Saturday morning was breezier than expected. However, while the waves were rocking and rolling, the whales moved seamlessly through the water. We encountered a trio of humpback whales - Spoon, Chromosome, and Fan.
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Three humpback whales at the surface
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| Spoon |
There was another whale in the area, but we continued moving with the group. Turns out the other humpback whale, Ravine, joined in the fun, and we witnessed our group of three become four!
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Humpback whale
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| Four humpback whales! |
On our travels home, we did a few quick loops around a basking shark carcass surrounded by Wilson's storm petrels. By Saturday afternoon, the wind had slacked off a bit. Our first stop was on a fin whale, followed by an ocean sunfish.
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Fin whale
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| Ocean sunfish |
After some fun looks, we ended up seeing six humpback whales.
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Humpback whale
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| Humpback whales at the surface |
Individuals included Ravine, Pinball, Chromosome, Spoon, Fan, and Tripod! Each trip is unique, each day is unique, and every moment spent on the water is a memorable one!
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Pinball
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| Humpback diving with the I-95 bridge between Maine and New Hampshire in the background! |
Sunday continued with plenty of marine life to check out. On Sunday morning, almost all the whales we came across were sleeping. Whales need sleep, too. Why not enjoy them in beautiful conditions!
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| Humpback whale pair |
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| Humpback whale |
We spent time watching Milkyway, Valley, Ravine, Clamp, Spoon, and Fan, all in pairs, and all napping at some point!
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| Humpback whale diving with the Isles of Shoals in the background |
Ravine and Clamp had some additional "friends" as a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins was milling around as the baleen whales slept. What a cool interaction to witness!
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| Humpback whale with dolphins lollygagging around |
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| Can you find the humpback whale in the mix of dolphins? |
Along with our humpback whale sightings, we also watched one of the mother-calf pairs of fin whales we've seen a few times this season move through the area. Gosh, fin whale calves are big! Our morning ended with an ocean sunfish.
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Fin whale pair
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| Ocean sunfish |
On Sunday afternoon, we were no doubt in the right place at the right time. We started with Satula, the humpback whale, moving around the tuna fleet. We were about to continue on when the whales came to us. Satula surfaced nearby, and moments later, so did Pinball. Within a few minutes, Clamp also moved into the area. We were surrounded by these three humpback whales. They were constantly circling around us, creating a few bubble clouds, and surfacing in every direction. What incredible views of these marine mammals.
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Satula diving
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| Pinball |
As if that wasn't enough, we also had a brief look at a fin whale and a minke whale that popped up while we spent time offshore. It was another great few days of sightings. Thanks, whales!
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Fin whale diving
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