'Without the ocean, life on earth could not exist as it does today, for the ocean renovates the air we breathe. It sustains the food we eat and it nourishes the entire food chain. Without the oceans there would be no life on earth.'

– the late Peter Benchley( d. February, 2006)

"Everything I know, I learned from Teddy Tucker," seasoned sea captain, Michael Hayward said. "Teddy is an encyclopedia of knowledge."

Captain Hayward is referring to the well-known oceanographer and explorer of Bermuda's reefs and ship wrecks. Tucker is best known for his fabulous find, The Tucker Cross. A 17th century bejeweled cross said to be of Spanish origin, when stolen it must have broken his heart.

On this balmy Bermuda day passengers are aboard Capt. Hayward's boat, Explorer, built in 1973 for Teddy Tucker. By 1976 it was the camera boat used for filming 'The Deep', Peter Benchley's bestseller and Hollywood hit starring Jacqueline Bissett and Nick Nolte. By 1981 Tucker was on the move again wheeling and dealing for a different boat and the opportunity arose for Capt. Hayward to purchase Explorer.

He comes with his own marine pedigree.

"My ancestors were trolling these seas in the 1600s. The first generation sailed to Bermuda on the Sea Venture in 1609. Of six generations, there is only one (generation) missing from the ancestral list that did not ply his craft at sea."

To appreciate Capt. Hayward's marine credentials is to appreciate those who came before him. His father, an import commission agent, descended from a grandfather who was chief engineer on the dredger that dredged the North Channel. His great grandfathers were both marine engineers. Six generations back, Alexander Lawrence was an acclaimed diver in 1900, using the bronzed helmet retired now to antiquity.

Capt. Hayward has enjoyed a lengthy and illustrious career. Mastering the helm at the age of eleven as a student of sail, in his division he won three of Bermuda's most distinguished cups – the Butterfield Cup, the Trimingham Cup and the Cunnigham Cup – all between 1958 and 1961.

With cups and a career firmly behind him he is finally free to indulge in what truly brings joy to his soul – pursuing whales. March and April have proven to be whale sighting months off the coast of Bermuda.

Fresh from the birthing grounds that lie far to the south, the whales migrate northward in staggered lots. First to put in an appearance are the males, lazily grazing their way from the tropical waters of the Caribbean and Florida, through the warmth of the Gulf Stream. They reach Bermuda's barrier reefs in March, heading for the promise of coastal grazing in Maine. Last in the entourage are the new mothers, guiding, guarding and protecting their new calves.

The adult humpback whale boasts an overall average length of 50 feet. Its pectoral fins alone measure 15 feet, the same length as the newborn calf. The calf, or yearling, will double its length by the end of the first year of its life.

When asked how he always finds whales, Judie Clee, the frequent narrator on a whale excursion, says of Capt. Hayward: "It is as though he whispers to the whales. If they are there, he will find them."

Clipping along at roughly eight to ten knots, Capt. Hayward constantly scours the horizon searching for the elusive evidence that whales are present – the blow, the exhalation from the surfacing whale. The veteran captain, vision honed by years at sea, throttles full power at the sighting. When he first spots it, he is still fifteen minutes away. At ten knots and a quarter hour away, he calculates we are about 2.5 nautical miles and in a depth of about 120 feet of water.

International laws specify that boats must not approach the migrating mammals at a distance closer than 200 feet. Cutting the power on the single screw diesel engine, the captain advises his passengers that a family of three can be seen at ten o'clock.

Onboard are expectant passengers and crew. This is no less exciting than had this been an 18th century vessel at sea for five months, crossing to the New World.

When the bo'sun calls that a pod of large playful mammals have been sighted starboard, hovering, nausea forgotten, necks strain and Nikons perch in a state of readiness.

The radio crackles as Capt. Hayward apprises others of the mammals' presence. All the while, Ms Clee keeps up a running flow of information, enlightening the group on feeding habits, mating and migration routes.

Cameras poised, passengers begin hammering on Pentax poised for that 'National Geographic' shot of a tail slap, the one that will show a humpback raising its tail flukes to smack forcefully on the surface of the water.

And then it happens, so succinctly that Captain Hayward wonders if any of his passengers have the time so necessary to capture it – a full frontal of a fluke-up dive. This behaviour is exhibited when the tail of the humpback appears out of the water in an upward arch, and slowly rolls underwater in conjunction with a dive.

But it is the breach that whale enthusiasts worldwide await. This acrobatic display occurs when the humpback uses its tail to launch itself out of the water, only to slap itself back on the surface in a resounding, magnificent splash.

Professional photographers maintain a camera mounted and trained on the surface of the ocean to capture a behavior that, from start to finish, may only occupy seven seconds. Thus it is to this captain's relentless pursuit of the whale that his passengers owe their digital images.

With a five-and-a-half hour trip planned and promised, Capt. Hayward, showing no concern for his own agenda, stretches the time at sea to seven-and-a-half hours. When asked why he would take more of his time, his diesel fuel and his work day to ensure that his passengers sight whales, he cheerily replies, "I like making people happy."

It is important for Capt. Hayward himself to sight whales – it It is important for Capt. Hayward himself to sight whales - it reassures him that planet cycles are intact.

The mild-mannered captain bristles when it is suggested to him that perhaps the waters around Bermuda hold nothing to eat for the whales, so they pass as quickly as possible to points north. In a move to present documented evidence of nourishing food in Bermuda waters, he cites an incident that occurred some 20 years ago when he accompanied doctors Gregory Stone, and Steve Katona of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbour, Maine, on a sea excursion.

An experiment was conducted to disclaim the theory that Bermuda waters were devoid of krill. Ms Clee identifies krill as, "shrimp-like crustaceans occurring in large numbers in open seas".

In their experiment, doctors Katona and Stone exulted when one of the whales defecated. The scientists directed the boat to the spot, eagerly retrieved samples to send back to the lab, proclaiming, "Evidence of defecation is evidence of feeding".

"In Bermuda, we don't have what they have up north," Ms Clee readily admits, "but we have more than the Caribbean."

And the logical sequence of cycles tells the observer that for whales to reach the coastal waters of New England, they need to sustain themselves on the long trip from the Caribbean.

The late Peter Benchley, whose story settings frequently were cast in his beloved Bermuda, said, "Without the ocean, life on earth could not exist as it does today."

Urging respect for the ocean and all life within it, he reminded people of the fundamental link between all the oceans: "Without the oceans there would be no life on earth."

By air, Boston and Portland are two to two-and-a-half hours from Bermuda's reefs. Bermuda's ocean is Maine's ocean.

For those who have made whale excursions a hobby, whale watching tours abound in coastal waters. Very few outfits can take up the challenge to give a trip to sea until whales are sighted.

"It is not a case of 'if you will see a humpback whale'," Clee ascertained, in reference to Capt. Hayward's pursuit. "It is 'when you will see one'."

Would his ancestors be surprised? It's doubtful. They would expect it – it's in his blood.

Anne Marie Beattie is a Bermuda resident. This article was based on a sea excursion and follow-up interview with captain Michael Hayward of Explorer, the camera boat for 'The Deep'. Photographs have been generously provided by the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, as well as Jim Beattie.