Above: Mt Mayon faintly seen from the sea in the early morning before the clouds gather.
Today I had my second attempt at Donsol for the whale-sharks. Our group comprised of John and Yvon from Netherlands, plus David and Jane from Singapore. We found a French man to make up the maximum party of six.
We departed at 0730 and cruised around for about an hour when one the spotters called out “Butanding”. The guide kept shouting “Faster, faster, faster” to both the Captain (or was it to us to get donned up). The boat sped in the direction the spotter indicated and were donned our masks and fins, and hopped in pretty promptly.
I was the last in the water by seconds. As we had all jumped off the moving boat, I was a few metres further away. I caught a glimpse of the big fish whereas others had a closer encounter. Regardless, the encounter was extremely brief.
We cruised around for another two hours without success. Judging from how quick the surface time was for the whale-shark, it seems unlikely that if someone else had a sighting, we could make it over in time to see it.
Of all the boats out today, only three had a sighting. We considered ourselves lucky for the brief encounter. Locals tell us that sightings have been declining over the years. Perhaps the industry is driving the whale-sharks away.
Whale-shark spotter at work.