September 12-13, 2020

On Saturday morning we did a lot of searching. I mean a lot! Patience was key and we eventually got a chance to see two humpback whales, one of which was creating numerous bubble clouds. Owl was one of our whales and the other, a new visitor for the season. This familiar pattern belongs to Fan!

Owl the humpback whale

Hello Fan!

During our afternoon trip we checked out Owl, still creating a few bubble clouds. We also checked out a pair of fin whales moving through the area.

Humpback whale surfacing

Afternoon sighting of Owl

Fin whale

Sunday was swell both in the ocean movements and the sightings! The trip started with an ocean sunfish, one of two sighted during the day.

Ocean sunfish

As we made our way offshore our Captain spotted something super special. It was a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle!!!! This is the first Kemp's Ridley I have ever seen.

Kemp's Ridley turtle!!!

Not only was it a sea turtle, a rarity to start, but a life species for me. Oh my goodness!!! After spending a little time with this little friend we were back searching for more marine life.

Just keeping swimming, just keep swimming 😊

We ended up then seeing two different fin whales one of which is identified as Blue Ocean Society's #1015, a fin whale first sighted by Blue Ocean researchers in 2010!

Stealth-like fin whale

Sightings weren't over for then watched three humpback whales. First was Dross. This humpback whale was sighted on our first trip of the 2020 season, on June 20th, and not since! We also saw Fan and a familiar friend, Patches, a boat favorite for sure. What a weekend!

Diving humpback whale

Patches tail breaching

Large humpback whale flipper