August 10-11, 2026

This morning was as calm as could be; perfect sighting conditions for whatever was out there. And there sure was a lot of stuff out there! We started with a group of 5 harbor porpoises, before encountering three ocean sunfish! We then found a solitary humpback whale known as Spika.

We continued on to check out some more blows nearby. A group of four humpback whales came to the surface and then began to take a nap. We shut down our engines and drifted along with the group as they each took a breath every minute or so. Such a serene setting!

In the distance we spotted three more humpback whales- a solitary one, and a pair. Spika showed up again, and then we saw yet another ocean sunfish before seeing a minke whale!

Two more solitary humpbacks showed up, and to our surprise, these two were part of Blue Ocean Society’s adopt-a-whale program! Pinball and Satula were hanging out in the same area, but not together. Pinball wasn’t lifting her tail much, but we got a couple of great looks at Satula!

A couple more ocean sunfish were seen as well as another distant humpback. Then, we saw some small dorsal fins cutting through the water- dolphins! This was a massive pod of about 200 Atlantic white-sided dolphins! They were everywhere! The dolphins swam right alongside the boat surrounding us at times! Beautiful!

Back offshore on Monday afternoon, whale spouts were numerous. Most of the time, it seemed no matter where you were on the boat, whale spouts could be seen in every direction. Some close, others towards the horizon. 

Humpback whale diving

We slowly meandered around to check out as much as we could. Some whales were in groups, others were independent, and some were shifting their associations. 

Pair of humpback whales

Humpback whale flipper

Belly-up humpback whale with both flippers in the air!

We identified nine humpback whales near us. They included Spika, Owl, Thistle, Spoon, Chromosome, Quote, Cacophony, Valley, and Satula. There was also a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins that were being sneaky. They would suddenly pop up associated with different humpback whales as we maneuvered around. Birds were also scattered around, including petrels and shearwaters. 

Great shearwater taking off

No doubt, the highlight of the trip (especially for the crew!) was another leatherback sea turtle. FOUR FOR FOUR!!! We've had four different leatherback sea turtles in four days. Our turtle power continues...😲 So fortunate, memorable, and incredible.

This leatherback sea turtle was steadily on the move

This leatherback sea turtle was creating its own wake when it surfaced!

Multiple people described Tuesday as "Epic." What a perfect word to describe the diversity and beauty of what we have seen recently. On Tuesday morning, we spent time with six different humpback whales. 

It was a mixed bag: some sleeping, some being active, and others in the middle. Owl, Thistle, Alligator, Zodiac, Valley, and Quote were all whales in that mix. 

We also passed by a few ocean sunfish, a very quick look at a blue shark, and TWO leatherback sea turtles. The turtle streak continues, with two no less, in one trip! 💚

Leatherback sea turtle #1 of the trip

Leatherback sea turtle #2!

On Tuesday afternoon we saw another leatherback sea turtle! At this point, we have gone well past speechless and straight to disbelief. 

Incoming leatherback sea turtle! 

We have now had FIVE DAYS in a row of seeing leatherback sea turtles. Almost unfathomable, and yet, it happened. 😊

Leatherback sea turtle in stunning conditions

Additionally, there were three ocean sunfish, 10 humpback whales, and a pod of approximately 120 Atlantic white-sided dolphins mixed in with the humpback whales. It was wildlife bliss. 

Ocean sunfish

Humpback whale and dolphin at the surface

More humpback whales and dolphins

Identified whales included Owl, Thistle, Satula, Stance, Orion, Spoon, Chromosome, Fan, Cacophony, and Alligator. The sightings over the past few days have been beyond words, and it has been incredible to share these experiences with all of you!

August 8-9, 2026

While Saturday didn't provide much of any reprieve in the way of cooling off offshore, it did provide PLENTY of marine life! On Saturday morning, we spent time with a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, saw two ocean sunfish, and 11 humpback whales! 

Ocean sunfish

Some of the humpback whales were swimming around on their own. Others were in pairs. We even had separate groups of three and four humpback whales. Wow. 

Flipper-slapping humpback whale and dolphins!

Trio of humpback whales

A group of four humpback whales!

Individuals included Alligator, Thistle, Spika, Zodiac, Spoon, Chromosome, Stance, Quote, Fan, Valley, and Pinball! 

Flipper-slapping humpback whale and a great shearwater!

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

Numerous sightings continued on Saturday afternoon, but that was only after we spent time watching a LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE!!! This is now the second sea turtle we have sighted all season. We patiently waited and got some awesome looks at such an infrequent sighting.

Leatherback sea turtle!!! 😍

This leatherback sea turtle spent a good amount of time at the surface. Lucky us!

 We also saw nine humpback whales, with more out in the distance, a grey seal, and an ocean sunfish. 

Trio of humpback whales

Humpback whale flipper

Afternoon humpback whale individuals included all three Blue Ocean Society adoptable whales - Satula, Owl, and Pinball. Additionally, we saw Spika, Quote, Spoon, Chromosome, Valley, and Fan. What a day.

Afternoon ocean sunfish

With the ocean teeming with life recently, Sunday's sightings continued right on track. Sunday morning started with another incredible find. THREE DAYS IN A ROW WE CAME ACROSS A LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE!!! Leatherbacks can be individually identified (like so much wildlife!), and with each new day, a new turtle. Truly speechless. 

