The Silver Banks are world renowned as a Humpback Whale nursery that lie midway between the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Every year from mid February until mid April female Humpback Whales take up resident at the banks to nurse their new born calf's before a long and arduous journey north to their summer feeding grounds.

During March 2010 we spent a magical week at the Silver Banks and we were privileged to spend nearly 2 whole days in the water with this mother and her calf. The mother will sleep much of the time and will surface to breathe every 10 minutes or so. However the young calf needs to breathe every few minutes and will surface much more often so if you wait calmly at the surface you will sometimes be rewarded with spectacles like this...

Personally I still believe that the week I spent at Silver Banks was the most memorable of all encounters I've ever had underwater. At times you simply had to stop filming and just watch what was going on in front of you with an open jaw and when you got a chance to look closely into the eyes of these magnificent creatures you were certain that you were starring deep into their souls.

** These Humpbacks can also been seen in my short film 'hope'

Filmed: Simon Spear
Music: Prelude in Dreamtime (Smartsound Royalty Free Music)