Happy July! Summer is in full swing and so is the whale activity! On Monday morning, we saw five fin whales and three humpback whales.
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| Humpback whale |
The sleek fin whales were moving around a good bit, but with a little patience, we got some great looks.
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| Fin whale |
Our humpback whales included two we have seen earlier this season, and a new visitor for the year! On Monday afternoon, plenty of baleen whales continued, with over 10 fin whales seen during the trip, including a mother-calf pair AND a group of four fin whales!! Fin whales are stunning and so impressive!
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Fin whales moving through the beautiful ocean
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Mother-calf fin whale pair!!
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| Three (of the four) fin whales associated together! |
We also spent time with a humpback whale, along with a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins and a basking shark.
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Humpback whale in glass calm seas
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Dolphin
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| Tip of a basking shark's dorsal fin |
Tuesday was pristine. You couldn't ask for better weather conditions - almost flat calm seas and visibility for miles on both trips. Add in some incredible wildlife, and it was a day to remember, for all sorts of reasons. As one of our passengers said, our morning trip was "bountiful", and it truly was. We ended up in an area where we were surrounded by whales!
What a special treat to be privy to so much marine life moving around us. In total, there were five humpback whales (New Jersey, Picket, Springboard, Elephant, and Dome), multiple small pods of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, a pair of fin whales and two basking sharks. Stunning sights!
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Humpback whales
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Fin whale pair
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| Atlantic white-sided dolphins |
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| Basking shark |
On the afternoon trip, sightings went to a whole other level. We first started with a pair of humpback whales.
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| Humpback whale |
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| Humpback whale pair |
Close by was an ocean sunfish and as we moved further offshore, we saw four fin whales in total.
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Ocean sunfish
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| Fin whale |
And then there was a BLUE WHALE!!!
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| BLUE WHALE |
Many thanks to our whale watching friends to the north, they reported a blue whale in the area, and it was still around. OH MY GOSH!!! The last time a blue whale was seen by the
Granite State was in 2018! What a rare sighting, in the most beautiful conditions possible, and a life whale for many of our crew. The sighting is still giving us goosebumps. Literally, the largest animal on earth (EVER!), was in our area. Who knows where this whale may go next, but for a brief moment in time it visited us, and we are forever grateful. Wow.
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BLUE WHALE
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