Thursday afternoon was an exceptionally glassy one with pristine surface conditions for spotting marine life as we made our way offshore. Before we were able to spot any whales we first took notice in a fin breaking the surface, which belonged to a small ocean sunfish!
Ocean Sunfish
After getting some excellent looks at that sunfish, we continued on further east until we were able to spend time with our first humpback whale of the afternoon, Quote!
Humpback diving
This whale was spending most of her time feeding just beneath the surface, evidenced by the numerous bubble clouds she was blowing all around the boat. After leaving Quote, we were able to do a bit more searching before making our way back towards Rye. As we were about to make our turn for home, we spotted distant blows, which revealed themselves to be a mother/calf pair of humpback whales!
Mom/calf humpback whales
Friday morning began with a long journey out towards the southern end of Jeffrey's Ledge. Once there however, all the pains of traveling were a distant memory as we were able to spend time with three fin whales and five humpback whales!
Fin whale diving
Humpback mom/calf pair
Three of our five humpbacks actually turned out to be all of the adoptable humpback whales through the Blue Ocean Society. Those whales being Satula, Owl, and Pinball! After sitting in one spot with our engine turned off for an extended period of time, we eventually had to say goodbye to our whales and start our journey home. On the way however, we passed by three different minke whales, and finally getting to spend some time with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. A truly exceptional morning of whale watching!
Owl the humpback whale
White-sided dolphin mom/calf
Friday afternoon took us right back to the southernmost regions of Jeffrey's ledge. Once again, we were able to spend time with several different humpback whales, individuals including Pinball, Satula, and Mudskipper and her 2024 calf. These whales were very busy traveling and chasing down schools of fish.
Satula diving
While we were spending time with the humpbacks, we noticed some distant splashing and decided to investigate. That splashing turned into a pod of well over 150 Atlantic white-sided dolphins! This pod was quite mellow as they slowly passed on through the area. We eventually got some last looks at Satula before we made our turn back towards Rye Harbor.
White-sided dolphin surfacing
As we made our way back towards home, we were stopped by three different fin whales. One of them traveling on its own, while the other two were moving as a pair. We were able to get excellent looks at these three whales before continuing along. A beautiful way to end a whale-filled day!
Pair of fin whales
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