Thursday, August 14

The ocean effects from the storm that passed over us the other day were very much felt this morning. As the day progressed the large swells subsided as our passengers were not deterred with some of the added excitement of the ocean today. The whales continue to be seen inside of Jeffreys Ledge as even a little wind and waves proved to be no match for these massive mammals. During both of our trips today we caught a few quick glimpses of some Minke whales scooting about but the main focus was on all the Fin whales still around.

One of our afternoon Minke whales

This morning we were certainly tested in the art of patience. Some of the whales we attempted to get looks at were staying down for well over 12+ minutes and taking minimal breaths at the surface. Add in them constantly darting around and it was quite the challenge.

Such graceful creatures even in the extra wave action today

Eventually we got a chance to check out some of these extremely large whales. Even with the extra motion of the ocean it was just us humans that seemed to be the ones that felt the "leftover" ocean energy.

Fin whale

So much of this Fin whale's body is visible at the surface. Fin whales are literally GINORMOUS!

Pretty sure a few folks this morning would rather have been a whale swimming through the waves with such ease rather than being on a boat rocking side to side and back and forth. Our whales however just continued to act as if it was just another day on the water; for them it really is.

We even checked out a whale "sleeping" just below the surface as we rocked and rolled on top of the waves. 5 Fin whales were seen on each of our trips and we were even lucky enough to check out at least one pair on both of our trips today! Our morning pair was Dingle and #0402.

Fin whale #0402 and Dingle on the move this morning

These two whales were definitely doing some traveling but we managed to keep up as they dashed around the area. This afternoon we were privy to not only one but two pairs of Fin whales! This time however, Dingle was nowhere in sight. Instead we found Crow on the move with a whale and later on #0402 spending time with a different whale!

Our first afternoon pair of Fin whales; Crow and friend!

Single Fin whale. Unfortunately this whale was entangled at some point of it's life. The linear gray lines you can see on this whale's body are the scars created by lines cinched to it's body. So glad to see, and know, this whale has survived such the ordeal!

Whales can not only constantly move in and/or out of our area at any moment in time but can also start and stop a particular association in a matter of minutes. It is so fascinating to watch their effortless movements as we got the chance to spend time with so many of the second largest animals ever to live on earth today!

Fin whale pair #2 for the afternoon; #0402 on the move with a different whale!

Dorsal fin of the whale swimming alongside #0402 this afternoon