September 4, 2024

Wednesday was another lovely day on the ocean with some of the calmest seas we have seen all season. The glassy water led to us finding an ocean sunfish, followed by three blue sharks finning at the surface. The first shark was actually rubbing up on a branch! Although I had never seen this behavior from a blue shark before, we learned from Capt. Jonathan that blue sharks get the nickname “blue dogs” because of their affection for sticks!

A bit later, we found a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins as well as a fin whale that was taking long dives. 

We spotted a humpback whale in the area so we moved closer to that whale and got a couple of looks at this whale’s magnificent tail as it dove. The whale wasn’t one of our regulars, but we were able to eventually identify it as Decimal, a whale we have seen in prior years, but this was our first sighting of it this year.

Then, in the distance, we saw some more blows. There, we found a pair of fin whales swimming slowly at the surface, and one even “logged” at the surface for a bit! Slow-moving, floating fin whales are rare to see as they are usually very fast and stealthy!

We saw a couple more fin whales with some Atlantic white-sided dolphins before heading for home.

 

On our way home, we saw a lot of splashing in the distance. This turned out to be a huge pod of maybe 200 Atlantic white-sided dolphins who were very active! Some were leaping 10-20 feet out of the water, others were tail-slapping, and then a pair of dolphins jumped out right next to the bow! Incredible! Maybe they were practicing for the next summer Olympics in the sport of synchronized jumping!

I can’t wait to see what the weekend brings!

September 2, 2024

Happy Labor Day! Goodness, time goes by fast. We have officially started our fall whale-watching schedule. Our trips run each Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through Columbus Day weekend. Today's trip was full of fin whales. We sighted nine to be exact; so many of these massive mammals! We also had a quick sighting of a blue shark. 

Awesome look at a fin whale surfacing

Fin whale

Blue shark barely making its presence known

Check out some of the images below to see how unique each fin whale dorsal fin can be. These whales are so impressive.

August 31 - September 1, 2024

The last day of August brought us a couple surprises. We have been venturing to Jeffreys Ledge where whales have been the past few weeks. On Saturday, we had a report of whale activity well inshore of Jeffreys Ledge. We came across a humpback whale named Limpet. This whale was circling the area, allowing for some fun looks as it darted here and there. 

Humpback whale

On Saturday afternoon, the forecasted wind was waiting for us, and so were the whales. We first started with a humpback whale that has yet to be identified. As we came into the area a fin whale surfaced in the distance. These whales were spending a lot of time subsurface, so we decided to sneak away. Not far away we once again got to spend time with Limpet the humpback whale. To our surprise, Limpet started to tail breach then lobtail! Whales are wild, so it is always unexpected when they decide to shift their behaviors.

Tail breach!

Humpback whale lobtailing (above and below)

As we were venturing offshore on Sunday, we came across a fin whale. While the wave action was moving, the whale was not moving far or fast. 

Fin whale

We also attempted to check out a second fin whale we spotted during our travels, but that whale was being a bit more elusive. September has arrived so stay tuned for more updates as we move into our fall trips.

August 30, 2024

Friday was a fin whale-fantastic kind of day. As we made our way out to Jeffreys Ledge we passed by a few fin whales, found plenty of them offshore, and even passed by a few more on our travels home. We sighted at least 14 different fin whales during our travels! 

Fin whale

You can see the white lower jaw!

Fin whale diving

While most of these whales were moving around independently, we saw three different pairs and even a trio moving together. As if that wasn't enough, we even had a sighting of approximately 75 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Wow, what a day.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

August 27, 2024

 After experiencing heavy rainfall the night before, our trip started off in a very foggy way as we made our way offshore. We had quite the distance to travel, and in that time we passed by a blue shark, grey seal and a number of jumping bluefin tuna. As we began reaching our furthest points from shore, all fog surrounding us burned off and we were treated to glassy calm seas and a clear blue sky! We started our whale watching with a lone fin whale spending some time circling the general area. 

Surfacing fin whale

After spending a while with this whale, we were seeing plenty of spouts a ways further in the distance, so we pressed on to investigate. While transiting, we passed by two more solo fin whales before we reached a pair of fin whales traveling together. Our pair was on a deeper dive, and we thought they had resurfaced nearby, but it turns out a TRIO of fin whales had also moved into the area. As we moved over to spend time with these whales, we were treated to another quick look at a blue shark that was just beneath the surface!

