July 30, 2025

 Wednesday morning, the ocean was as calm as it could be. Nothing would slip by us on this trip. We found several seals, a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, two ocean sunfish, three fin whales, two humpback whales, one minke whale, and a distant basking shark!

Our humpback whales were Valley and Milkyway, who were seen flipper slapping from a distance. Milkyway surprised us by lifting her flukes really high out of the water on a dive.

Milkyway diving

The first fin whale we could easily ID as BOS #0282, a whale that Blue Ocean Society first identified in 2002- 23 years ago! This whale is known for being pretty mellow when boats are near, and gave us some amazing looks!

Fin whale #0282 close to the boat!

The next fin whale magically turned into a pair! These two have been seen off and on this season, but we haven’t had time to attempt to match them to our catalog- maybe this week…

Wednesday afternoon was just as nice as the morning, but with just a slight breeze to cool things down. We found several groups of harbor porpoises, some seals, bluefin tuna schools, a huge basking shark, two fin whales and five humpback whales, two of which were with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

We started with the fin whales and basking shark before moving along to find a humpback.

Fin whale diving

This was Spoon, one of my personal favorites!

We saw some more blows in the distance. Two more humpbacks who were initially seen separately, but then joined up.

As we were about to head home, we heard of some more humpbacks with dolphins, so we headed over there to get some last looks. I’m glad we did! The dolphins were tracking along with the humpbacks, and then suddenly we saw a big cloud of bubbles rising to the surface just off our bow. Before I could get my camera up, the humpbacks came lunging through the bubble cloud with mouths wide open!  One of our young guests onboard likened it to the scene in Jurassic World when the Mososaurus comes charging out of the water by the boat! Fun times on the ocean!

Humpback with dolphins!

July 28-29, 2025

Nothing like starting off a new week with plenty of marine life to look at! On Monday morning, we started in thick fog. REALLY thick fog. The fog stuck with us during most of the trip, but that didn't stop the sightings. We started with some looks at humpback whales, Satula and Pinball. 

Satula in the fog

Pinball diving

While the whales were in and out of the fog, we still got some nice looks. We then checked out a harbor seal before seeing a fin whale surface nearby. 

Harbor seal

Fin whale in the fog

While watching this whale, a pod of dolphins appeared on the edge of the fog. This pod is one of the largest groups we have seen so far this season, approximately 75 dolphins! 

Atlantic white-sided dolphins (above and below)

The sightings continued (and woohoo, the fog started to dissipate!) with at least five more fin whales and a great look at a basking shark in the calm seas.

Fin whale

Basking shark

There was just as much activity to watch on Monday afternoon. We saw six fin whales, a pod of approximately 10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins, three humpback whales, and a minke whale. 

Fin whale

Humpback whale

The trip started with a mother-calf fin whale pair napping. So fin-tastic! Next, our dolphins were slowly moseying around. 

Fin whale calf

Dolphins

Between more fin whales, we checked out humpback whales Milkyway and Valley, followed by Clamp. After a quick surfacing of a minke whale, we were headed for home. What a day full of sights!

Fin whale

Humpback whale

Clamp flipper-slapping

Tuesday was just as stunning with beautiful weather and whales, whales, and more whales. On Tuesday morning, we spent time with humpback whales Clamp and Satula. 

Satula at the surface

Humpback whale

You didn't have to look far to see other spouts. We came across a mother-calf fin whale pair. These massively sleek mammals were beautiful to watch in the calm seas. 

Fin whale mom - she's huge!

Fin whale mother-calf pair

The morning wrapped up with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. On Tuesday afternoon, the area continued to teem with life. We passed by multiple seals as we headed offshore and saw a couple of minke whales as we traveled. In total, we saw six humpback whales, at least three fin whales, and a pod of approximately 10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Napping humpback whales

Humpback whale

Humpback whale surfacing (on the left) and fin whale diving (on the right)!

Dolphin!

Just like the morning, spouts could be seen in multiple directions. Our humpback whales included Valley, Milkyway, Spoon, Ravine, Tripod, and Chromosome. 

Fin whale spout

While most of these whales were napping, we were elated to witness Spoon spring to life. She breached (or jumped clear out of the water!) and flipper-slapped a few times. Just enough activity before going back to napping. Haha. Whales are great, they are wild and love to do whatever they want whenever they want!

Spoon's flipper!

Humpback whales

July 26-27, 2025

Saturday's trips were full of marine life. The calm seas aided in providing great conditions for seeing all sorts of creatures. On Saturday morning, we spent time watching four humpback whales, two fin whales, a minke whale, and a basking shark. 

Fin whale

Minke whale in the distance

Basking shark

Humpback whale

Our humpback whales included Satula, Ravine, Milkyway, and Valley. One of our fin whales was Pacman. 

Ravine birefly rolled on it's side, showcasing its flipper!

Milkyway created some whitewater during this surfacing with Valley nearby

On Saturday afternoon, the weather and marine life continued. We started with Pacman, the fin whale, checked out two ocean sunfish, two basking sharks, and finished the trip with six different humpback whales. 

Pacman the fin whale

Ocean sunfish

Basking shark dorsal fin

Humpback whale tail

All of our humpback whales were napping at some point, and included Pinball, Tripod, Chromosome, Ravine, Valley, and Milkway. It was a "lazy" whale kind of afternoon! 

Pinball

Pair of humpback whales

Humpback whale

We only had a morning trip on Sunday due to increased wind and rain in the forecast for the afternoon. While the mammals that live on land (us humans!) may be affected by wind, waves, and rain, the whales are unfazed. When you live in water, more coming from the sky means nothing when you're busy searching for and eating food! Our sightings included five humpback whales and a fin whale. 

Humpback whale

We started with Milkyway and Valley before coming into an area where Ravine, Satula, and Pinball were all circling. As we spent time watching these whales, a fin whale popped up right in the middle of the mix. So fun!

Pinball diving

Satula doing what this whale does best - pooping! Can you find the brown cloud of whale poop?