Saturday morning the ocean was a bit more active than anticipated. The extra wind was accentuating the waves. We attempted to check out two different minke whales, but we were not having much luck. We briefly stopped by Boon Island and the seal colony before once again going in search of more whales.
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Seals at Boon Island
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Further offshore we found a group of ~20 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. These whales seemed to enjoy swimming through the waves!
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Atlantic white-sided dolphins
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We ended the trip with two fin whales, both recognizable "friends" with the Blue Ocean Society, having first being sighted in our area in 2007 and 2009!
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Fin whale spout
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Fin whale
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The wind and waves started to subside Saturday afternoon and we ended up checking out five humpback whales.
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Diving humpback whale (above and below)
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These individuals were darting around, including some familiar patterns of Pinball, Satula, Tripod and Dross.
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Whale spout
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Sunday was a special day. Sometimes, everything seems to line up and Mother Nature works her magic. Not to say each day doesn't hold its own memorable moments, but even the crew was taken aback today. On the morning trip, we were treated to some great looks at humpback whales (10+ in the area) and a pod of ~100 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Conditions were stunning to enjoy these wild creatures.
One of the humpback whales, Zodiac, decided to be quite active. This whale started breaching in the distance and remained doing so once we maneuvered into the area.
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A breaching whale, even from a distance, is impressive!
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Whale breach!
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Flipper slapping
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Another breach!
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The icing on the cake was the SEA TURTLE! A Kemp's Ridley turtle, the smallest of the sea turtles(!), was seen. We can go
entire seasons without seeing a sea turtle. Wow. Just wow.
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Kemp's Ridley sea turtle!!!!!!
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The afternoon did not disappoint. The trip started with incredible looks at a pod of ~150 Atlantic white-sided dolphins zipping through the water.
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Pile of dolphins!
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This tight-knit pod was speedy and such a special sight to see slip through the water with such grace.
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Atlantic white-sided dolphin (above and below)
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We then saw at least nine humpback whales, sprinkled all around as we moseyed through the area enjoying them surfacing in all directions around us.
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Afternoon humpback whale flipper slapping
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