THE HUMPBACK WHALE – THE GENTLE GIANT OF THE OCEAN

Two large Humpback Whales playing alongside Crusader 1

There are thought to be roughly 40,000 humpback whales across the world. With half of these expected to glide through the Sunshine Coast’s waters this winter. Here are some fun facts to school you up on these magnificent creatures!

CHARACTERISTICS

  • The female humpbacks are longer than the males. A female can measure up to 50 feet long, with their tale up to 18 feet wide!
  • The average weight of the humpback whale is 45 tonnes. That’s equivalent to over 20 cars, or 1000 children.
  • Humpback whales usually live to between 45- 50 years.
  • They have very sensitive skin that is easily sunburned.
  • They have no sense of smell or taste, but have incredible hearing ranging over many kilometres for communicating and finding food.
  • The whale’s tale is like human fingerprints – each has unique and different characteristics.
  • The males’ tales are usually covered in battle scars as a result of the fierce competition for available females. This is the easiest way to tell the difference between male and female! The easiest way to tell the difference between a male and a female!
  • The Humpback Whale has two blow holes – one for each lung. Each of its lungs is the size of a small car.
  • Baby humpback whales, known as calves, are fed over 400 litres of rich milk each day, which is the consistency of condensed cream.

 

BEHAVIOUR

  • Humpback whales’ have a huge appetite and can devour up to 1800kgs of krill per day!
  • During mating season, humpback whales will fast for months at a time, so they can focus on migration and mating.
  • Female humpbacks usually get pregnant in Queensland’s warm waters, and return the following year to give birth. Their calf will not survive if it is born into the freezing waters of the Antarctic.
  • Humpback whales are the most acrobatic of all the whales, and can often be seen playing in the water and putting on a show!
  • The tale is used as a form of non-verbal communication through a tail slap…which can be heard underwater several hundred metres away.
  • Each pod communicates through its own dialect, and sings its own whale song. These songs can be heard up to 32km away and can be up to 20 minutes long. The whales are known to repeat the same song over for hours.
  • Adult whales can hold their breath under water for over half an hour.

MIGRATION PATTERNS

  • Humpback Whales travel over 10,000kms on their yearly migration, the longest migration journey of any animal in history.
  • This migration is largely driven by their immense appetite and love of krill! These small prawn like creatures are abundant in the Antarctic waters.
  • They migrate north to Queensland’s subtropical waters to mate and give birth. Their new baby calves would not survive if born in the freezing Antarctic waters.

 

Nothing compares to the thrill of seeing these giant creatures up close in their natural habitat. Let Sunshine Coast Afloat take you on a whale watching experience of a lifetime!

 

Some of the fantastic things to do on the Sunshine Coast

Make your Sunshine Coast Holidays even more fun!

If you are visiting the Sunshine Coast for a holiday, or maybe you have family and friends visiting. To see and show the Sunshine Coast at it’s best, you need to check out some of the fun marine activities we have on offer. Whether you are after something relaxing, fun, adrenaline pumping, romantic, family orientated, by yourself or with a group,  we have something that will suit all occasions.

Whale Watching

We can offer you two types of Whale Watching.  Some fast, fun action getting out to the whales quicker but no need for bulky life jackets and you don’t get wet!  Hela-Va Jet is one of only 3 in Australia. A very unique machine.  We open the doors as we get closer to the whales so you can enjoy being close to the water and amongst it all.

Our other vessel – Crusader 1 is a 3 hour cruise on our 55 ft vessel.  Enjoy the open deck where you can move around easily and have a rail side view at all times – ready for that photo moment.  We only take a maximum of 22 passengers – so no crowds!

For more information on our very special whale watching tours have a read HERE.

Deep Sea Fishing

We offer Deep Sea fishing and Spanner Crabbing charters ranging from 5 hrs – 18 hour over-night trips.    These trips are great for the family, individuals or groups.  This time of the year there is lots to see out on the water – Dolphins, Turtles, Whales along with the Spanner Crabs and fish.

