July 11-12, 2026

On all of our trips this weekend, we were fortunate to see a fin whale and multiple humpback whales! On Saturday morning, we first watched a fin whale before spending time with two humpback whale pairs: Patches and Kraken, then Scylla and Fan. 

Fin whale

Pair of humpback whales feeding

Pair of humpback whales

We also watched Clamp meander through the water associated with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Clamp with dolphins

Some of our whales were feeding, some napping, all great looks. In the afternoon, our humpback whales included Quote and Kraken. 

Quote diving

Once again, bouts of surface feeding activity were sprinkled in as we spent time watching these wild animals. So impressive to witness!

Mid-lobtail!

On Sunday morning, the first whale of the trip was a fin whale. We then spent time with six humpback whales - Clamp, Satula, Cacophony, Kraken, Fan, and Scylla. We even found an ocean sunfish! 

Fin whale

Whale spout!

Filtering humpback whale

Ocean sunfish

On Sunday afternoon, we checked out two pairs of humpback whales. First was Fan and Scylla, then Valley and Quote. Pairing of whales can be mesmerizing to watch as they synchronize their movements. We wrapped up the weekend with a fin whale cruising through the area.

Humpback whales

Pair of humpback whales

Diving humpback whale

Fin whale

July 9-10, 2026

 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. :)

July 8, 2026

This afternoon, we ventured out to see where the whales were at after yesterday's stormy weather. Storms often will push the bait fish around, and hence the whales. We started off by getting great looks at an ocean sunfish (possibly the same fish that was seen a couple of days ago!) and then found a very cooperative minke whale! 

Minke whale

As we were watching this one, we saw a huge fin whale not too far away. We headed over there, and waited, and waited, and waited, but after 15+ minutes of not seeing this whale return to the surface, we went back to our friendly minke whale. 

Minke whale

We spent a little more time with this creature before deciding to check out some other areas and eventually head home. During the trip, I talked about minke whale sounds, including the "Star Wars" sound produced by dwarf minke whales off Australia! Check out this video of a dwarf minke calling off Austraila! 

July 6, 2026

Monday's sightings had a little bit of variety on both trips. In the morning, we saw two ocean sunfish, Highlighter, the humpback whale, a harbor seal, and two minke whales. The calm seas certainly added to the beauty of each of these sightings. 

Ocean sunfish

Highlighter actively feeding!

Highlighter diving

Minke whale in a glass-like ocean!

On Monday afternoon, we did a lot of searching. A lot. Stunning conditions continued, and eventually our persistence paid off. We got a chance to check out an ocean sunfish, two minke whales, and a nursery pod of approximately 100 Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

Afternoon ocean sunfish

Minke whale

Minke whale surfacing

Atlantic white-sided dolphins; so cute!

The weather is keeping us on land all day tomorrow (Tuesday), so we'll see what the wildlife has in store for us when we get back out on the water.

July 4-5, 2026

Hoping everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July celebrations! Our first stop of the day on Saturday morning was on a fin whale. Unbeknownst to us, this whale had other plans. After waiting and waiting for this whale to resurface, we decided to press on. Instead, further offshore, we spent time with four humpback whales, including a trio napping! Individuals included Clamp, Fan, Spoon, and Quote.

Humpback whales diving (above and below)

Pair of humpback whales

During our time offshore, we also saw two ocean sunfish and a harbor seal. 

Ocean sunfish

Harbor seal checking us out

On Saturday afternoon, there were no marine mammals on our side. Whether checking areas where whales have been or stopping for one to resurface, whale gazing was not working. We look forward to seeing our passengers again for another try!

On Sunday morning, we checked out two of the at least four ocean sunfish we sighted during our travels. 

Ocean sunfish

We also got a chance to watch three different humpback whales - Highlighter, Valley, and Pinball. Highlighter and Pinball were chowing down on bait fish as we witnessed some impressive lunge feeding bouts, and even an unexpected breach from Pinball! 

Highlighter feeding at the surface

Valley

Pinball

On Sunday afternoon, we started with Pinball, who was sporadically lunge feeding. So incredible to watch whales be whales; wild and beautiful. 

Pinball!

During our travels home, we found a pair of humpback whales, Fan and Clamp. A pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins surrounded these two whales. What a way to wrap up a day on the open ocean!

Dolphins and humpbacks 💙 (above and below)