Simon's Town Boat Company

23/06/2024

25/03/2024

Another “Orcasmic” day in False Bay!
As we left the harbour on a Seal Island trip this morning, we were alerted to a pod of 6 killer whales on a 4-mile detour from our course. Not that I gave our passengers much choice in the matter, other than asking if anyone would miss a flight if we extended the trip by an hour to spend time with them – luckily nobody responded so off we went.
On arrival, we had to wait quite a while for them to surface. I was not sure whether they were spooked by the number of boats in the vicinity and being evasive, or there was an attraction below the surface. We hung around patiently and when the first animal surfaced, it was a large male which I immediately recognized as a member of a dolphin hunting pod that has been seen many times from Cape Town all the way up to Port Elizabeth.
Today there weren’t dolphins on the western side of False Bay so we just hung around and observed. Other members of the pod soon surfaced too, they had split into two groups a total of 4 (possibly 5) females, the male and a young calf, that seemed more interested in swimming along with a group of Cape fur seals rather than its family (no attempt was made to prey on the seals though).
Suddenly there was a commotion on the surface and they all gathered. The male had attacked a thresher shark and was swimming on the surface with it in its mouth. 2 females then came alongside him and each then took a turn in playing with the prey, before one took a mighty bite and sounded with it. All that remained was a pool of blood and that was the last we saw of the shark.
What was super interesting about today’s sighting was firstly, Port & Starboard were not guilty of dispatching this shark and secondly, we had witnessed a known dolphin eating killer whale preying on a shark. Killer whales elsewhere in the world are considered specialist feeders, either preying on marine mammals or fish, but the Southern African population are considered generalist feeders and what we witnessed today confirmed this.

03/03/2024

Sharks are certainly having a tough time - mainly from us humans though, but also from killer whales and even seals. On our whale watching tour on Thursday we observed this blue shark being preyed upon by a Cape fur seal.

21/02/2024

Constant muggings by southern right whales off Hout Bay over the past few days...... appears whale seasonality no longer exists!

29/01/2024

Sightings update!
Since starting tours out of Hout Bay 4 days ago, we’ve done a total of 6 trips.
We have interacted with humpback whales on ALL trips with a tally of over 50 animals (and a few breaches thrown in!)
This accompanied by Heaviside’s & dusky dolphins performing acrobatics, swimming alongside our boat and many ocean sunfish (Mola Mola) feeding in the area.
Our biggest bonus was the sightings on the 27th & 28th of 6 southern right whales, which is most unusual for this time of year.

23/01/2024

The whale season in Hout Bay is in full swing with plenty of humpback whale action and the possibility of encountering a “supergroup” of up to 100+ feeding animals. We’ll only be there for a short time, so hurry and book now for an epic experience!

25/12/2023

Operating 2 custom designed vessels, we invite you to share the most beautiful bay in the world with us. Experience Whale & Dolphin watching and Eco Cruises

15/12/2023

The elation of setting an entangled whale free and recovering all the ropes and buoys (so that no further animal is harmed) is the motivation and reward for the many volunteers that make up the South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN). Their training & dedication, in the face of great danger (a whale could kill a human with one swipe of its tail) have saved scores of whales from certain death.
To re-sight a free and healthy animal that has been disentangled is the ultimate reward for any whale watcher and we had hoped that yesterday’s encounter would be such an occasion. However, when we found this humpback whale at Cape Point, it was immediately evident from rope burns on its peduncle & lice infestation, that it was or had been recently entangled. I took extensive photos, as the more time we spent with it, the more trauma was revealed. It was very lethargic and clearly in poor health.
Once at home I scoured through the SAWDN disentanglement records and identified this animal as having been disentangled in Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth) on 21 September this year.
One would hope and expect, that after 3 months’ the rope inflicted trauma would show signs of healing - Unfortunately, it’s not the case in this instance. At least it has survived so far -obviously a real fighter! Here’s hoping for a miracle and its return to good health.

30/11/2023

A southern right calf, born this year confidently exhibiting feeding behaviour and its mouthful of baleen plates. His/her proud mother can now confidently migrate to the Southern Ocean where they will both feed on krill during the Antarctic summer. Next year they’ll return together and thereafter mother’s job is done.

