October 13, 2024

Today marked the final trip of the 2024 season. Our hardy passengers dealt with a little wind early on followed shortly by the raindrops all with cloudy skies and cool temperatures. While the brisk temperature didn't change, the rain mostly stopped, the wind calmed, and whales were to be seen. We started the trip with a pair of fin whales. These sleek and massive mammals were on the move! 

Look at the waves and whitewater that were created by these fin whales moving through the water (above and below). They were on a mission!

With some nice looks at the second largest animals on earth, we were off to do some more searching. Our searching efforts took longer than anticipated, but the only way to find these wild animals is to look for them. We ended the day by spending time with two humpback whales. 

Humpback whale

Humpback whale diving

Humpback whales Solo and Patches were moseying around. Solo was seen napping for a short period. To our surprise, we got the chance to see Patches flipper slap multiple times. What a delightful, and unexpected, way to wrap up a season. Patches was "waving" goodbye (not really, that's anthropomorphizing whale behavior), but such a beautiful sight.

Patches flipper-slapping (above and below)

It has been an unbelievable whale watching season. Even after more than 30 years of whale watching, the boat (and some of the crew!) saw sightings we had never seen before. So many memories to recall and all the result of our passengers. Thank you for joining us on each one of our whale watching adventures. Each sighting and day is a special moment, and we hope you enjoyed them all. Thanks to those of you who joined us for the first time, for our frequent flyers, and everyone in between! We are just as eager as you are to see what 2025 has in store for us, but until then, we will remember all the moments marine life left us speechless this season.😲😊 See you in 2025!

October 11, 2024

Where did all the time go?! We have officially entered our final weekend of whale watching for our 2024 season. Friday's trip began with a strong breeze from the west kicking up white caps as far as the eye could see. After pressing out offshore we tried to get looks at a few large whales that we had seen by their blows, but to no success as these animals were definitely busy chasing down food or just traveling through the area. Thankfully, while we were waiting for one of our mystery whales, we were also keeping tabs on another whale a little ways away that was coming up to the surface much more frequently. Finally making our way over to the once distant blow, we were treated to some excellent looks at a fin whale! 

Fin whale exhaling

Fin whale diving

Whilst we were spending time with this fin whale, a second sneaky fin whale decided to become associated with our original for just a single surfacing before these whales ultimately went their separate ways. 

We switched gears to watching this new fin whale until it was time to return back to Rye Harbor. Weather has unfortunately prevented us from heading offshore on Saturday, so we are left with only one last trip on Sunday to give it our all to say goodbye and thank all of our whales for a wonderful season. We can't wait to see you out there!

October 9, 2024

 October 9, 2024

Today was filled with ups and downs, quite literally. We left the harbor with a stiff, westerly wind at our stern, not at all what the marine weather forecasts had predicted. The ride out was calm and warm.

But then, we changed course a bit to follow a distant blow. The wind pushed some spray onto the boat as we rocked a bit in the sea and swell, but soon, we slowed to search for the whale. A fin whale popped up in the area but wasn't spending much time at the surface. We continued on to search for a second blow in the area, but that whale was also playing (and winning) a game of Hide and Seek. The wind and seas were picking up, and we knew we didn't want to venture further offshore, so we decided to make our way back to the harbor. 

We were preparing to accept a "skunk," a trip with no whale sightings. Skunks don't happen often, but with today's misled forecast, we really didn't think we would find a whale. 

Thankfully, Mother Nature decided to grant us a pass. With our tail between our legs, we headed for home, riding above most of the waves. Then, out of nowhere, we saw a bunch of small dorsal fins surrounding us. Dolphins! At first, we saw Atlantic white-sided dolphins. But within seconds, Common dolphins were in the group as well! A mixed pod!! Very cool and pretty rare! Common dolphins are not actually common in our area, so seeing them with the AWS dolphins was very unexpected and even rarer! 

Common dolphin

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

Hooray! But then, we saw a blow in the same area. A young humpback whale was here, too!! We saw this whale lift its tail a few times. It was new to all of us on the crew, and we couldn't find it in our onboard catalog. Later, back on land, we found this whale, which was one that had yet to be named but had been seen in the Gulf of Maine before. Hopefully, it will be given a name soon. 

What a surprising, unexpected day all around! The ocean always keeps us on our toes!

October 4, 2024

To say that there was a lot that happened on this whale watch would be a severe understatement. Our trip started very early with quick looks at an ocean sunfish less than a mile out from Rye Harbor. Not everyone was able to get looks at this fish, but that's A-okay because by the time we were passing the Isles of Shoals we had another sunfish that remained at the surface for all to see. 