Ocean Jet Boating

Enjoy the thrill of a roller coaster on the water but you don’t get wet.  This ride includes all the usual tricks and turn you would experience on a calm water jet boat ride but you are out in the ocean to enjoy the coastline.  If there is swell we will even ride the waves.  You don’t get wet nor do you have to wear life jackets so it’s about sitting back enjoying the music and thrills.

Guided Kayak Fishing Tours

Another great adventure for the family.  Our guide will take you up in amongst the estuaries where boats can’t get to and teach you about kayak fishing, or simply enjoy being out on the water with the family.  The tours are great if the swell is too high in the ocean.

Romantic or fun Cruises for Two or more

We offer various types fo cruises from private two person trips complete with a picnic all all conducted in our beautiful waterways, to group cruises for up to 23 of your closest friends and family.  Check out our Facebook page for the latest trips we have done to get an idea.  All our cruises are adapted to completely suit your needs. All you need do is select your cruise, a picnic and swim – we can assist with your request.

Sunshine Coast Birds

With all the erratic weather we have been having over the last five months, we were, once again, having to cancel our fishing charters but the decision was made to head out with our local Bird Watchers last Sunday.

The winds were blowing from the south-east at 15-18 knots with gusts up to 20-22 knots. The swell refused to ease off all day but this hardy group headed out some 23 nautical miles offshore looking for some bird activity and more impressively, stayed out the whole time as well.

Some of the bird life spotted were there Brown Booby, a Red-footed Booby, Providence Petrel and a Grey-faced Petrel which I believe is not common for the Sunshine Coast area.

See the full report from Greg Roberts – http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com/2018/05/sunshine-coast-pelagic-may-2018.html

We are hoping to get some better conditions for the group on their next trip, which is this weekend but again, I don’t think we are in luck.

Surely the weather on the Sunshine Coast has to settle soon.

 

 

 

 

DWARF MINKE WHALES

Humpback Whales may be the most commonly sighted whale in the Sunshine Coast’s waters over winter, but they’re not the only species in town! Dwarf Minke Whales also undertake an annual migration north up Australia’s East Coast, before gathering at Northern Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef for a few months over winter.

Passing through the Sunshine Coast between June and August, you may get lucky and spot one of these magnificent animals whilst on your whale watching tour. Here are some fun facts about these whales, and how you can spot them apart from the humpback!

  • Dwarf Minke Whales are smaller than the humpback, but can still grow up to 8 metres in length
  • They are distinguished by their unique colourings, particularly its white pectoral flippers with black edging
  • The dwarf minke whales show up every winter on Great Barrier Reef, where they spend a few short months.
  • Queensland is the only area in the world where humans can interact with this species
  • Dwarf Minkes are reliably spotted during the winter months on the outer edge of the northern Great Barrier Reef, where they spend a few months
  • They have one calf each year which is almost 2 metres long at birth. That’s longer than the height of a baby giraffe!
  • They can live to 60 years old
  • The white and grey markings on the side of a minke whale are unique to each whale, much like fingerprints are to humans
  • They are one of the fastest types of whales, and can travel at speeds of more than 30km

 

 

Keep your eyes peeled for these white and grey whales when you’re out on your whale watching tour!

 

 

What’s on offer

Like the idea of a cruise with a difference?

We hope to, with this blog post explain, why you should have your next adventure with us, at Sunshine Coast Afloat.

Simply put, if you love the sun, salt and sea then look no further than Sunshine Coast Afloat!

For starters, if anyone knows a good time it’s our team! We have extremely experienced guides and state of the art equipment – this combination leads to the ultimate, enjoyable way to see the beautiful Sunshine Coast. Together with this we offer an amazing range of water-based activities, all of which can be modified according to the conditions of the day. And every budget is catered for! We offer deep sea fishing & crabbing charters, whale watching, ocean jet boat thrill rides, bucks and hens parties, guided kayak fishing tours, coastline & canal cruises, water taxi services and much much more!!

