The Environmental Association of St. Thomas and St. John held a whale watch Sunday , but the real action was at Mandahl Point on St. Thomas, where a pair of humpback whales cavorted just offshore.
Rebecca Hoffert said it was the first time in 10 years of living on the island that she had seen whales so close to shore. The whales, believed to be a mother and her calf, were visible for hours, Ms. Hoffert said, but they disappeared soon after a Beacon reporter arrived.
Observers were outraged as the marine mammals appeared to be chased away by a small motorboat. Whale-watching vessels typically use lower-pitched engines so as not to frighten the animals, reduce engine speed when whales are nearby, and keep their distance, said Jason Budsan, the president of the environmental association, who was present at Mandahl Point.
Mr. Budsan strongly advises boaters not to harass the endangered animals. In United States waters, he said, it’s illegal to approach within 500 feet of a whale.
Ms. Hoffert’s daughter, Mimi Boumedine, 9 explained why: “That’s dangerous for you, the whales and nature,” she said.
Mr. Budsan and the organisation’s vice president, Dalma Simon, phoned the crew of the whale-watching boat, the Kekoa, but the whales had already disappeared by the time the boat arrived on the scene.
Still, Mr. Budsan said, the voyage was a success. The group has been organising whale-watching trips since its founding in the 1980s, and they’re still the group’s biggest fundraisers, he said.
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