July 2

We left the dock today with little wind and grey skies looming above.  We were unsure as to how the weather would be throughout the trip, but where it wasn't raining, we were anxious to search for whales. 

We headed to Southern Jeffrey's Ledge where whales had been over the last couple of days, but really did not know what to expect.  Whales move around constantly searching for food, so every trip is truely a new adventure. 

After searching for most of the morning with no whales in sight, we started to worry that we may come up short.  We travel to as many different areas of Jeffrey's as we possibly can to increase our chances of seeing whales and as we changed direction we started to see a few pelagic birds in the area.  With a few Wilson Storm Petrel's flying around and spotting a Greater Shearwater, we were hopeful that our luck would soon change.

Shortly afterwards, a disturbance in the water was noticed ahead of us.  We had found a Minke whale, and it had a visible blow!  Minke whales being smaller among the baleen whales, it can sometimes be difficult to visualize their spout.  This Minke whale was taking short dives, allowing our passengers to get great views along both sides of the boat. 

Minke Whale

Minke whale swimming by the boat

We were soon running out of time and as we turned for home, a fog bank started to move in.  The wind direction changed and our ride home turned out to be a bit bumpier than anticipated.   Thank you to the passengers who joined us today.  Mother Nature always has a way of keeping us on our toes.