July 22, 2026

 We stayed in the harbor this morning to let the strong winds and rough seas from overnight simmer down before heading out for our afternoon trip. To make things even more fun, a thunderstorm passed through right before we boarded, but I think most people camped out in the ticket office while the bulk of the rain came down.

We found a total of five humpback whales today! Two pairs and one single, and everyone was feeding!

Our first pair was Grommet and Cacophony. These two were using bubble clouds to concentrate their lunch into tight schools of fish and were surfacing close to where the bubbles were seen!

Then we found Satula nearby, and also using the bubble cloud technique! Although we didn’t get a great look at Satula’s tail until we were about to leave, we knew this whale simply from that distinctive saddle-shape on his back where the dorsal fin used to be. Satula is a frequent visitor to the Jeffreys Ledge area and we always love to see our regulars return!

Next, a second pair of humpback whales was seen in the distance. Pitcher and Downsweep were also feeding using bubble clouds. At one point, Downsweep rolled at the surface so we could see the huge white flipper! Later this same whale slapped its flukes on the surface, then blew a bubble cloud. Pitcher came up charging vertically out of the water through the bubble cloud while Downsweep was a little more calm approaching the surface. 

As we were getting ready to head for home, the pair surfaced right next to us! I really love knowing that these wild animals could go anywhere they want, and still, they chose to surface close by as we sat idly waiting for them to return to the surface. Hearing that loud exhalation, followed by the deeply hollow sounding inhalation always takes my breath away! (Sorry, I couldn’t help it!)

July 20-21, 2026

On Monday, among our other sightings, we witnessed some unexpected behaviors from a couple of our humpback whales on both trips. In the morning, we found humpback whales Satula and Viola. We got some great looks at both, including Viola randomly breaching! 

Second half of a breaching whale (above and below)

Post-breach. So much white-water!

We also checked out a minke whale and an ocean sunfish. 

Minke whale

Ocean sunfish fin

On Monday afternoon, sightings included a minke whale, a fin whale, and multiple humpback whales. Fin whales have been few and far between this season, so we are always elated when one is sighted. 

A gull attempting to photo-bomb this fin whale image 😄

We also spent time with humpback whales Satula, Dross, GOM-2434, and one we are still working to identify. 

See that red-brown color? Whale poop!

Our unknown friend decided to go bonkers at the end of our trip when this whale repeatedly lobtailed, along with a few tail breaches. 

Start of a lob-tail (above and below). So much water being flung in the air!

You never know what these wild animals are going to do when, making watching wildlife so special.

Our friend still lobtailing

We were able to sneak in a trip on Tuesday morning before the wind kicked up the ocean in the afternoon. We came across five different humpback whales during our travels. 

Along with a few regulars, it was another day with another new visitor to the area this season. Long time no see, old friend Orion! Others included Patches, Satula, Grommet, and Quote. 

Our bonus sighting of the trip was a few bluefin tunas crashing at the surface. They were likely chasing down small schooling fish; the same small schooling fish the whales eat!

Bluefin tunas creating a ruckus at the surface

July 18-19, 2026

We were able to get Saturday morning's trip in before the wind started to whip up the ocean. Conditions were as calm as calm could be, and the variety of marine life was waiting for us. We spent time with a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, two humpback whales (Patches and Pinball), two ocean fish, and even a minke whale that swam by.

It's not raining. It's that calm you can see the water droplets surrounding this Atlantic white-sided dolphin as it surfaces!

Dolphin above, and more below, the surface

Ocean sunfish

Humpback whale

Humpback whale tail

Ocean sunfish #2!

On Sunday, the skies were clear, but the wind decided it wanted to hang on longer than expected. Luckily, the whales seem unfazed by the whitecaps. On Sunday morning, we saw two minke whales and spent time with two humpback whales. We first found Pinball, still meandering around the area. We also found a newcomer. As the ocean currents shift and the fish swim, we witness the whales' movements, and today we were privileged to come across a humpback whale named Viola. 

Humpback whale (above and below)

On Sunday afternoon, our first sighting was shortly after leaving the harbor. Many thanks to our sister ship, the Uncle Oscar, running ferry services to the Isles of Shoals, which passed along their sighting of a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

This pod of approximately 40 whales was a treat to start the trip with. Thanks, crew! We then had the opportunity to check out seven humpback whales! Some were moving through. Some were circling. Individuals included Pinball, Dross, GOM-2434, Downsweep, Grommet, Pitcher, and Anglerfish. What a way to wrap up the weekend!

Humpback whale spouting

July 17, 2026

This morning, our first sighting was a humpback whale who was new to us this year! As much as we love seeing our regulars, we always love seeing new faces (or flukes) to the area!

We moved on and found a fin whale that has been seen several times over the past week or so. This is a fin whale we have nicknamed Goldengate for a scar on its right side.  We believe that Goldengate has been seen near Jeffreys Ledge since at least 2012!

After searching the area, we found our first humpback once again, and this time it tail-breached once! Amazing!

Next we found three humpback whales- a pair and a single, but before we knew it, all three surfaced right behind the boat and began logging (sleeping, not cutting down trees!).

Another highlight of this morning’s trip was an ocean sunfish which was super cooperative and stayed at the surface while we maneuvered to get nice looks of it on both sides of the boat.

