The final trip of the season could not have been better. The calm seas, crisp clear horizon and warm sunny rays made time out on the open ocean a perfect combination. Add in some wonderful whale sightings and it was a wonderful way to wrap up another successful whale watching season. Our first stop of the day was only a couple of miles beyond the harbor. We had come across a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
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Splashing waves as our dolphins swam at the surface |
The best part of this sighting was that this group was such a tight-knit group, and with the calm water, the visual of watching these agile mammals was incredible. There were about 60 of these whales circling all around the boat.
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Such beautiful conditions to watch these dolphins! |
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Dolphins were swimming all around the boat! |
It was perhaps some of the best looks at Atlantic white-sided dolphins we have had all season and a phenomenal way to start our day.
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Another snapshot of a few Atlantic-white sided dolphins |
As we pressed on offshore we spotted a single spout out in the distance. Low and behold it was our same yet-to-be-named Humpback whale we have seen in the area over the past week.
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First Humpback whale of the day |
As we watched this whale swim in circles we spotted a pair of spouts just beyond some boats. We ventured in that direction and quickly realized there were actually three whales in this group. A trio of Humpback whales were traveling through the area. After a few looks we were able to match up their tail patterns to a few familiar whales and a newcomer to the area. Putter, Shuffleboard and Tumbleweed were spending time with one another.
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Putter |
It has been well over a month since we last saw Putter and we have yet to see Tumbleweed in our area all season. What a great find.
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Tumbleweed, Putter and Shuffleboard cruising around together |
We did some more searching and found another Humpback whale on our travels home. Turns out it was Repeat, a whale we saw last month, but have not seen recently in our area. Fantastic sightings, fantastic weather, and fantastic passengers to wrap up a pretty wonderful time out on the ocean this year. Thanks to all who joined us and shared in each and every special experience searching and watching some absolutely incredible massive mammals of the sea this season. We look forward to having you share in more moments in 2015!