Thursday, June 25

This morning we had perfect conditions to look for whales. The ocean was so calm that any disturbance on the surface could potentially be marine life. We ended up seeing 4 Minke whales as we got some looks at a few of them as they traveled around the area.

First Minke whale of the day

We also got a quick look at an Ocean Sunfish before we were back underway. Soon we were checking out the surrounding area and saw a spout out in the distance. Once we arrived on scene we came across a "small" Fin whale. It was a calf! But where was mom? It appeared that we had been nominated to "babysit" this calf as Mom was below the water for more than 18 minutes before she surfaced right next to the boat.

The white lower jaw is very visible as this Fin whale calf has that jawline above the waterline!

The calf on other hand had a completely different plan of attack. We sat there for the entire time watching this calf swim circles around the boat, roll over, swim upside-down, witnessing just how stunning these whales are in their natural habitat.

Calf surfacing so close to the boat!

The tail and tailstock of our Fin whale calf as this whale swims upside-down just under the water

We stayed put until the calf was done holding us hostage and moved back alongside mom. So incredible to watch the effortless movements whales have in their watery world and something we most definitely do not experience all that often. Perhaps sometimes maybe these mammals want to check us out as much as we want to see them.

Mom finally coming up from the depths of the ocean to apparently check us out too!

Fin whale mom, a whale first seen on Jeffreys Ledge in 2004

The trip ended with some very nice looks at Pinball the Humpback whale not far from our mother/calf Fin whale pair.

Humpback whale exhaling

Pinball surrounded by such calm ocean conditions

This afternoon we headed back offshore and once again found a few Minke whales. In total we saw 3 Minkes as we made our way towards Jeffreys Ledge. After a bit of searching we saw a spout and once again were excited to see it was Pinball still spending time in the area.

So great to see Pinball again!

A great day to be out in the Gulf of Maine looking at such majestic mammals.

Pinball moving around the area