This adventure brought along their surfboards, drinks and a massive breakfast cook up – things that are all encouraged when booking with us at Sunshine Coast Afloat. Toby and Rob were the skippers that looked after the boys on this trip. Touring them around Mooloolaba and even taking care of the breakfast cook-up so the boys could make the most of the surf! Each and every party can be catered the way you want, with this one really focusing on the boys and just having the best and most chilled out day possible! They had such a great time they are considering making it an annual outing!!

Cooking a Breakfast Feast on the BBQ on Crusader 1.
Cooking a Breakfast Feast on the BBQ on Crusader 1.

Another great thing about Sunshine Coast Afloat is that if you have an idea, just ask us and we will find a way to make it work! We pride ourselves on finding ways to organise and alter the trip the way you wish; whether that’s bringing your own music, drinks, food ect. We want you to have the most memorable day, so we will go to all lengths to make this happen!

Another recent review after a fishing charter:

“We had an excellent experience with Sunshine Coast Afloat! Not only would we recommend them to others but we would happily go again. The staff were super helpful and happy to chat and get amongst the people. Great knowledge of fish and awesome enthusiasm! Personally what impressed me the most was the attention to safety and the pride they took in keeping the boat clean”

– Felicity Tripp 2017 (Google Review).

Sunshine Coast Afloat were the winners of the 2014 Sunshine Coast Business Awards, and runners up in 2015! It was a privilege to receive the top prize and realise our efforts and promises were paying off!

We will do everything possible to ensure you will have an amazing time!

A WEEKEND ALL ABOUT FISHING

What a weekend!

Saturday started off with a 7 hour SUNRISE fishing trip.  These winter morning sunrises are just spectacular to see, worth getting up for.

We then turned around and did a 5 hour SUNSET charter.  The sunset trips do quite well over winter, especially the smaller trips.  We tend to see quite a bit more action in the evenings.

On Sunday, we had the pleasure of having the Warner Recreational Fishing Club out on a full day fishing charter.  The conditions were glorious so there was no reason not to head out to The Barwon Banks.  The decision was made not to do Spanner Crabbing as they were keen to get out fishing, their trip had already been cancelled once due to bad weather.  In fact, they were that keen, we left an hour earlier than we usually do but it seemed to have paid off.

There were a lot of good fish on board – some good Travelly, Snapper, Tusk fish, Moses Perch, Spangled Emperor, Red Throat Emperor, Gold Spot Wrasse and Maori Cod.

We even hooked onto a good size Gummy Shark – obviously she went back safely into the water – which always provides the lucky person with some great action.

The day was full on, what you hope every day could be like.  Dolphins played on the bow wave of Crusader for quite some time as we headed out to our location.  Turtles were sighted, fishing was great and everyone had a good BBQ lunch and nibbles to fill up on.  John was given a Rod & Reel as a gift from us for booking a group.

7 Hour Deep Sea Fishing Charter review

One of the testimonials from the weekend.  We are always grateful to receive such wonderful feedback from our guests. It makes all the efforts of our team worth it.

The next few months we will be seeing the whales as well so it’s always a great time of the year to bring the family out, head out on a smaller trip – do some fishing, and see the wonderful humpback whale migration, and the other marine life.

To find out more head to our website

2018: THE SUNSHINE COAST’S BEST EVER WHALE WATCHING SEASON!

Humpback whale

The Sunshine Coast has become one of Australia’s most popular whale watching destinations. With more whales set to frolic along our shores than ever before, 2018 is shaping up to be the best season yet!

From early May, 20,000 Humpback whales will begin their annual migration north. Escaping the cold Antarctic waters, these magnificent creatures will make their way up Queensland’s southeast coast, where the warm subtropical waters offer a more comfortable mating and birthing environment. From August through to October, they’ll make their way back south, with their new babies in tow!

Whale watching has quickly become an exciting tourist attraction on the Sunshine Coast. Famous for their acrobatics and playful nature, awestruck visitors are often treated to a show of tale slaps, body slams and blow-hole explosions!

