Sunday June 8

Well it is World Oceans Day today and there doesn't seem to be a better way than to celebrate the day with a whale watch. Add in flat calm ocean conditions and you have yourself one of the most perfect days out on the water! Today we got the chance to see 4 Minke whales, 5 Fin whales and our first sighting of a Basking shark this season! On our way offshore we even had an unexpected sighting...

A cropped photo of a submarine on its way towards land; gotta stay far enough away from these guys!

The gorgeous conditions made for incredible conditions to see into the water to gain an even greater appreciation of the size and sleekness of everything we spent time with today.

Our first whale of the day, a Minke whale

Once we got to Jeffreys Ledge we were very excited when we stopped on our first Fin whale. It was #0802, a known female. Most of our whales today were just circling around the area giving us the chance to get some spectacular looks at a few of the second largest whales in the world.

 Fin whale #0802

Such fantastic conditions for watching whales today!

Not far from this whale was another Fin whale. Once we made our way over to this other whale our excitement continued to grow as it was a whale that is quite the fan favorite for us on the Granite State: Crow the Fin whale!

Crow!!!

This whale was first documented in the Gulf of Maine in 1987 making this animal at least 27 years old.

Check out the look we got as Crow came up to the surface at one point. Can to spot his flippers in the photos above and below?

Wow!

We checked out a few other Fin whales on the move before we needed to head for home including this whale below, as it cruised right alongside us.

Another one of our Fin whales of the day

On the way home low and behold while we were less than 6 miles from home (we were already inside the Isles of Shoals!) there was a massive dorsal fin at the surface. It was a Basking shark! Our first Basking shark for the 2014 season and so close to home! We couldn't pass up the chance to check this creature out and we were certainly glad we did. This shark had no problem with us slowly moving up near it. So much so that at one point while we idled nearby the shark swam right in towards us giving all of our passengers a good look at just how large one of the second largest sharks in the world can really be.

Incoming Basking shark!

The head of this Basking shark with its dorsal fin just barely above the water

What a fantastic day out on the water with some incredible looks at all kinds of marine life including the second largest mammal and the second largest shark in the world!