Thursday morning began with us taking a sharp right turn after leaving Rye Harbor as we headed down towards the southernmost point of Jeffrey's Ledge, located just off of Cape Ann, MA. Less than thirty minutes into our trip, our sightings began with a visit from a local celebrity (at least for us on the Granite State), a minke whale that is missing it's dorsal fin. This is a whale that we will usually encounter at least once or twice during our trips each year so it's always great to see that this whale is still in the area. Our crew refers to this whale as Finke (finless minke)!
Finke!
Minke whale (with a dorsal fin)
After continuing from Finke, we had a brief encounter with a second minke whale before ultimately making our way down towards the ledge. Once there, our sightings shifted from minkes to humpbacks! We were able to spend time with three different humpbacks; Clamp, Pinball and Chromosome.
Clamp diving
Storm Petrels feeding where whale had been
Thursday afternoon began with us travelling back down to where we had found success with whales in the morning. Once there, we were first able to spend time with a pair of humpback whales, Fan and Quote. 
Fan and Quote diving
Fan diving in front of Cape Ann
After time well-spent with our first pair of humpbacks, we pressed on to see what else might still be in the area. A little bit of searching revealed a good amount of splashing up ahead of us, which we eventually found to be yet another pair of humpbacks, Valley and Cacophony. These whales were moving around the area with haste, travelling with speed as they were chasing down schools of menhaden just beneath surface. Every now and again, with no warning, these whales would lunge upwards with their mouths wide open as they would feed near the surface!
Humpbacks feeding in distance
These two whales continued this behavior for the entire time we spent with them. Unfortunately, however, time always seems to be fleeting aboard our trips and we had to leave these whales behind for the night, leaving us looking forward to whatever the next day might have in store!
Friday morning gave way to beautiful surface conditions, exactly what we like to see as we are looking for any sort of marine life along the surface. As we approached the ledge, it didn't take long for our first sighting of the trip, a group of about four Atlantic white-sided dolphins. These whales were a bit tricky to get looks at, but fortunately not long after, we were able to find a much larger pod of dolphins.
White-sided dolphin jumping
Dolphins at surface
After an amazing start to the day with these dolphins, we pressed on in search of some larger whales. It didn't take long before we encountered two different humpback whales, Satula and Clamp. Both of these whales were moving in the opposite direction of one another so we got quick looks at each before making our way out towards a few more whales we were seeing in the distance. As we approached, it turns out there was quite the variety of life in this one spot, as we spent time with a finback, minke, and humpback whale!
Humpback diving
Minke diving
Finback diving
As the fin whale and minke whale departed the area, we spent a few minutes with our humpback whale, Alligator, before ultimately making our turn for home.
Friday afternoon proved that even after spending many years working on the water, and seeing several of the same whales on a regular basis, you never know what to expect when you are watching them. After making our way offshore, we started, and spent much of our trip with a pair of humpback whales, Valley and Quote.
Pair of humpback whales
These whales were behaving in a similar way that we had seen the previous day from Valley and Cacophony. They were moving around quite a bit as they were foraging at the ocean's surface, coming up lunging as they work to collect schools of fish. Their movements "seemed" fairly predictable, so as we watched them go on a deeper dive heading in the direction of distant fish jumping at the surface, we turned our engines off and waited for them to surface out in the distance. So we sat, phones and cameras trained out in the distance. That was until fish started jumping right off the side of the boat. Then all of the sudden...
The surface of the ocean looked like an explosion of saltwater, fish and whale as these two humpbacks came up feeding right next to us! The wake created by these whales as they came out of the water rocked our boat like high seas. It was a truly exceptional privilege and sight to behold. We may think that we know what is going to happen next, but I'm appreciative that the ocean and the animals we go searching for are always reminding me to stay humble. Eventually, we said goodbye to these whales and pressed on to see who else might be in the area nearby. A short search allowed us looks at two more humpback whales. Clamp, who was sleeping just at the surface a short ways away, and Cacophony, who was circling around the area.
Cacophony diving
Our trip ended with us travelling home across glassy calm seas and big smiles on our faces. :)
