Granite State Whale Watch: Wednesday, July 30

Just as whales can move in and out of an area in a short period of time the weather can and does(!) change just as easily. Today was one of those days. We left the harbor this morning with cloudy skies and calm waters. Soon we were spending some time with Comet the Fin whale. We got some fantastic looks at this whale as she was slowly maneuvering around.

Comet at the surface

Comet and her distinctive scars

We then pressed on as we saw some fog heading our way and wanted to explore the area with the great visibility we had for as long as possible. We did just that but only managed to remain out of the fog for so long. This wonderful thick, thick fog made finding whales quite challenging. We maneuvered around checking areas where whales have been seen recently. We were able to check out a few Harbor porpoise throughout our travels but were unable to find anything else. This afternoon we left the harbor in thick fog but it didn't take long until the fog finally began to dissipate and we were once again surrounded by calm seas and now clear skies!

The layer of fog we watched disappear as we left Rye Harbor this afternoon

In a matter of minutes we found whales. And that was just the beginning. We ended up seeing 5 Minke whales and 5 Fin whales during the afternoon.

Fin-less Minke whale inside the Isles of Shoals

Close-up look at this Minke whale with it's lack of dorsal fin and large scar. We are so thankful this whale survived it's incident of human activity and continues to be seen!

This Minke whale was so small in comparison to the other Minke whales we saw during our trip

So many of the same areas we had moved through in the morning (and found nothing) was now thriving with life!

Harbor porpoise with White Island in the background

Sometimes these whales move into an area, sometimes they are there but extremely elusive, and sometimes we just have no idea as all aspects of nature can be equally as unique. Lots of conditions are out of our control and instead we do all that we can to check out as much wildlife as possible on each one of our trips no matter what conditions may roll in or out during our travels.