Sunset on the Silver Bank There is just no comparison on dry land to the magnificent rising and setting of the sun at sea. The Turks & Caicos Explorer sits at her mooring a few hundred yards off our stern. - Douglas Good Photography - Underwater and Landscape images from around the world

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Silver Bank, located in the Atlantic tropics 70 miles northeast of Puerto Plata Dominican Republic, is the wintering grounds for the mighty Humpback Whale. Each year from late January through March, the whales migrate from their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic to their breeding grounds on the Silver Bank. The females birth their calves in these warm, protected waters and nurse them to a size where they are able to make the long journey to the high latitudes, where they feed all summer until it is time to return to this magical place next year.

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"Conqueror" returns to the Turks & Caicos Aggressor after a productive afternoon.

Nine guests accompany a guide and driver on these 17 foot skiffs. With masks, fins, snorkles, and assorted topside and underwater camera and video gear it gets a bit crowded onboard.

The opportunity to interact with the Humpback Whales during our 3 1/2 hour morning and afternoon excursions makes it all worthwhile.

The wreck of the Polyxeni lies several hundred yards off the bow of Aggressor.

Sunset on the Silver Bank

There is just no comparison on dry land to the magnificent rising and setting of the sun at sea.

The Turks & Caicos Explorer sits at her mooring a few hundred yards off our stern.

Sunrise on the Silver Bank

The wreck of the Polyxeni a few hundred yards off our bow, provides the backdrop for this drop-dead gorgeous sunrise.

Derelict

The Korean freighter Polyxeni ran aground on the shoals rimming the northwest corner of the Silver Bank in 1982. The sea is rapidly claiming her - only the kingpost is still upright.

The conditions that make the area ideal for migrating whales also make the Silver Bank extremely hazardous to shipping. The Bank rises from 6,000 foot depths in the Caribbean to 60 - 100 feet. Numerous coral heads lie deceptively just beneath the surface. A fringing reef protects the Silver Bank from the constantly blowing easterly trade winds.

Leviathan

The crystal clear waters of the Silver Bank reveal a mother Humpback and her calf.

She weighs in at 45 feet and 35 tons - a "Goliath" for sure, but certainly not a "monster". Sadly, that public image of whales prevailed for many years during the time in our history when we hunted and killed them relentlessly. Marine biologists estimate that the Humpback Whale population was reduced by 95%, but they are now making a steady comeback.

Mother and Calf

One day in November a pregnant female Humpback begins the 1300 mile migration from the rapidly cooling high latitudes of the North Atlantic to the warm waters of the tropics.

Along the way, or upon her arrival on the Silver Bank, she gives birth to a single calf she has carried for 11 1/2 months.

Inseparable

From the moment she first gently carries it to the surface for its first breath, mother and calf are inseparable.

Unlike humans, whales are voluntary breathers. How does a whale know to breathe when it is sleeping? Scientists have studied captive dolphins, and determined that only one half of their brains "sleep" at a time. No such studies are possible for whales, but it is assumed the same is true for them.

Frolic

The first few weeks of life for the calf are full of fun and frolic. It hears the songs of nearby singing males.

Baby nurses from two mammary glands on the underside of Momma near her tail. The calf consumes 50 gallons of milk a day with a fat content of more than one-third. The warm tropical waters are almost completely devoid of krill, the major food source for baleen whales. So the mother fasts. By the time she has weaned her baby after 10 months, she will have lost one third of her body weight.

Sunset on the Silver Bank

There is just no comparison on dry land to the magnificent rising and setting of the sun at sea.

The Turks & Caicos Explorer sits at her mooring a few hundred yards off our stern.