04/09/2023

We sometimes do look down on whales, but I can assure you we’re not snobby!
🙂

31/08/2023

We so often focus just on the breach and ignore the equally spectacular & enormous splash!

23/07/2023

Our first breaching southern right whale for the season!

07/07/2023

Our super close-up photos of whales often draw adverse comments and for good reason too, as without context, it appears as if we literally drive our boat right on top of them.
Here are some close-up photos and a video from yesterday’s trip that will explain how we and our guests are able to capture these images.
Firstly, as a qualified and legally permitted whale & dolphin watching operator, we can approach cetaceans to 50 meters and after that, it’s entirely up to them. If they are curious and decide approach and interact with us, we don’t have to move. These are without doubt one of the most memorable & cherished experiences that we are privileged to share with our guests.
Thanks to Jax Bath for the fantastic video - You'll find it in the comments.
Enjoy !

01/07/2023

Since the start of our whale watching season a few weeks ago, we’ve been plagued by incessantly strong winds and super rough seas – so we’re actually only into week one of our 2023 season…. and what a week it’s been. If this is an indication of what's in-store for the next few months (I hope I’m not jinxing it), we’re in for a bumper season.
Firstly, the weather has settled and it looks like the really nasty stuff is behind us, but more importantly we’ve had tremendous sightings of resident Bryde’s whales, migrating southern right and humpback whales and today the famous killer whale pair Port & Starboard!
Mostly we respond to killer whale reports like firemen to a blaze and as much as we’d like to share the experience with our guests, it’s seldom practical to do so, but today the stars were aligned and they had a trip of a lifetime.
Here’s a few photos from our last 4 trips.

26/06/2023

Bryde’s whales (Pronounced Broo-dess or Bree-ders) are an all year round whale species seen off our coastline. Named after a Norwegian whaler (hence the pronunciation) who started a whaling station in Durban back in 1908.
They are usually solitary, extremely shy and seldom socialize with each other, let alone with boats. We see them very often, but mostly at a distance & fleetingly, so our guests seldom get the opportunity admire their sleek and graceful form from close up.
Occasionally however, they do approach our boat & Saturday was one of those special days. Not one but 2 Bryde’s whales found us irresistible and spent almost half an hour alongside, giving us a very rare and special treat. Thanks to Mikko Immonen for sharing this wonderful video clip.

18/06/2023

Port and Starboard predate on another great white shark in Mossel Bay today!

29/05/2023

Since 2009 when we first documented killer whales hunting in False Bay, up until 2015, when it became (almost) an annual event to witness them preying on common dolphins.
Images of these highly energetic and skillful hunters filled the media on each visit and they enjoyed celebrity status for many years. That was until they were knocked off their perch by the infamous shark killers Port & Starboard.
But yesterday, after an 8-year hiatus they were back. Not the same pod that were regulars back then, but the male amongst them is an animal I’ve seen a few times before.
The report came in at around eight AM from Peter Morgan, one of our seasoned land based spotters in Simon’s Town (no cetacean escapes his powerful binoculars) and we sprang into action. Peter reported that a number of predatory events had taken place before we found the killer whales an hour later. At that time, they were milling around about 2 miles off Simon’s Town and the dolphins were reported close to Fish Hoek and heading towards Kalk Bay. The killer whales were certainly not bothered by us and happily swam up to the boat and enjoyed a spell of riding our wake. We then noticed the 300 strong pod of dolphins in the distance, heading straight towards us and the deadly killer whales.
Killer whales are silent when in hunting mode, so obviously hadn’t been detected by the dolphins.
When they did meet up however, I expected pandemonium as in all the previous events that I’ve witnessed, but this time it played out in slow motion, with a total absence of a typical common dolphin flight response. In fact, the dolphins hardly accelerated to beyond 8 knots (15 km/h), when they are in fact quite capable of reaching 30 knots (56 km/h) and therefore in order for the killer whales to catch them, they’d have to accelerate beyond that speed.
Having given some thought to this, I would hypothesize that the killer whales had been shadowing and feeding on this pod of dolphins for a long time, possibly a number of days and maybe even corralled them into False Bay. It was as if the dolphins had accepted the inevitable and were relying purely on their numbers for their individual survival.
But despite the apparent sluggishness of both predator & prey a most dramatic attack took place and the dolphin was sent flying (Alex got the money shot). The initial strike, as is usual with killer whales was by one of the females, but soon thereafter, she handed the partially immobilized dolphin to the male, who simply shepherded it around for about 10 minutes until another female arrived on the scene and dispatched it.
Thereafter, we enjoyed another hour interacting with the killer whales before they re-grouped and headed towards Cape Hangklip.