Nothing quite compares to seeing these gentle giants up close, and never has it been easier! Sunshine Coast Afloat offers daily whale watching tours from 1 July to 31 October, departing from the beautiful Mooloolaba. Their intimate and unique tours ensure you always get the best seat in the house, so there’ll be nothing to get in the way of the perfect Insta-snap!

If you’re seeking blue skis, golden beaches and a guaranteed “whale of a time”, start organising your winter getaway to The Sunshine Coast, and get in touch with Sunshine Coast Afloat for a whale watching experience of a lifetime!

 

Fishing off Mooloolaba – The weekends Activity

It’s only Tuesday but it seems like quite a long time ago that we were out Fishing off Mooloolaba.

With some extremely erratic weather conditions – which we have all been experiencing the last 4-5 months no doubt – it’s been great to have finally been able to get back to sea last last couple of weekends.

Saturday’s trip was a Full Day Private Booking for Stuart’s 21st birthday.  Celebrating with family and friends we headed out wide towards the Barwon Banks but had to eventually come in closer due to the choppy conditions.  It’s always disappointing when you can’t be at the destination you originally planned for but there was still a lot of activity on board and everyone seemed to of enjoyed the day out on the water.

Sunday started with a 5 hour charter and a handful of guests on board.  Fishing was tough in the morning but we turned around and did a 7 hour trip after that.  We find the sunset fishing in close can be quite good, which was the case.  Kim organised a group of family and friends to come out for Jamiee’s birthday and they decided to have a BBQ which was a nice touch to the trip for everyone on board.

A good variety of fish about at the moment. Predominantly Snapper already, which we are all hoping will be plentiful this winter.  We have also seen quite a few Cobia as well, along with lots of trevally, Sweetlip, Mowong, Trout and the usual tuskies etc.

 

 

 

THE FOUR OCEAN GIANTS VISITING THE SUNSHINE COAST THIS WINTER

This winter, the Sunshine Coast is anticipating the arrival of record numbers of whales into its waters. Between May and November, more than 20,000 Humpback Whales are expected to pass our shores.  Looking to make Queensland’s warm waters their temporary mating and birthing ground.

Whilst the Humpback whales are by far the most frequently sighted species, if you search hard enough, you may just be lucky enough to spot one of these other fascinating beasts!

ORCAS

Orcas prey on humpback whales, and are happy to travel long distances.  With the large numbers of humpback whales visiting the Sunshine Coast’s waters, it’s only natural that orcas too would be attracted to the area. So look beyond the humpbacks. You may spot a pod of orcas lurking nearby!

DWARF MINKE WHALES

Dwarf minke whales migrate along Australia’s East Coast annually.  Then gather in Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef for a few months over winter. Smaller than the humpback, they are distinguished by their unique colourings, particularly its white pectoral flippers with black edging.

These whales will be passing through the Sunshine Coast between June and August, so you may get lucky and spot one on your whale watching tour!

SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE

The rarest of the four, the Southern Right Whale is currently considered endangered.  The good news is, their population is on the rise, and so too are sightings!  They follow a similar migration pattern of the humpback and dwarf minke, visiting the Sunshine Coast’s warm waters over the winter months for mating and giving birth.

These playful and inquisitive animals have been known to swim right up to boats to check out what’s going on. They also like to put on a show with mum and baby performing acrobatics for amazed whale watchers!

Keep your eyes peeled whilst your out on your whale watching adventure, and you may just be lucky enough to spot all four!

 

21st BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

A different way to celebrate –  no need to worry about how loud your music is or if you are disturbing the neighbours or upsetting anyone.  Head out to sea and let your hair down.  Scream, yell, laugh & sing as much or as loud as you want while you are out in the Mooloolaba Bay and cruising the coastline.

This group celebrated Dannii’s 21st and took advantage of all the poles on Crusader 1 to throw in a few dance moves.

BYO food and drink or we can arrange food platters for you.  Hire the BBQ and have a cook up – it’s your choice.

As with all our group bookings we can also offer you some great specials for The Wharf Tavern for after your cruise to really make it a full evening of fun, dancing, eating, laughter and drinking.

 

 

 

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