September 16, 2026

 

The offshore wind was a bit snappy on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop us from finding marine life! A large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins appeared in the distance, and soon we found ourselves surrounded by these beautiful creatures, including lots of mother/calf pairs!

Soon after, we spotted a blow from a humpback whale on the horizon. This was our friend Owl, who has been seen frequently not only this summer but also in past summers! She was consistently taking about 8.5-minute dives. We could almost set our clocks to her regular dive times! Once at the surface, she would just float almost motionless before lifting her huge tail out of the water as she dove.

A small harbor seal made a brief appearance, and our course home took us through the Isles of Shoals, where three more seals were curiously looking at us as we passed by!

September 12, 2026

During our morning lighthouse-focused trip, we spotted a familiar sight: a whale! We had to divert for a few minutes because it was "Finke!" We first spotted this whale in 2011, have seen it occasionally over the years, and have only had one previous sighting this season. 

Finke the minke off the coast of Maine

With such beautiful conditions, it was great to document this whale, its injury, and lack of a dorsal fin (get it? Finless minke = Finke!). 

Such a large scar where this minke whale's dorsal fin used to be

During our actual whale watch in the afternoon, we spent time watching Satula the humpback whale. Did you know this whale also lost its dorsal fin? The sad realization of the threats all whales face: human-related interactions. Luckily, these whales survived these interactions. 

Satula and its lack-of-dorsal fin

Satula diving with a curious tern flying overhead

Satula

Our last sighting of the day was another whale, again with no dorsal fin. This time, it's because this species doesn't have dorsal fins! We were privileged to spot a North Atlantic right whale during our travels home, one of the ~380 of this species. It was completely unexpected and extremely memorable. Gosh, wildlife is incredible.

Due to the weather, we have canceled our whale watch on Sunday. Stay tuned for later this week when we get back out on the water searching for wildlife!

September 11, 2026

 Friday's whale watch began with a breeze from the west that followed us all the way offshore. After reaching an area where we had luck with whales a few days prior, it didn't take us long to find our first sighting in the form of Owl the humpback whale.

Humpback whale

Owl diving

As we tracked along with Owl, another humpback could be seen, slowly making its way into the area. Eventually, it crossed paths with Owl, so we switched our attention to this second whale.

Humpback surfacing

With a dorsal fin this large, it didn't take long for us to identify this humpback as Spoon! We followed this whale for a bit, and before long, both Spoon and Owl decided to pair up with one another.

Owl and Spoon

Not long later, it was time for us to start headed home. Time for us to see what the weekend has in store!

September 9, 2026

Wednesday’s whale watch brought us calm seas, curious dolphins, and some seriously entertaining humpback whales! 🐋🌊

After a little wind to start the trip, the ocean settled down beautifully, making it much easier for us to find wildlife. We encountered four different groups of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, including one incredible pod of at least 200 animals! 🐬🐬🐬

Two Atlantic white-sided dolphins, one missing its fin!

And the humpbacks did not disappoint! We spotted five whales—Clamp, Furrows, Partition, Pylon, and Owl. Clamp treated us to her signature high-fluke/tail-flick behavior not once, but twice!

Meanwhile, Partition stole the show with some truly impressive flipper slapping. Talk about making an appearance!

We even came across a couple of ocean sunfish, though they weren’t quite ready for their close-up. These two were keeping things mysterious and staying a little shy. ☀️🐟

All in all, it was a fantastic day on the water, filled with whales, dolphins, and plenty of memorable moments! 💙

Owl!

September 5-7, 2026

The weather may have started windy for the holiday weekend; it at least ended on the other end of the spectrum. Saturday morning, the wind arrived earlier than expected. Our travels took us through many miles of searching, but whale luck was not on our side. We look forward to having our passengers join us another day. No trips ran on Sunday because of the strong winds. Monday, finally, had conditions on our side. Offshore, we spent time with seven humpback whales. We started with a pair: Clamp and Jawa. Not far away was Satula, followed by Patches. We watched Satula create a few bubble clouds, a feeding mechanism humpback whales use on occasion. The day wrapped up with a trio of humpback whales, including Fan, Buzzard, and Partition. 

Pair of humpback whales

Satula

Remnant of a bubble cloud

September 4, 2026

 The weather has definitely been touch and go as we have entered our fall whale watching schedule, but Friday presented us with the most amazingly gorgeous sea conditions as we made our way offshore, and we intended to make the most of it! Our trip began with brief looks at a very mobile ocean sunfish as it was moving at a very brisk pace at the surface. We pressed further offshore, eventually coming across a very small rounded shape at the surface, which turned out to be an endangered KEMP'S RIDLEY SEA TURTLE resting along the surface!!!

Kemp's Ridley turtle

Coming up for air AHHHHH!!!!

This species is that smallest of all the sea turtles on Earth, reaching lengths of 1-2ft as adults. Our crew was absolutely amazed as this turtle spent close to twenty minutes at the surface, occasionally coming up for a breath of air. What an amazing summer it has been for sea turtles! Unfortunately, we couldn't stick around forever, so we eventually moved on in search of whales. Before coming across whales however, we were able to get better views at another ocean sunfish near the surface.

Ocean Sunfish

It took a bit more searching, but finally, we were able to find whales on our whale watch. Whale sightings began with a pair of humpback whales, Grommet and Victim, as they travelled near the surface. 

Pair of humpbacks

While watching them, a third humpback whale was seen spending time in the area. Before getting looks at that whale, we went to investigate some distant splashing. This splashing was revealed to be an amazingly active pod of about one hundred Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

Dolphin mom/calf

This was a very tight-knit group of dolphins that were so much fun to watch! After saying goodbye, we picked our search back up for the single humpback whale. Finally getting looks at this whale, it was a familiar friend, Satula. After spending time with this whale, it was time to head home. Such an unforgettable Friday!

September 2, 2026

 With poor weather keeping us on land on Wednesday, Thursday marked our first outing of September! Our sightings for the day began quickly with brief looks at an ocean sunfish before we pressed on through the Isles of Shoals.

Passing by Star Island

After making our way offshore, we were able to spend time with three different pairs of humpback whales! Our first pair consisted of Quill and Cacophony.

Humpback whale

We didn't have to travel far at all before getting looks at our second pair, Patches and Prongs.

Humpback diving

After leaving behind our second pair, we came across our third, Pina and Jawa!

Humpback surfacing

Eventually, it was time to head home. As we did so, we passed by a small pod of harbor porpoise and even another ocean sunfish right before we entered the harbor. 

Poor weather is keeping us on the dock again for Thursday, so we shall see you all again on Friday!