Here’s an assortment of pictures taken from the boat – Enjoy!

25/02/2023

Thanks to Sarah Waries from Shark Spotters for the sighting alert & the team from African Shark Eco Charters who directed us to not one, but 2 separate killer whale pods - 10 miles away from where we were at Cape Point at that time. After a quick fuel calculation and checking with our guests that they wouldn’t miss their flights if we added an hour to their tour, we sped off towards Seal Island where they were last sighted. When we arrived there the animals had moved a few miles west, but ASEC’s skipper Poenus gave us excellent directions over the radio and we found them quickly. The first picture is what we arrived to, 3 animals in formation powering south with a dramatic cloudscape and Cape Hangklip in the distance. There were 2 females and one male - with a massive dorsal fin (easily 1,8 meters).
We were with them for about 10 minutes when the second report came in & now with extremely limited fuel & time we left them & followed directions to the second pod which we found close by. There were 2 animals, one with a very badly damaged dorsal fin, probably from a propeller strike. I last saw this animal back in August of 2009 and besides the damaged dorsal fin, the tail flukes also displayed extensive trauma. Glad to see that the animal is in good health.

05/12/2022

The photo we always hope our guests capture - Cape Point & whales in the same frame. Although the term "official" whale season has somewhat gone out the window because humpback whale sightings are possible, although less predictable up until March. Our Cape Point trip is always hugely rewarding over the December/January period. This photo was taken today.

21/11/2022

Bryde’s whales aren’t usually associated with interactive behaviour around boats and seldom show their tail flukes. This made our Friday tour extra special for both our crew & guests. This amazing animal accompanied us for over 30 minutes as we drifted downwind with our engines on idle, turning on it’s side to check us out whilst swimming alongside and then moving 50 metres away and returning for multiple repeat performances.

03/10/2022

An absolute must read!

Video footage provides first detailed observation of orcas hunting white sharks in South Africa[adapted from official press release] The first direct evidenc...

26/09/2022

Humpbacks still scattering diamonds around False Bay!

24/09/2022

Not to be outdone by yesterday's humpback whales, the southern right whales put on a magnificent show for us today.

23/09/2022

Humpback party time in False Bay!

20/09/2022

Literally dozens of humpback whales in False Bay, plus a southern right mother & calf AND a Bryde's whale on our tours today - that makes it a hat-trick!

29/08/2022

Interesting post from Shark Spotters

28/08/2022

Always a treat to get Cape Point & a whale in one shot! This morning managed 3 of the 5 which were in the area AND the real bonus was encountering killer whales "Port & Starboard"on the same trip. Happy guests & happy crew!

22/08/2022

A super friendly humpback whale on this morning's trip. Spent nearly an hour playing with floating kelp and interacting alongside our boat.

29/07/2022

Don’t we wish that every day was a National Geographic day.
Yesterday, False Bay delivered just that! Perfect weather & silky seas coupled with our celebrity killer whales Port & Starboard, a Bryde’s whale plus a southern right mother and calf.
The bay was a red cloud of plankton with jelly fish feeding through the nutrient rich soup and their predators Mola Mola’s (oceanic sunfish) were having a field day chomping them, it was like watching a Packman game. Port, was in a particularly boisterous mood and attacked no less than 5 Mola Mola’s and 2 young Cape fur seals in the less than 2 hours we were with him. I wasn’t sure whether he killed/ate them as the water clarity was not clear enough to confirm. On the last predation however, the Mola Mola did resurface with visible tooth rake marks and Port left it and swam off, so hopefully he was just playing with his food.
From the intense & aggressive behavior of the killer whales, the southern right mom and calf were the polar opposite. Relaxed and lovingly bonding as mothers & babies do. We always keep a respectful distance from cow/calf pairs, but the little one was so inquisitive that it couldn’t resist swimming across to investigate the strange floating object nearby; much to our guests delight.
Here are a selection of photos - Enjoy!