A Summer Of Sightings

Each summer, King Seaways invites conservation charity, ORCA, onboard to organise wildlife watching experiences for our passengers, with particular focus on cetaceans. The ORCA season came to an end last month but what a summer it has been! From seals to porpoises, dolphins and even whales, the North Sea has offered passengers unmissable sights on their way to Amsterdam. Read on to find out more about our summer of sightings.

You may think that in order to see cetaceans in the wild, you need to travel abroad, finding them in warmer climes. Think again! Lots of dolphins, porpoise and whales love the cooler waters of the North Sea and have graced us with their presence over the past 6 months.

Throughout the season a high number of harbour porpoise have been spotted bathing in the cool waters and a particular highlight was a group of breaching mike whales leaping gracefully across the water against some stunning summer sunsets.

For our passengers, it has given them the opportunity to see some of these majestic animals in their natural habitats. One gentleman we had onboard loved watching whales on documentaries but had never seen them in the wild. He was lucky enough to see a group of 4 mike whales, including a mother and calf splashing just by the bow of the ship.

Sometimes we can even spot sea-life before we set sail. Quite regularly grey and harbour seals come to say hello before we leave the port but the sea life really comes into its own when we get into the North Sea.

As well as the amazing sightings our passengers see from deck, important conversations are also had about the threats facing our seas including climate change, plastics and commercial whaling. ORCA spread awareness of these issues and educate our passengers on what they can do to make a positive impact as individuals.  Examples of ways to make an impact are organising beach cleans, picking up plastics by the coast or taking ferries over planes to reduce their carbon footprint.

For the final week of ORCA’s wildlife watching onboard, we were treated to calm seas and several sightings of minke whales and harbour porpoises.

While the wildlife will still be there, our ORCA team are taking a break until next summer when they will be back onboard to see even more wonderful wildlife in our magnificent seas.

In the meantime, wrap up warm and head out on deck yourselves to see what marine life you can spot on your way to Amsterdam.

Thanks for everything ORCA. See you next summer!
Book your crossing from Newcastle to Amsterdam here.