August 30-31 and September 1, 2025

Happy Labor Day weekend! The summer season has flown by, and the whales are keeping us busy. On Saturday morning, we saw four humpback whales, a fin whale, and a basking shark. A few of our humpback whales were so close to the Isles of Shoals! 

Humpback whale with White Island Lighthouse in the background

Humpback whales included Pixar, Clamp, Valley, and Chromosome. 

Humpback whale pair

Fin whale

Basking shark

Our trip on Saturday afternoon started with a look at an ocean sunfish before making our way further offshore. 

Ocean sunfish

 We then found eight humpback whales, a fin whale, and a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Diving humpback whale

Humpback whale

The whales were mostly in pairs, and because of their proximity to each other, there was almost always a spout somewhere around us. Individuals included Owl, Spoon, Fan, Solo, Grommet, Gunslinger, Chromosome, and Valley.

Pair of humpback whales

Fan

We had such a crisp horizon on Sunday. You could see forever in search of distant spouts. On our morning trip, we spent time with seven humpback whales and a pod of approximately 200(!) Atlantic white-sided dolphins. We had single whales, pairs, and even a trio of humpback whales. 

One humpback whale (above) and three below!

Sightings included Repeat, Fan, Spoon, Pixar, Pinball, Valley, and Chromosome. 

Valley

Then there were the dolphins. They were scattered in every direction around the boat.

Dolphins

Our Sunday afternoon conditions were just as perfect, and the sightings, just as fun! We started with Victim, the humpback whale, off the coast of Maine. Further offshore, we spent time with Pixar, the humpback whale. 

Whale spout

Next on the sightings list was a fin whale with another further in the distance. 

Fin whale

We then checked out a trio of humpback whales (Clamp, Spoon, and Fan). As if that wasn't enough, we wrapped up the day with Repeat, the humpback whale, during our travels home.

Trio of humpback whales

Synchronized dives

Our trip on Monday continued with plenty of marine life. We saw five humpback whales, two pods of dolphins, and an ocean sunfish. We first started with Repeat, the humpback whale. 

After a few looks, we pressed on and found a pod of approximately 15 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Atlantic white-sided dolphins (above and below)

While this pod wasn't large, they were so much fun to watch. These toothed whales were zipping through the water alongside the boat, providing beautiful looks as they maneuvered gracefully through the waves. We then spent time with a trio of sleepy humpback whales - Spoon, Jabiru, and Clamp. 

This trio was accompanied by a small group of approximately five Atlantic white-sided dolphins! We slowly meandered along with the dolphins, and eventually, the humpback whales would resurface. 

All three humpback whales at the surface

Spoon

Our last few sightings of the trip were on the ride home, when we got the chance to check out an ocean sunfish and another humpback whale. You never know when something will be nearby. That's why we are always on the lookout to see what fun sighting we will come across next!