Turtle power; another leatherback sea turtle!

So much fun to see this leatherback sea turtle surface with each breath!

We then spent time with nine humpback whales (Satula, Thistle, Stance, Alligator, Orion, Fan, Chromosome, Spoon, and Clamp), a distant grey seal, and a pod of approximately 25 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Humpback on the move

Diving humpback whale

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

Dolphins associated with a humpback whale

Sunday afternoon was equally as exciting. This time there were four ocean sunfish, nine humpback whales, and a slightly smaller pod of approximately 20 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Ocean sunfish (above and below)

Our afternoon humpback whales included Pinball, Satula, Alligator, Zodiac, Orion, Quote, Grommet, and Spika. So much to look at in all directions!

Humpback whale and dolphins

August 6-7, 2026

 Thursday morning's whale watch began with a pair of humpback whales, Grommet and Valley. As we watched these whales, we could see distant spouts that we eventually moved to go investigate.

Pair of humpbacks

There was quite a bit of life in this direction, as we came across two solo humpback whales, Orion and Pinball, before also stopping to check out another pair, consisting of Alligator and Zodiac. Our pair of whales was doing a great job sleeping at the surface when they were joined by a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

Humpback diving

Humpback with dolphins

After pressing on, we got quick looks at an ocean sunfish before seeing a very active humpback out in the distance. This turned out to be Pinball doing a whole lot of flipper slapping at the surface! We got some amazing looks at this whale before finally turning back towards Rye. On our journey in, we also passed by several more humpbacks, including Thistle, Stance, Detritus, and Bayou.

Pinball flipper slapping

Thursday afternoon started off in an exciting way! We first happened upon a single humpback whale, Detritus, before getting eyes on a very splashy humpback out in the distance. As we got closer, this whale, Patches, began breaching, flipper slapping, and tail breaching for an extended period of time. 

Humpback flipper

Breach!

After getting to spend some amazing time with Patches, we moved just a bit further offshore. Once we did, we were able to turn our engines off and watch as we were surrounded by humpback whales. These whales included Satula, Pinball, Spika, Chromosome, Spoon and Clamp! We were also able to get a couple of quick glimpses at two different minke whales passing through.

Trio of humpback whales

Humpback diving

Friday morning was glassy calm and beautiful! Our trip got off to a quick start as we were able to get some quick looks at an ocean sunfish.

Ocean sunfish

Not long after that we came upon our first pair of humpback whales, Grommet and Chromosome. Both of these whales were fairly mellow as they travelled at the surface. Out in the distance we could see more whale activity very close to the Isles of Shoals. Once there, we spent time with two more humpbacks, Detritus and Thistle, before they were also joined by Grommet and Chromosome who decided to do some surface feeding near the islands. 

Pair of humpbacks

Humpback with White Island Lighthouse

Once we left our whales behind at the islands, we pressed further offshore until we came across another large gathering of humpback whales. These whales consisted of Pinball, Alligator, Zodiac, Satula, Cacophony, and Stance. Eventually it was time to head home. On our way in we passed a trio of sleepy humpbacks, Clamp, Spoon, and Patches. Even closer to home we were stopped yet again by a very surface active humpback. This whale continuously flipper slapping, as well as breaching and tail lobbing. Such an incredible way to end an amazing morning!

Flipper slapping humpback

Friday afternoon's whale watch is very difficult to justify with words. It is not often that our afternoon trips have glassy calm sea conditions, but we were fortunate enough to have as much as we ventured offshore. We first happened upon a travelling trio of humpbacks, Grommet, Chromosome, and Thistle.

Chromosome tail breaching

These whales were making good pace as they travelled towards the east. As we were tracking with them. Captain Jonathan noticed something out off of our starboard side. After confirming it was exactly what we were hoping it was, we moved off in that direction. As we slowly approached, we were able to get some incredible looks at this LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE!!!

BEAUTIFUL TURTLE

What an absolute privilege it was for us to happen upon this turtle! It had been two years since we had seen a sea turtle aboard the Granite State, so our crew is ALWAYS on the hunt for them when we have conditions as nice as we did this afternoon. Unfortunately, this turtle decided to stay down in the depths after our first few minutes with it, but a truly unforgettable encounter for both crew and passengers alike. Now, you might be thinking the trip couldn't get much better after that, but you would be wrong. We spent almost the next two hours sitting idle with our engines off as we were completely surrounded by a wide variety of marine life. To give you the "play-by-play" would be like writing a novel, so I'll sum it up as best I can. The vast majority of the animals we had surrounding us were humpback whales, including Fan, Valley, Orion, Clamp, Zodiac, Spika, Spoon, Stance, Patches, Satula, Cacophony, and several more that we never had the time to make it to. At any point during the evening, these whales were either sleeping, flipper slapping, or surface feeding. We had a pod of white-sided dolphins move through the area, as well as several harbor seals, a grey seal, and a couple of ocean sunfish. 

Sunfish chasing shearwaters

Surface feeding humpback

Fan diving

We really never know what is awaiting us anytime we leave the harbor. The density and diversity of life that we encountered this trip was staggering, but more than that, humbling. Gatherings such as these have everything to do with the abundance of food beneath the surface for these animals. This trip will almost certainly have a special place in all our hearts for the years to come.