Fin whale trio

Subsurface blue shark (click on image for better look)

We were able to sit still for a good long while as our fin whale trio swam circles around us, continuously surfacing near our boat as we enjoyed these beautiful whales, and all the while, a nearby minke whale kept surfacing as well. 

Two fin whales surfacing

Minke whale diving

Such perfect surface conditions gave way to distant splashing that we moved to investigate as soon as our trio of fin whales decided to move on. After making our way over, this splashing turned out to be a pod of around twenty five Atlantic white-sided dolphins! The glassy calm ocean gave us looks at these dolphins beneath the surface that were just as good as seeing them above the surface. 

Dolphins surfacing

Dolphin exhaling

As if we weren't already spoiled enough, before we made our turn back towards home, we were treated to a beautiful sendoff by a pair of humpback whales that had moved into the area. 

Humpback whale diving

When all was said and done, we got to see/spend time with more than 10 large whales (at least 8 fin, 1 minke, and 2 humpbacks!) and a very acrobatic group of white-sided dolphins. August has been amazing to us this year for sightings, we eagerly await to see what September brings as it rapidly approaches!

August 26, 2024

 Monday was as calm as the ocean could ever be! And we lucked out with the timing of a couple thunderstorms- one passing by just before we boarded, and another on its way as we arrived back at the dock! The calm seas made for perfect conditions for viewing marine life, including a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

We got a quick look at a blue shark in passing before finding a lone fin whale.

As we approached Jeffreys Ledge, we could see multiple blows! At first, there appeared to be a group of several fin whales together. Then a pair of humpback whales surface. Before we knew it, we were watching a group of five humpback whales plus four fin whales all together! Crazy!

On our trip back to shore, we saw a couple more blows, likely from fin whales, in the distance, as well as more Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Great day!

August 24-25, 2024

The conditions were beautiful as we spent time on the water on Saturday. Both trips provided minimal wind and calm seas for searching, and finding, wildlife. On Saturday morning we came across a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. These toothed whales were cruising through the water! 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

Further offshore, we saw at least nine different fin whales. Some we passed as we made our way to Jeffreys Ledge. Others were constantly changing direction, being sighted around the boat. 

Fin whales are so large!

Fin whale

We also spent time with a humpback whale. Two other humpback whales were around, but they were being elusive in their movements. 

Humpback whale tail

While heading for home we passed by a couple more pods of dolphins. On Saturday afternoon, barely a mile from the harbor we checked out an ocean sunfish!

Ocean sunfish

My sincerest apologies to a couple on the morning trip who was soooo interested in seeing an ocean sunfish (next time!). Offshore we passed by another ocean sunfish, before spending time with two different fin whales. 

Fin whale

Diving fin whale

We also saw a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. The day wrapped up with a humpback whale named New Jersey!

Distant dolphins

Humpback whale diving

Sunday's weather was just as stunning as Saturday's. Calm seas can be a perfect backdrop for spotting all sorts of marine life, and that's exactly what happened. On our morning trip, we started the day with a fin whale followed by an ocean sunfish. 

Fin whale

Ocean sunfish

We then watched two humpback whales, Mostaza and Limpet. These whales were being pretty mellow, as Mostaza was seen napping most of the time at the surface. 

Humpback whales

Not far from these whales were a pod of toothed whales. However, once we got closer, we realized it was a mixed pod consisting of mostly Atlantic white-sided dolphins and a handful of Common dolphins! Wow. 

Common dolphin

The sighting became even more impressive when the dolphins and the humpback whales became associated with each other. 

Humpback whale surrounded by dolphins

All this action, and we weren't done yet. During our travels home we sighted a smooth hammerhead shark. MIND BLOWN. 

Oh my gosh, a hammerhead shark!!

Hammerhead

Hammerhead (again!)

Hammerhead sharks are not a type of shark typically sighted in our area; they prefer warmer water. None of us on the crew has ever seen one here in the Gulf of Maine. Insane. To add a few more sprinkles to our already unbelievable sightings, we got a quick glimpse of a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle and a blue shark. 

Turtle shell

Turtle!

Blue shark

On Sunday afternoon more fun marine life continued. Our first stop was on a basking shark. These sharks are the second-largest sharks in the world and are awesome to check out. 

Basking shark dorsal fin

Basking shark

We also saw two fin whales swimming around while we checked out a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Actually, we saw at least three different pods of dolphins during our time offshore! 

Dolphin

Dolphin returning from a sky-high jump in the air!

Sightings wrapped up as we spent time with two different humpback whales, New Jersey and Limpet. Marine life sure has a way of taking our breath away, and today was one of those days.