 

This afternoon, we started our trip with a pair of huge fin whales! One of these whales was seen on Wednesday afternoon’s trip while the other may have been most recently seen on Tuesday.

fin whale chevron

fin whale dorsal fin

We have seen such a variety of individual whales lately- we really never know what we will see from day to day or even from trip to trip!

A minke whale darted around us, and then we continued on our search for more marine life.

We saw some blows in the distance, and then some flipper slapping! While one humpback was busy flipper slapping, the other was pretty chill, just slowly traveling NW.

Another humpback whale was seen and doing typical humpback behavior- breathing and diving!

We headed for home but saw a breach in the distance! We headed over there and found a familiar humpback whale that we assume did the breach, but there’s really no telling. Other humpbacks were spread out in the area including the one who was flipper slapping earlier, but now it was lob-tailing!

Bluefin tuna were charging around, and we even spotted an osprey carrying a large fish back to the mainland!

Trips lately have been extremely variable as far as species and behaviors which is part of why we love what we do! Every trip is different, keeping us on our toes!

 

July 16, 2026

 Thursday morning began with calm seas and a very quick search leading up to our steady stream of encounters throughout the trip! As we made our way down south of Rye Harbor, we could see LOTS of menhaden schooling near the surface, which our first humpback whale of the day was taking full advantage of. This whale, a juvenile currently known as GOM-2434 repeatedly lunged at the surface as it circled around the bait nearby.

Lunge feeding humpback

This would be a common occurrence throughout our trip as every humpback whale we encountered was lunge feeding at the ocean's surface. After leaving this whale behind, we quickly happened upon another humpback, Grommet. As we followed along with this whale, we could see distant splashing that we eventually moved to investigate. This turned out to be a very spread out pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. These dolphins were so spread out that it was fairly difficult to get close looks at any one of them. After some persistence we were able to get incredible looks at a few of these dolphins as they travelled along the side of our boat. As we tracked these dolphins, we also saw a very distant fin whale passing through the area.

White-sided dolphins

Fin whale diving

After saying goodbye to our dolphins, we came across our third humpback of the morning, Spoon. Spoon is quite often, a sleepy whale. So imagine the surprise that our crew received when she unexpectedly began lunging on menhaden at the surface!

Spoon, feeding 

After leaving Spoon to continue with her day, we came across our final pair of humpback whales for the morning, Pitcher and Downsweep. 

Pair of humpbacks

Thursday afternoon began with an immense breeze up from the morning. White caps were plenty, and the swell was beginning to pick up. That didn't stop us from time well spent with whales, however! After travelling back down in a southerly direction, we came across a pair of humpback whales, Spoon and Owl. These whales, despite the surface conditions, were sleeping/resting often near the surface, only occasionally waking themselves up to head down into the depths below. 

Humpbacks diving

We had been watching these whales for a good while as they remained resting. Then, in an instant, Owl kicked herself awake, pushing forwards. All eyes were on this whale as she began tail breaching and lobbing repeatedly!

Tail breach!

As Owl continued this behavior, Spoon also woke up and began flipper slapping.

Spoon rolling on side

These whales kept these behaviors up for a few minutes before ultimately settling down, and then heading off in their own separate directions. After saying goodbye to our humpback whales, we did quite a bit more searching before we were hit with an intense squall. Just as this weather hit us, we got eyes on a fin whale nearby, getting a few brief looks before ultimately making our way back home.

Fin whale diving

July 15, 2026

The smokey haze from the Canadian wildfires lingered again today, making for some interesting lighting offshore. Although I knew it was mid-morning, it felt like 7:30 at night. Maybe that’s why I felt so tired today!

This morning, we found three humpback whales. The first was taking short dives and slowly traveling to the west. 

Next, we found our familiar friend, Owl. She was doing a bit of feeding at the surface, and soon, another humpback whale joined her! At first, Owl didn’t seem to enjoy the company. She began to pick up speed while the other whale seemed to keep following her. But eventually they began surfacing together without the fast movements.

We passed by a couple of blows on our way home. One was likely another humpback whale. The other was too far to determine the species.

This afternoon, we started by visiting the area where we had passed by whales on the way home from our morning trip. Our first sighting was that of a pair of huge fin whales!! Seeing just one fin whale alongside the boat is amazing, but to have a pair was incredible! At least one of the pair had been seen in the past few days so it’s nice to know they are still in the area!

Next we found the first of five humpback whales seen throughout the trip. We hung out with this for a bit and soon it was joined by another humpback- Downsweep again! Apparently Downsweep likes to hang out with other whales as it was seen with a different whale on our morning trip!

In the distance, we saw Owl again! She was alternating feeding bouts with cat naps! After she dove near us, we shut down our engines and just floated along waiting for her to reappear. This was a magical moment. Several minutes of complete silence. I wasn’t babbling on the microphone, our guests onboard were quietly awaiting Owl’s return to the surface. Several more minutes….and then WOOSH! Owl surfaced within 20 meters of our stern! And then she took another nap. Whale behavior truly intrigues me, especially when it involves one of our regulars choosing to hang out with us.

On our way home, we saw a couple more spouts to the west of us. One of them did a short stint of surface feeding, and to my happy surprise, this was another humpback whale - Spoon!  But unlike Spoon’s notorious behavior of being slow-moving, she was charging all over and lunged out of the water several times! Beautiful!

We got a quick look at a minke whale while we headed home, and finally that thick haze from the wildfires blew through and the sun was shining brightly, just as it should.