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.

August 23, 2024

 The whole of Friday can be summed up as "fin whale soup." Our morning trip consisted of us traveling between four different fin whales spending time in the same general area. 

Fin whale exhaling

Fin whale diving

After spending time with three of these whales, we made our way over to the fourth before we had to turn for home, and on our last surfacing, this whale was joined by one of the other fin whales and the area as they became associated!

Fin whale "tail rise"

As we ventured offshore in the afternoon, we didn't have to travel quite as far as the morning before we encountered a fin whale traveling by itself. We got some quick looks at this whale before also encountering a nearby ocean sunfish. 

Ocean sunfish dorsal fin

After getting some looks at our sunfish, we continued further until coming into an area with four more fin whales! Almost all of these whales were very busy chasing down schools of fish, indicated by them constantly circling around left and right as they spent time near the surface.

Fin whale diving

Fin whale

August 21-22, 2024

 Wednesday morning was filled with Atlantic white-sided dolphins and fin whales! The fin whale were staying down for a while but not moving too far between dives. We saw a fin whale that was seen a few days ago, as evidenced by its distinctive speckling which is somewhat unusual. 

Fin whale with Mt. Agamenticus in the background

Speckled fin whale

The dolphin pod included lots of calves, and one dolphin that was sporting a bright yellow tag on its fin! Stranding teams will tag some dolphins with ID tags after they release them back into the wild. We will send this image along to the stranding teams and hopefully find out where it had stranded. Great to see that it is doing well!

Wednesday afternoon, we saw a basking shark before finding a couple of wiggly humpback whales. The humpbacks may have been juveniles and we are still trying to figure out who they are!

We also saw a cooperative fin whale before heading back to the harbor.

Thursday morning, we spent time with two fin whales who were alternating surfacings. A third fin whale was spotted off in the distance.

We continued on to find a fourth fin whale before it was time to head back to shore.