July 20-21, 2024

Saturday morning, we briefly stopped on a basking shark before making our way to Jeffreys Ledge. Once on the ledge, we came across Footfall the humpback whale and a fin whale. 

Humpback whale filtering saltwater out of its mouth

Fin whale

We also checked out a large ocean sunfish. On our travels home, a few fin whales were sighted along with a quick look at humpback whales Reflection and her 2024 calf. The calf even surprised us with a couple of tail breaches. 

Ocean sunfish

Tail breach!

On Saturday afternoon, our sightings included two pairs of fin whales. They circled the area, and we got an awesome look as one of our pairs swam right past the boat! 

Fin whale (above and below)

The trip also included an ocean sunfish; always a fun sight!

Ocean sunfish subsurface

Ocean conditions on Sunday were about as perfect as you could get; calm and clear. On Sunday morning, we sighted two ocean sunfish, a quick look at a basking shark, and five fin whales. 

Ocean sunfish

Basking shark dorsal fin

At one point, we watched a pair of fin whales become three, all synchronizing their movements together. 

Fin whales (above and below) - look at that ocean!

Sunday afternoon was a special one. A "history in the making" kind of special. For the first time in Granite State history, we saw TWO species of sea turtles during our trip. Our first sighting of the trip was a leatherback sea turtle! This is the first time all season we have sighted a sea turtle, and leatherbacks are the largest variety!

Leatherback sea turtle!

As we made our way out to Jeffreys Ledge, in such pristine conditions, we saw a minke whale, a couple of basking sharks, three ocean sunfish, and a pod of ~150 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. 

Afternoon ocean sunfish

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Once on the ledge, we checked out a pair of fin whales and even a quick glance at a blue shark. 

Fin whales

Then we spotted another sea turtle. This time it was a loggerhead sea turtle! The crew was in shock; TWO sea turtles, one trip, and beautiful looks. Wow. We always say we never really know what we are going to see when we leave the harbor. We truly mean it. Thank you, wildlife.

Loggerhead sea turtle