Ocean sunfish dorsal fin

After continuing along towards an area where we had luck finding whales earlier in the week, we found our first whales in the form of four humpbacks resting near the surface and a distant fin whale. These humpbacks included Gunslinger, Owl, Solo, and Spoon. After a few minutes these whales woke and went down on a deeper dive. Just as I was explaining the difference between toothed whales and baleen whales, a THRESHER SHARK breached right off of our starboard side!!! This shark was unmistakable by its long caudal (tail) fin as it flew through the air. I was at a loss of words, and unfortunately a loss of photographs as well since I was too shocked to react. 

Humpback diving with fin whale behind

Two humpbacks diving

After spending some more time with our group of four whales, we left them to rest while we ventured over to another pair of humpback whales a little ways in the distance. One of the whales had gone on a deeper dive, so we were about to spend time with the other when all of the sudden...

Humpback whale breaching

A SPINNING HEAD BREACH!!! Aerial displays are not something we expect to see from these animals on the regular, and this year has certainly been light on it, so this encounter was equally as shocking as it was impressive! This whale was one and done with breaches, but it was one I'm sure many of us won't soon forget. 

Basking shark dorsal fin

Other marine life in the area included a single juvenile humpback whale, at least two more distant fin whales, and a basking shark. By this point we were very much out of time and had to make our way back towards home, but just as we were about to pick up speed we noticed a nearby fin whale going down on a deeper dive, and next to it was a small group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, only 3-4 animals in that pod. 

White-sided dolphin

We got to spend a few minutes with these dolphins and then it was finally time to say goodbye to all of our whale friends. An unforgettable day filled with truly exceptional marine life!

October 5-6, 2024

A crisp horizon and a slight swell were waiting for us as we headed offshore this weekend. On Saturday, there was a variety of marine life. We saw an ocean sunfish, four fin whales, three humpback whales, a quick look at a blue shark, and a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Ocean sunfish

Fin whale

Our first fin whales were spending a decent amount of time under the water, and with more spouts visible on the horizon, we decided to press on. 

A "rain-blow" by a humpback whale - so fun!

At one point we came across a pair of humpback whales, a pair of fin whales, and a group of approximately 8-10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins that shifted between the baleen whale pairs. What a sight! Known humpback whales included Limpet, Paddleboard, and Solo.

Pair of humpback whales 

Fin whale diving and a couple of dolphins nearby

On Sunday, we passed by an ocean sunfish as we headed offshore. As the cool northeast wind started to subside, we made our way out to where we have been having luck with whales. Our first stop was on a pair of humpback whales - Jabiru and Grommet. 

Humpback whale diving

Next, we spent time with another pair of humpback whales, Gunslinger and Limpet, but they quickly separated. Even so, we still got the chance to check them both out. 

Humpback whale tail

Flipper-slapping humpback whale

A fin whale was also in the area but was elusive. We are down to the last week of the 2024 season. Here's hoping for good weather so we can soak in all the Gulf of Maine has to offer as we wrap up another year!

Distant look at a fin whale

October 2, 2024

Wednesday brought a bit of a challenge as we set out in search of whales. The wind was blowing in from the east, making for a damp and breezy ride—not everyone appreciated the salty spray! After some time, we spotted a pair of humpback whales. They were taking short, shallow dives and staying relatively close, though they were a little shy about showing us their flukes. Still, we were able to identify them as Dross and Ravine.

Fun fact: Both Dross and Ravine had calves last year, and those now-independent yearlings were spotted earlier this season!

As we waited for the pair to resurface, an ocean sunfish made a brief appearance behind the boat before vanishing back into the depths. Thankfully, our ride home was much calmer.

September 28-29, 2024

On Saturday we spent time with three humpback whales offshore. Spoon and Victim were associated with each other while Satula popped up nearby. 

The unique pigmentation pattern of this humpback whale

Eventually, the whales merged, and we got the opportunity to watch a trio of humpback whales synchronize their surfacings and movements.

Pair of humpback whales at the surface

While we spent time with these baleen whales, a pod of toothed whales swam by. Approximately 50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins were moving through the area! The trip wrapped up with a quick look at an ocean sunfish.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

That eerie glow is an ocean sunfish!

On Sunday, the minimal winds provided quite the backdrop for searching and seeing wildlife. Sightings included four ocean sunfish, a fin whale, three blue sharks, three humpback whales, and a pod of ~50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Ocean sunfish

Fin whale

Even though the whales were doing a good job holding their breaths, we got some beautiful looks at these majestic mammals. Individuals included humpback whales Solo, Pluma, and Satula.

Humpback whale diving

Humpback whale

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Can you find the subtly of the blue shark fins?