July 6, 2026

Monday's sightings had a little bit of variety on both trips. In the morning, we saw two ocean sunfish, Highlighter, the humpback whale, a harbor seal, and two minke whales. The calm seas certainly added to the beauty of each of these sightings. 

Ocean sunfish

Highlighter actively feeding!

Highlighter diving

Minke whale in a glass-like ocean!

On Monday afternoon, we did a lot of searching. A lot. Stunning conditions continued, and eventually our persistence paid off. We got a chance to check out an ocean sunfish, two minke whales, and a nursery pod of approximately 100 Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

Afternoon ocean sunfish

Minke whale

Minke whale surfacing

Atlantic white-sided dolphins; so cute!

The weather is keeping us on land all day tomorrow (Tuesday), so we'll see what the wildlife has in store for us when we get back out on the water.

July 4-5, 2026

Hoping everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July celebrations! Our first stop of the day on Saturday morning was on a fin whale. Unbeknownst to us, this whale had other plans. After waiting and waiting for this whale to resurface, we decided to press on. Instead, further offshore, we spent time with four humpback whales, including a trio napping! Individuals included Clamp, Fan, Spoon, and Quote.

Humpback whales diving (above and below)

Pair of humpback whales

During our time offshore, we also saw two ocean sunfish and a harbor seal. 

Ocean sunfish

Harbor seal checking us out

On Saturday afternoon, there were no marine mammals on our side. Whether checking areas where whales have been or stopping for one to resurface, whale gazing was not working. We look forward to seeing our passengers again for another try!

On Sunday morning, we checked out two of the at least four ocean sunfish we sighted during our travels. 

Ocean sunfish

We also got a chance to watch three different humpback whales - Highlighter, Valley, and Pinball. Highlighter and Pinball were chowing down on bait fish as we witnessed some impressive lunge feeding bouts, and even an unexpected breach from Pinball! 

Highlighter feeding at the surface

Valley

Pinball

On Sunday afternoon, we started with Pinball, who was sporadically lunge feeding. So incredible to watch whales be whales; wild and beautiful. 

Pinball!

During our travels home, we found a pair of humpback whales, Fan and Clamp. A pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins surrounded these two whales. What a way to wrap up a day on the open ocean!

Dolphins and humpbacks 💙 (above and below)

July 2-3, 2026

 Thursday morning really started to feel like summer as a heatwave blanketed the region. We were more than happy to cool off out on the water. Our trip began with a sighting of a humpback whale, Clamp!

Clamp diving

This whale was seen much closer to home than we have been seeing whales, so always a nice surprise when they start to close the gap between us and them as we travel offshore. While we watched Clamp, there was a fin whale that surfaced a ways off in the distance, very focused on travelling as we saw it once and then never again. We eventually moved on from Clamp, shortly after coming across a second humpback whale, Highlighter. This whale definitely wowed us as it displayed surface feeding behavior several times around our boat as we idled at the surface!

Humpback lunge feeding

Humpback belly-up after feeding

After letting Highlighter continue on with its feeding, we encountered one last humpback whale, a smaller individual keeping a low profile. An excellent way to start our Thursday sightings!

Thursday afternoon started with us covering over the same areas we had found luck with whales in the morning. However, the whales we go searching for have big tails and they like to use them! We came up empty in several locations until finally we were able to find some life. Our first sighting was an excellent look at a fin whale as it was travelling through the area!

Fin whale diving

While waiting to see if our fin whale would resurface close by, we also got quick looks at a minke whale, as well as distant humpback whale we were keeping tabs on. After seeing that our fin whale moved a ways off out in the distance, we opted to see if we could spend some time with the humpback whale. After relocating the humpback, it revealed itself to be Valley!

Valley diving

Similarly to the fin whale, Valley began doing some travelling, so we pressed on once again to see what else we could find this afternoon. As we travelled along, a humpback whale surfaced right off of our starboard side so we slowed down to get some looks. This whale was almost definitely the smaller, what I believe to be juvenile humpback that we had encountered in the morning as well. We stopped for a few minutes before starting our journey back towards Rye. On the journey home, we also got some excellent looks at an ocean sunfish!

Humpback whale diving

Friday morning was just as hot and humid as Thursday, so once again we were excited to get offshore and cool off, and our sightings certainly didn't disappoint as our trip began with a pod of at least one hundred Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

White-sided dolphins

These dolphins were on a mission as they moved with haste along the surface. After spending a good amount of time with them, we ultimately decided to press on and see what else the ledge had in store for us. Beautiful may not be a word that comes to the mind of most people as they are staring down at an ocean sunfish, but I for one cannot get over the speckled markings along the body of the one that we found after saying goodbye to our dolphins!

