Perfect day on the ocean!
This morning we headed out to where whales have been seen
for the past week or so. Sometimes whales will set up shop in the same area for
a bit while the feeding is good, and then unbeknownst to us, they will suddenly
pick up and go. Fortunately, they were still there today! Multiple humpback
whales were sighted in and around the small fleet of tuna boats. One of the tuna boats, “No Limits” was in the
area and just a few days ago made the news as Captain Michelle reeled in a 90-inch
bluefin tuna by herself! Check
out the story here. Girl Power! As
for the whales, we identified several humpbacks including Owl, Badge, Clamp,
Satula, Spoon, Chromosome and Sword.
The afternoon trip started with a bang that just couldn’t be beaten. We saw a pair of humpback whales dive quickly on our way into the area where whales have been seen. Our captain said, “Get your camera ready. They are gonna breach”. I pulled out my camera, took off the lens cap, turned it on, and while I meandered over toward the open window to get ready for the predicted magical breach (that never actually happens), lo and behold; the pair jumped from the water in unison! A double breach! It was magical!
Captain Jonathan has a lot of years of watching whale behavior and predicted this amazing event! I was happily surprised and even happier when I learned that our mate Molly got a photo of it! The pair turned out to be Spoon and Chromosome. Spoon is notorious for being a sleepy, lazy whale, which added even more shock to the rare event. Right after the effort-filled breaches, the pair took a nap while we floated silently (engines off) nearby, watching the sleeping beauties. Other whales seen during the trip included Satula, Clamp, Jawa, Sword, and Frost! Jawa, who was seen checking out our boat a couple of weeks ago, surfaced close to us a couple of times. A minke whale was also spotted in the distance.
Clearing out old papers (COVID activity!) I came across "adoption" papers from the a Whale Adoption Project based in North Falmouth, Mass., from 1992. My two children adopted two humpbacks, "Colt" and "Patches". Just browsing the web, I found a sighting of one of them from a few years ago! Can someone tell me if there is a way to find out if they are still alive and where they might be?? Is there a universal sighting log somewhere?? Just asking. Thanks! Bev
ReplyDeleteHi Bev! Sorry for the delay in response. I just saw your comment now. Both Colt and Patches are still around! They have been seen this year by our colleagues at Center for Coastal Studies! Patches is one of our regulars but we haven't seen him yet this year in our neighborhood. Thanks for checking in!
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