny day and calm ocean, Skipper Frank Future was patiently watching the water to the South of Boat Harbour and just like that, a blow, and then another! It looks like we have two Humpback Whales making their way North so when Imagine pulls out of Nelson Bay for the morning whale watching session guests should be in for a treat.

We will keep you all posted as the day progresses, and try to get photos and video of the first Port Stephens Humpback Whales for 2011!

Imagine has had to postpone the 1st scheduled Whale watch cruise on Saturday 14th May due to bad weather. We will definitely be looking for whales on Monday afternoon and our 2pm cruise is a definite!

Whale Watching sea conditions predicted for Sat 14th & Sun 15th:

The forecast for this coming weekend is not good for offshore Whale watching activites, with strong wind from the South West picking up at over 30knots late on Saturday afternoon.  Seas are predicted to be huge from 2.5m on early Saturday reaching nearly 5m in the evening! Temperature will remain cool between 17 to 20 during the day but the good news is the sun will be shining…

Sea conditions predicted for Monday 16th:

The sun will be shining and the wind is predicted to drop completely for Monday afternoon Whale watching. The swell will be long and just over 2m,  so conditions will be near ideal to spot the first whales of the season! Air temperature will remain cool at around 19 during the day so we recommended you dress warmly.

Whale encounters:

Humpback whales have been spotted passing Jervis Bay on the 9th of April and passing Maroubra in Sydney the on the 18th of April. Some residents of Avoca beach on the Central coast also spotted a couple of Humpbacks on the 21st of April… This makes the chances of spotting the 1st whales off Port Stephens in May very high!

To find out about our Whale Watching cruises click here!

The Skipper’s HOT TIPS for Whale & dolphin watching:

TIP 1: If you have any concerns with weather and sea conditions you should always check in directly with Imagine Cruises. Imagine uses three main online meteorological sources in making our sea condition predictions plus we interpret local conditions that may affect the areas we travel to when looking for whales and dolphins. These weather channels are updated quite regularly during the day as things do change, so it is a good idea to check in. If you have any doubts, Imagines office is open between 9:00am and 4:30pm, 7 days a week and the number to call is 49 815 373.

TIP 2: Overdress rather than under dress, lots of layers is good and ladies, jeans are more practical than dresses but woolen tights are a great idea if you are wearing a skirt. Flat shoes with a reasonable grip is the way to go, no stilettos girls! You are going to want to be outside so big jumpers or ski jackets and beanies are the best.

TIP 3: If you have any doubts about how your tummy is going to stand up to a few hours at sea take a motion sickness pill. Imagine has them free on board but the best time to take them is half an hour before boarding or at the latest when you get on board.

Welcome the 1st Whales passing off Port Stephens – Nelson Bay. The Northern migration of 12000 Humpback Whales from Antartica’s feeding grounds to the warm waters of the Tropics has started. Nelson Bay is one of the best Whale Watching ports in Australia as the Whales migrate very close to the scenic volcanic Headlands among the largest group of islands off the coast of NSW.

Whale watching includes a bonus Dolphin Cruise, it’s a treat with more than 100 Bottlenose Dolphins in the bay. We expect to also meet with large pods of short beak oceanic Common Dolphins that like to ride the bow offshore. Over 8 species of whales, Australian Fur Seals and large flocks of migratory birds such as Yellow nosed Albatross can be encountered in the waters of the largest marine park in the state.

Sailing with the whales is the ultimate way to Whale Watch: It’s so quiet you can hear them blow!

Sea conditions predicted for this weekend and the following week:

Good conditions for getting onto and into the water this weekend. A 5 -15 knot north easterly breezes and 1 to 1.5 to 2 metre sea is forcast for both Saturday and Sunday and pretty much stable throughout the next week as the winds stay in the northeast. Warm and mostly dry in the bay for most of the week with the possibility of the odd shower. High tide is around 10:30 on Saturday morning and dead low at 5pm.

Dolphin watching in the bay:

With a run of seriously hot summer days, the place most people want to be is on or in the water to cool off. Temperatures on land are consistently above 34 degrees C but on the water it’s at least 5 degrees cooler. Sea temps are now between 21 and 24 degrees and perfect for swimming and boom netting. The bay is full of fish and the dolphins are having no problem feeding. Imagine has a hydrophone on board and its fascinating to hear the sounds of dolphins hunting, a combination of bursts of buzzing echo location with background squealing from the excited calves that are learning to hunt with their mothers.

Snorkeling Cruise:

Offshore the sea is now warm and there’s been virtually no rain for several weeks now so in combination with the light winds and reduced wave action the visibility for Snorkeling is consequently quite good. Lots of different species of fish including a big Groper and even a few exotic tropical species that have found their way south on the warm currents. there’s even a turtle making regular appearances at cabbage Tree Island. The big blue drifter is getting a work out in the light winds and Lighthouse Cove on Fingal Island is once again a hot spot for snorkeling. has even made friends with a Banjo Ray.

Sunset dinner Cruise:

The daily dinner cruise has proven to be a winner both for families on a budget or couples wanting something a bit different than a land based restaurant. Remind your guests that they can have a swim before dinner so to bring the cozies and although we have some towels on board we don’t carry spare swimmers for the girls! This is a two hour cruise every evening of the week and we will run it until the end of Easter so long as the weather holds up. It’s at the best time of the day and we are usually the only vessel out on the bay and certainly the only one sailing, it’s unbelievable!??

The menu is BBQ prawns and Hoki fillets in Cognac sauce on a bed of mash and rocket with a crusty bread roll followed by French Vanilla cheesecake with berries! Kids have the option of Hot dogs if they prefer and vegetarians can have quiche and salad. $35 per adult $30 concession or $100 for a family of 4 is this a knockout price or what?

For those of you in hospitality who want to cool off at the end of the day and have dinner handled at the same time, grab a friend and your cozies and jump on board. It’s a 5:30 pm start and we are back around a quarter to eight. 10% discount if you are in the industry so mention to us that you are when you make your booking. If you have ticket books just write your own ticket and we’ll see you on board!!

PS: We have a licensed bar

Swim with Dolphins:

This weekend we have two swims scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday morning at 6am so anyone wanting to experience one of the most amazing interactive adventures with intelligent wildlife should check this cruise out: http://www.imaginecruises.com.au/cruises-tours/swim-with-dolphins/

The Skipper’s HOT TIPS for safe swimming and sailing:

TIP 1: If you have any concerns with weather and sea conditions you should always check in directly with your cruise operator, Imagine uses three main online meteorological sources in making our sea condition predictions plus we interpret local conditions that may affect the areas we travel when looking for dolphins or finding a safe anchorage. Imagine’s office is open between 9:00am and 4:30pm, 7 days a week and the number to call is 49 815 373 or 49 849 000

TIP 2: Although it’s warm at the moment it can still be cool offshore so take a light jumper of jacket with you as well as your swimmers and a towel. This is now the season for Blue bottle stingers so consider wearing a rashy when you go in the water and keep a good look out for those bubble like floaters and avoid them. Best way to treat a sting is by applying to the stung area the hottest water that you can bear on a towel for a good 10 minutes. The heat followed by a cold compress usually does the job( you can use a cold can of beer or soft drink the same way). Flat shoes with a reasonable grip is the way to go on board any boat, no stilettos girls!

TIP 3: If you have any doubts about how your tummy is going to stand up to a few hours at sea, take a motion sickness pill. Imagine has them free on board including safe ones for pregnant ladies and chewy strawberry ones for kids, don’t risk it, the best time to take them is half an hour before boarding or at the latest straight away when you get on board.


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