Go in search of blue whales in Sri Lanka

Go in search of blue whales, dolphins, flying fish, Orcas (killer whales), sperm whales and humpback whales. They can all be seen off the south coast of Sri Lanka.

Sightings of blue whales – the largest creatures to inhabit Earth – are made pretty much every day in season – November through April.

Rajesh (right) and the crew


The boat
      

Rajesh skippers the 40-foot boat "Raja" from the beautiful, little fishing harbour at Mirissa on the tropical south coast of Sri Lanka. The skipper and crew take the boat between 6 and 10 nautical miles due south to the 1,000-metre and 2,000-metre channels and keep a sharp lookout for the tell-tale water spouts. “Thar she blows!”

They follow international whale watching regulations and won't go closer than 100 metres to the whales.

The round trip takes about 4-5 hours.

 Mirissa harbour

 A blue whale dives off the coast of Sri Lanka

Season: November through April

Departure: 7am Mirissa harbour
(Free breakfast is served aboard)
Mirissa is about an hour's drive south east from the historic city of Galle.

Cost: Sri Lanka rupees 8,000 per person (about US$80).

Booking contact:
Tel: 0094 (0)77 695 3452 (Rajesh)
Tel: 0094 (0)71 941 0479 (Sameer)
Email: rajaandthewhales@gmail.com

The Crew
Rajesh, the skipper, and his three crew have a love for the sea borne from their close association with it from early childhood. They are also all good surfers having grown up surfing the right point break at Mirissa. Life on the ocean and life as a surfer has ingrained in them a strong sense of conservation and the need to look after Earth’s precious wildlife. For this they have given up their long days as deep-sea fishermen to operate a boat-based whale watching venture.

They are all well experienced with life on the salty sea having been fishermen for more than a decade. They have sailed as far as Reunion to the south and Oman to the north and know the Indian Ocean around Sri Lanka like the back of their hands.

Safety
Raja, a converted 40-foot wooden fishing boat, is kitted out with all the necessary safety devices including, compass, GPS, nautical charts and UHF radio. 30 lifejackets are also kept aboard.

A second “rescue” boat is on call in Mirissa harbour at all times.

The crew are all strong swimmers and are trained in life-saving and first-aid.

Booking
The boat can take up to 30 passengers with some very comfortable, chilled out seating on mattresses on top of the cabin and more covered comfortable seating on the deck in front of the cabin.

It should be fine to get a spot on the boat if you call a few days in advance of the day you want take to the sea to visit the magnificent blue whales.

   Dolphins swim alongside the boat © Noah Emery

Off season surf / dive / fishing trips
In the off season (May to October) Rajesh intends doing combined surf, dive, deep-sea fishing circumnavigations of Sri Lanka, with surf stops in places like Arugam Bay and a number of other secret spots he's found on the east coast!

More to come on this site
We'll be putting more on this site in the near future. More pics, more whale watching info, info about the whales and info about the Sri Lanka circumnavigation trips.

Websites worth visiting:

Sea Shepard
whale conservation in action

Whale songs

The blue whale
- a fact sheet

The Sri Lanka Beach House
- self catering beachfront accommodation
in Hikkaduwa