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!
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