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Monday, July 17, 2017

Monday, July 17

This morning the ocean was as calm as calm can be. Any ripple at the surface had the potential for marine life. We ended up seeing 4 harbor seals, 10 minke whales and 3 fin whales. Minke whales were here and there.
This first minke whale of the day was a bit "tiny" compared to other minke whales we typically find
While watching a few of our minke whales, out of the depths of the ocean, a pair of fin whales surfaced close to the boat. It was our first mother and calf fin whale pair of the season! What a special surprise.
Fin whale mother and calf pair barely making a ripple at the surface
Perhaps what was equally as impressive was the amount of time mom was holding her breath. She consistently remained under the waterline for 20 minutes at a time!
Mom

Fin whale calf!
We got some nice looks at this pair and even found another single fin whale nearby. After a few more minke whales we were headed for home.
Third fin whale of the morning

Another morning minke whale

This afternoon our patience was tested. We saw 4 fin whales but most of them were being extremely uncooperative. We would see their spouts in the distance only to wait and not be able to relocate them. Our 2 minke whales were equally as tricky. Eventually, our odds changed in our favor! We got some fin-tastic looks at the same mother-calf fin whale pair we had seen during our morning trip. And guess what? Mom was still taking 20 minutes dives. 😉
Fin whale
Fin whale mother and calf swimming alongside us this afternoon

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