August 26-27, 2021

 Aug 26 AM

Thursday morning, we headed out on calm seas. The conditions made it easy for us to spot a pod of about ten harbor porpoises. We continued to Jefferys ledge to find several humpback whales. We spent time with Owl before getting a quick glimpse at a pod of about 20 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. We also had Palindrome stop by for a few looks. There were two other humpbacks in the area that we were unable to ID.

Next, we found a sleepy humpback whale named Spoon. She never showed us the underside of her fluke, but thankfully she is pretty recognizable from multiple angles. After leaving Spoon, we found a larger pod of about 50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This pod was more active, and many of the dolphins leaped out of the water as we took off.

We wrapped up our trip with Satula, who we first spotted as he chin breached several times ahead of us. Once we got closer, he continued showing off with a couple of tail breaches. On our way back to the harbor, we cruised through the Isles of Shoals and were able to see a few gray seals close to shore.

Aug 26 PM

The afternoon trip started pretty hot and sticky in the harbor, so it was a relief to head offshore! We first encountered a humpback named Clamp. She gave us some great close-ups! Another humpback whale, named Owl, was spotted in the distance while we were with Clamp.

We spotted flipper slapping and lob tailing in the distance, so we headed in that direction. Once we arrived, the surface activity had ceased, but we found a trio of whales. These whales began napping we were able to see their flippers glowing a green hue in the water. These three whales were Shuffleboard, Frost, and Patches (featured on the Granite State Whale Watch brochure).

The whale we visited was Spoon, who was talking longer dives. Clamp surprised us by popping up and swimming in front of the boat towards Spoon though these two never actually met up. Clamp dove quickly below the surface before Spoon followed a few minutes later. Today was the perfect day to beat the heat on the boat!

Aug 27 AM

Friday morning, we struggled to find large whales but the smaller whales made up for it. We found a group of about 8 Atlantic white-sided dolphins racing around, and then a relaxed pair of ocean sunfish! Sunfish are usually by themselves, but these two seemed to be attracted to each other. The glassy seas made for perfect viewing conditions.

 

We passed by a couple of harbor seals before finding a very cooperative minke whale! Minkes have been a bit elusive this summer, so it was fun to watch one consistently and get some great photos!

Minke whale

A couple more minke whales were in the distance before our mate Matt saw a fin whale spout further out. But this wasn’t just any fin whale. This was a fin whale escorted by a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! Fin whales have been slim pickings this summer, so to make the situation even better, it was a whale that we know! Fin whale #9709 was back! After she dove, all we needed to do was to keep track of the dolphins, as they were tracking her movements from the surface. Being cautious not to get too close to the dolphins, our patience was rewarded when she surfaced right in the pod!

 

Fin whale

Fin whale with dolphins

As we watched the fin whale and dolphins, we noticed a humpback whale nearby. Eventually, we made our way over to where it was last seen, but after 17 minutes of waiting, we never saw it come back up. We headed a bit farther offshore to where some fishing boats had seen a different humpback. We waited over 23 minutes and never saw that whale either! Large whales can hold their breath for an hour, but that is rare in this neighborhood.

 

Aug 27 PM

Friday afternoon’s trip was quite different from the morning. We decided to check out some other areas that hadn’t been covered in a while. We passed just north of the Isles of Shoals and soon found several blows. A single humpback whale and a pair of humpback whales were found!  Before we could even identify all three whales, they got together to form a trio. Jawa, Valley and Sword coordinated their dives as they slowly swam towards the Isles.

 

Humpbacks near Isles of Shoals

A little further east, we found Owl who was doing some feeding! We saw bubble clouds that she was blowing to corral her prey.

 

Owl with Appledore Island

Owl with Boon Island Lighthouse

Exploring some more, we saw a group of tuna moving just below the surface and a minke whale that was acting a bit elusive. Our trek home brought us back to Owl for a few last looks.

Great shearwater paddling toward the boat!

 A distant minke whale rounded out the trip!