The most beautiful sunfish ever

Continuing further offshore we eventually came across our first humpback of the trip, Quote. This whale was very interested in travelling great distances between surfacing's so we decided to let her continue on with her day. Our final sighting of the trip was certainly an unforgettable one as we were able to sit idly almost the entire time as we were circled repeatedly by the humpback whale, Clamp!

Clamp diving

Clamp turning towards us

Clamp circled us again and again, occasionally surfacing with her mouth wide open, capturing bait fish just beneath the surface!

Friday afternoon began with the heatwave following us offshore. I'm always a fan of days that have almost no wind at all as it makes for calm viewing conditions just beneath the ocean's surface, but I think today I would've been willing to make an exception for a slight breeze. Regardless, hot and humid surface conditions didn't deter any of our sightings! The trip started off with an ocean sunfish as we made our way out beyond the Isles of Shoals.

Ocean Sunfish

Continuing further led us back to the area where we had seen Clamp the humpback whale in the morning, and sure enough she wasn't too far from where we had left her.

Humpback diving

After getting some excellent looks at this whale, we doubled back to the west to investigate a whale that we had seen a bit to our south as we made our way further offshore. Sure enough, one whale turned to two! We spent the majority of our trip with this pair of humpback whales, Valley and Chromosome, and boy were they moving! 

Chromosome diving

Humpbacks surfacing in distance

These whales were moving with a purpose, and that purpose wasn't just to pass through the area. As we sat along the surface waiting for them, we were all very surprised to see both of them burst through the surface with their mouths wide open, capturing lots of bait fish inside! Unfortunately, each time the whales did this it was highly unpredictable so I was unable to capture any of those moments, but it was definitely an afternoon none of us aboard the Granite State will forget!

July 1, 2026

 Wednesday morning, we stayed at the dock to let the seas simmer down from the strong overnight wind. By afternoon, we had perfect conditions for whale watching and enjoyed the cooler air on the ocean.

Our first sighting was just under an hour from leaving the dock! Humpback whale, Clamp, was seen taking short dives and slowly traveling through the area.

Clamp diving

Clamp heading towards us

We continued on to find three more humpback whales a bit further offshore. Sedge, Pinball and Satula were moving around the area, but not together. With each blow, we had no idea who was where until we could see their unique dorsal fins, or lack there of in the case of Sedge and Satula. These two have been seen frequently in the same area- perhaps they are bonding over their lack of fins 😊

Sedge

Pinball diving

Satula

Throughout the trip, as we sat idly waiting for a whale to resurface from a dive, we were caught by surprise when one would surface really close! The whale certainly know we are there, but clearly they don’t seem to care. It’s so nice to be able to watch whales in their natural habitat and know that we aren’t bothering them. 

 

June 29-30, 2026

What a relief it was, and excitement, to start the week with no fog! A clear horizon surrounded us, something we hadn't seen in a few days. Monday morning's trip started with a lone Atlantic white-sided dolphin. We know toothed whales travel in pods, so while this sighting was a bit unusual, this whale was probably looking for a pod to join. 

Single white-sided dolphin

Further offshore, we found Pinball, the humpback whale. This whale was steadily on the move, so much so that we even found this whale later in the trip because it had moved so much! 

Pinball getting a little rambunctious 😉

We also saw two fin whales, getting a few looks at one, effortlessly moving through the water. 

Such a distinctive dorsal fin for this fin whale!

On Monday afternoon's trip, our first whale was a fin whale. We haven't seen a lot of fin whales this season, so what a great way to start the trip with one of the second-largest animals on earth! We then got a chance to spend time with Sedge, the humpback whale. Calm seas + a horizon(!) + whales = Happy Monday!

Fin whale

Diving humpback whale

Tuesday morning started with an unexpected sighting, a pod of offshore Bottlenose dolphins! These toothed whales are sighted in the Gulf of Maine occasionally, but not regularly. 

Offshore bottlenose dolphins

Among these whales was a single Atlantic white-sided dolphin. What a way to start the day. 😁 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin trying to "blend in" with the bottlenose dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins in the air. This doesn't even look real (I promise, it is!). 😍

As the trip progressed, we saw four humpback whales (Highlighter, Sedge, Satula, and Spika) and a minke whale. 

Humpback whale tail

We also saw another pod of toothed whales! This time it was a small pod of white-beaked dolphins. Oh my goodness, so many rarities! These dolphins were being speedy, but still incredible to have come across.

If you look REALLY closely, you can see a white patch associated with this white-beaked dolphin

On Tuesday afternoon, the unexpected continued. We witnessed Cacophony, the humpback whale, breach multiple times. What an impressive sight! The day wrapped up with yet another pod of toothed whales. This time, a group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Mother Nature certainly likes to keep us on our toes; thanks!

Cacophony breaching!

Mid-tail breach!