Sunday, July 19

This morning we began our trip with plenty of fog and haze surrounding us. However, as the morning went on our visibility continued to improve. Once surrounded by much more ideal conditions we were ready to get eyes on some whales. First we came across a Fin whale.

Morning Fin whale in beautiful ocean conditions

This whale was a very familiar whale and one we have yet to see in our area thus far this season. It was Crow and we were super excited to see and spend time with this whale. At first Crow was on the move but after a few patient dives we got some phenomenal looks as this whale was swimming alongside us.

Great look at Crow's chevron pattern and small snippet of its white lower jaw

Crow's dorsal fin

We also saw a Minke whale darting around when we were watching Crow and even 2 Blue sharks during our travels this morning.

Blue shark dorsal fin above the waterline

This afternoon we headed in a slightly different direction and first came into an area where there were at least 4 Minke whales around. We watched all these whales dart back and forth for a bit before pressing on. Not far into our movements we found a spout.

One of the many Minke whales scooting around the boat this afternoon

There was a Fin whale and another familiar fin at that; it was Streak! What a day of finding some familiar animals back in our area.

Streak the Fin whale

We decided to press on and do some more searching for whales after a brief stop near Boon Island to check out the marine life residing there.

Birds and seals on Boon Island

Lastly, before we ended up heading for home (and avoiding the storm clouds) we got a quick glance at a pair of traveling Fin whales.

Storm clouds we were watching closely throughout our afternoon travels

Distant look at our pair of Fin whales on the move (above and below). Note the differently shaped dorsal fins that distinguish each of these whales from one another.