“The vigia radioed this morning to say he saw some fins. We’ll head there first, make a little tour, and see if we can find ourselves some whales.” I look up from the nautical map and smile at Chris Beer, the red-bearded cheery captain of the Physeter. The vessel is a whale-watching and scientific two-hull catamaran, and for part of the year, Chris and his wife Lisa lead scientific expeditions into the Azorean waters.

The Azores, about 1600 km (992 miles) off Portugal’s coast, are basalt tips rising thousands of meters off the mid-Atlantic ridge. This archipelago includes nine major islands and eight small islets. Smack in the middle of a Northbound Gulf Stream, the waters churn around the islands with incredible biodiversity.

Turtles, sharks, countless fish and sea mammals call the Azores home. Nearly 30 percent of the world’s known whales and dolphins, known as the cetaceans, have been spotted in the Azores, including blue whales, fin whales, false killer whales and a host of dolphins.

Thirty percent of the world’s known whales and dolphins have been seen in the Azores.

Chris and Lisa met nearly 20 years ago while gathering sperm whale data, and with the pace and poise that comes from running a hands-on eco-tourist service to volunteers from around the world, their lives are a hustle to survey the water mammals and provide unforgettable experiences.

Lisa explains that the vigia are the lookouts who scan the waves and help find whales. “They’re amazing,” yells Lisa, as the wind and rumble of the powerful catamaran engines pick up when we leave the harbor, “they can spot whale blows from nearly 25 miles (40 km) away, and they can also tell us what species they are!”

As the Physeter pitches in the waves, Chris yells down from his steering vantage point, “Risso’s!”

All eyes jump to where he’s pointing, 30 meters (99 feet) off the port side of the boat. Although we’re barely out of the harbor, five of the gray-and-white marked dolphins cleave the waves up ahead. Since Risso’s are less extroverted or abundant than the bottlenose or common dolphins, they haven’t quite made it into the dolphin spotlight.

With Chris expertly maneuvering the vessel so we’re never too close or intruding, Lisa and some of the volunteers make photo after photo of the quietly socializing animals. The Risso’s gray to white color also flashes turquoise when it hauntingly streams below the water surface. It’s an incredible sight that can’t easily be mistaken or forgotten.

“Wait ‘til you see a blue whale,” says Lisa, snapping photos all the while. “When they shallow dive, they can skim at 15 knots or more below the surface, and you can see a streaking light blue shadow go by, longer than the boat.”