THE POWER OF WATER
It’s about showing respect and allowing them to decide whether they want to interact.” Pierre nods once and he’s in. “Go.” This time, I
don’t hesitate. There’s not just one orca, but dozens. Two playful pods move around us, left and right, their white markings flashing in and out of the dark. I feel myself getting breathless again, but this time it isn’t fear — it’s something closer to awe. I glance at Pierre across the water as he dives
below the surface. He moves differently from the rest of us — slower, more gracefully, as if he’s part of the current rather than fighting against it. He adjusts his position subtly, angling his body sideways, mimicking the orca’s movements with slow, fluid kicks. As I watch him, it becomes clear to me that this isn’t just good freediving technique, it’s a body language he’s learned to speak. Suddenly, Pierre’s body language changes
and he points urgently ahead, in my direction. Looking down, I see the shadow of two enormous humpbacks almost directly below: the deep grooves along their undersides, the flash of white as they unfurl their long, flat fins. The humpbacks and orcas are moving together now, filling the ford with a chorus of clicks and whistles so loud I feel it vibrate through my entire body. I experience a sudden swell of emotion I hadn’t been expecting, and my mask fogs with tears. “I’ve always felt something special when I’m in
the water with orcas — like this wave of energy,” Pierre tells me later, when I share how the orca and humpback’s song had stayed with me long after our dive. “At first, I thought it was just adrenaline. But over time, I realised it was the sound.” As such, Pierre has spent more than a decade
recording cetacean sounds and speaking with scientists who study whale song. Much of that acoustic language remains undeciphered, but he believes its impact extends beyond communication. “One researcher told me he observed a humpback giving himself a kind of sound massage,” he says. “And this is something I’ve also seen with orcas.” More than 27 years of diving in Arctic waters,
Pierre tells me, has kept him in great shape. But he also believes that these encounters — and the sounds, in particular — have played a role.
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Pierre has even begun sharing some of his recordings with wellness centres and spas, where they’re used as a tool for relaxation. “These sounds can help people feel calmer and more balanced,” he says. “After every season here, despite the cold and exhaustion, I feel strong —and I think that’s because of the orcas.” On my final dive, the call comes to return to the
boat. I hold onto the ladder with numb hands and glance down to find my footing. Beneath me, an orca circles slowly, belly up, her white markings pale against the darkness. Despite the dropping temperature and fading light, I find myself lingering there, not wanting to leave the water. For the first time since getting in, I realise I no longer feel the cold. That night, I sit in a wood-fired hot tub on Sula’s
icy deck, steam rising into the black air, the ford lapping gently at the hull. Above, the Northern Lights ripple green across the sky. In that moment, I feel a deep sense of happiness wash over me — the afterglow that follows a spike of adrenaline, when the body finally settles. The image of orcas moving beneath me keeps replaying in my mind, their clicks still loud in my ears. A few months ago, I wouldn’t have classed diving
in subzero temperatures with an apex predator as a wellness activity. But I’ve come to realise that self-care isn’t just about relaxation, it’s about experiences that recalibrate the body entirely: the sharpness of cold that jolts you awake; the surge of adrenaline when you come face to face with a whale; the calm that follows as you’re stripped of gravity and sound, cradled by a deep blue ocean. “It takes weeks, sometimes months, to
understand what you felt in the water,” Pierre tells me as Sula’s engine rumbles, slowly carrying us back to shore. “The experience is so intense, the emotions so complex, you don’t process it straight away. But when you do,” he adds, “you’ll be hooked for life.”
HOW TO DO IT: Orca Norway offers liveaboard expeditions between October and January. Prices start from 42,000 NOK (£3,150) for three nights and 74,000 NOK (£5,550) for six, including accommodation, guides, meals and equipment but excluding flights.
orcanorway.info
From top: The Altafjord stretches for over 62 miles across Arctic Norway; thousands of orcas migrate to the Altafjord every winter following herring migrations, creating one of the world’s most spectacular seasonal wildlife gatherings
Self-care isn’t just about relaxation, it’s about experiences that recalibrate the body: the sharpness of cold that jolts you awake; the surge of adrenaline when you come face to face with a wild animal; the calm that follows as you’re stripped of gravity and sound
IMAGES: ALAMY; OLAV MAGNE STRØMSHOLMY
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