The wind was cranking this morning and continued to do so during most of the morning hours. Because of the conditions and extra wavy ocean we only did a single trip this afternoon. The excitement of the day began when we passed through the Isles of Shoals and a double-crested cormorant decided to fly by and stop for a free ride!?! Wildlife never ceases to amaze us.
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| Double-crested cormorant decided to land on the upper deck railing! |
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| 'Posing' for pictures |
After our stow-away decided to fly off we continued to make our way offshore. Our first sighting of the day were 2 Fin whales. Initially these whales were moving around independently of each other but after a few surfacings they were suddenly sighted side-by-side one another. One of these whales was a familiar fin, Dingle. This association was short-lived for soon these two Fin whales were once again moving around on their own. Such interesting behaviors whales show us in such a short period of time.
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| Dingle the Fin whale |
With some nice looks at the Fin whales in the area we went over to investigate more exhalations we were seeing out in the distance. We came across Pinball and her calf. These whales were moseying around before they started to concentrate in a specific area. We got some incredible looks at these two whales as they swam circles around us multiple times, including swimming under the boat!
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| Pinball and her calf |
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| Pinball's calf swimming past us |
A couple of Minke whales even appeared sporadically as we spent time with the mother/calf pair. Among all the activity we suddenly had a third Humpback whale next to us. A new visitor to the area for the season was nearby. Welcome back to the area Shuffleboard!
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| Shuffleboard |
We watched these 3 Humpback whales cross paths with one another before they moved on with their different courses. The day ended with one more Humpback whale, Owl.
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| Owl |
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| Whale spout |
At times the ocean was a little bumpy, rolly and salty, but the whales certainly were extremely cooperative so many thanks to the marine mammals of the sea today!
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