The skipper wasn't optimistic about seeing a humpback. We were too late in the season, he reckoned. With the approach of the wet season in the Buccaneer Archipelago, the air was sticky and the water a "cool" 29C. Then, on the horizon, a faint splutter. With the twin-engine in full throttle, we sped in pursuit. For minutes, nothing. Then a gleaming black-and-white humpback torpedoed out of the water, landing on its back with a loud smack. There is nothing like a close encounter with a 35-ton whale for an intoxicating high.

Claire Scobie The Buccaneer Archipelago The Daily Telegraph, 4 April 2008