August 12-13, 2021

 8/12/2021

We were able to be the heat and humidity by escaping to Jeffery’s Ledge on Thursday. We spotted a minke whale before finding four different humpbacks, including our adoptable whale Pinball! We also saw Jawa, Valley, and Sword.

Humpback whale diving

We returned to the same area in the afternoon and found a total of 11 humpbacks! We came across Pinball again before spending time with about 30 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. We then spotted a whale named Pixar traveling with Tripod. These whales were all very busy below the surface, looking for schools of fish.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

After leaving these two to feed, we came across a trio of whales: Quote, Chromosome, and Spoon. Spoon and Chromosome have been traveling together for quite some time now, and they must love feeding together! We got a quick peek at another adoptable whale, Owl, before finding another trio! This group consisted of Sword, Valley, and Jawa. The final whale we saw on Thursday was Clamp.

Humpback whale diving

8/13/2021

Cooler air and calm seas greeted us on Friday morning. Before we made it to the ledge, we had several species sighted, including a harbor seal, minke whale, and two pods of harbor porpoise. We stopped to look at an ocean sunfish before coming across our first humpback whale, Clamp. While we were looking at Clamp, Captain Johnathan spotted a blue shark! We were able to get some great looks at this shark before our wake scared it below the surface.

Blue Shark

Pinball was spotted next, and after spending some time with her, we found Owl, napping away! She was still resting when we moved on to our next pair of humpbacks, Spoon and Chromosome. These two were sleeping as well! After leaving these two sleepy whales, we found even more sleepy whales! Valley, Sword, and Jawa were spotted next, and they slowly drifted towards Owl, who was still napping! This is probably the longest nap I’ve ever seen a whale take.

Owl napping

As we turned to leave for home, Owl abruptly woke up from her nap, and aggressively dove below the surface. She surprised us (and the trio of napping whales) by breaching several times! She continued with some lob-tailing and flipper slapping, and we were so sad to have to leave her!

                                        

The calm conditions continued in the afternoon, and we spotted an ocean sunfish shortly after leaving the harbor. This fish was HUGE! It was great to see it so close. We also spotted a minke whale and another sunfish before making it to the ledge.

Ocean sunfish

The first whale we came across was Owl. She was a little more active this time, taking dives and searching for food. Unfortunately, the area was fairly crowded with recreational boats and other whale watches, so we decided to sit still and let the whales come to us. We got a quick look at a whale named Quill before finding Pixar and Tripod, who surprised us with breaches and flipper slapping!

Spoon and Chromosome were still in the area together; best buds! We also spotted Frost traveling with Patches. If anyone has a brochure for Granite State Whale Watch, Patches is the whale on the front!

We got a quick look at a gray seal before finding Pinball again. She surfaced right next to the boat, and we didn’t even know she was near us! What a pleasant surprise, and a great ending to the work week!