Bennie’s passion is blowing in the sea
AS THE skipper of a whale-watching vessel, Bennie Janse van Rensburg uses gannets and albatrosses as his spotters when his boat chugs out of Durban harbour to look for humpback whales.
With the sardine run arriving in Durban waters this week and the annual whale migration to the warm waters of Mozambique well under way, Janse van Rensburg has an unquenched fascination for the great mammals.
“I love their unpredictability and the sheer size. When I see a whale, hear the blowing and slamming down, I get excited over and over again.
“I also know I’m one of the select few that will see these mammals up close and have that opportunity every season. I never forget that,” said Janse van Rensburg this week.
Drastic
A geography and technology teacher for 20 years, Janse van Rensburg made a drastic career change just over 10 years ago, giving up the chalkboard for a life on the waves.
Leaving Carletonville, he and his wife, Amanda, arrived in Durban and started operating the Isle of Capri and Bafana, two cruise boats out of Durban Harbour.
While whale watching trips take place for about five months of the year from June when the season starts, Van Rensburg said they also offered educational trips and sea and harbour cruises.
Five years ago they started assisting whale-watching permit holder, Advantage Tours.
“I had to cram a lot of knowledge and do a lot of research. It is also very expensive but I love going out. The migrations of whales, sardines and gannets and albatrosses all coincide as they move north in the winter.
“The gannets and albatrosses (Indian Ocean Albatross) are my spotters. They will tend to stay close to the whales. When a mother whale squirts milk, it brings shoals of smaller fish which feed off these scraps of milk and it is those fish the gannets and albatrosses want.
“In KZN waters, we predominantly see humpback whales and over the last weekend we saw up to eight whales. The migration is 4 000 miles (6 450km), so the fit and young arrive first, followed by the older ones who arrive in bundles,” said Janse van Rensburg.
He added that southern right whales used to come up the coast, but they were rarely spotted now, while Minke whales, a smaller species, are often in KZN waters.
“Killer whales don’t come further up the coast than Port Elizabeth – the water up here is far too warm for them. Killer whales will feed on dolphins, seals, penguins and other whales.
“But the apex predator is man and ships and technology can kill whales.
“If a ship knocks a whale it can easily be killed and there are more and more ships travelling around the Cape rather than through the Suez Canal.
“Another concern is the dwindling numbers of krill populations because of pollution, dirt and chemicals in the ocean which stops them from growing in numbers,” he said. Krill are a major food source for whales.