June 25-26, 2020

Thursday was all about the fin whales! We had at least 7 different whales including a mother calf pair!  Mom/calf pairs are a bit rare to see. We had none last summer, and in an average year, we might see 2-3 pairs. We hope to get some more looks at these two.

Chevron of our first fin whale

Dorsal fin of our first fin whale

Friday morning we found a harbor porpoise soon after leaving the harbor. Then we found a trio of fin whales! These whales were feeding on a smattering of bait near the surface.  We identified two of these whales as ones we had seen in previous seasons. Fin whales # 0520 (first seen in 2005) and # 0945 (first seen in 2009) were together for a bit before going on their own ways.

Fin whale 0520

Fin whale 0520

 At one point, the trio went directly below the boat as can be seen on our “fish” finder.

Fin whale trio under the boat!

A fourth fin whale was seen as well, but we still aren’t sure who that one is, but it was one of the whales we saw Thursday!

Friday afternoon, the wind decided to pick up, making for a wet trip with sea spray.  Five fin whales were seen, including another trio! These were # 0520 and # 0945 again along with #0932! 

Fin whale 0932

Fin whale 0945

On our way in, we dodged a pretty decent storm by cutting through a narrow gap where the rain wasn’t quite as intense. Good job, Captain!

We cut through the gap between the top two rain storms!

June 27-28, 2020

During the morning trip on Saturday we were privy to a behavior I find so spectacular. It may not sound impressive, but seeing a fin whale actively feed is so incredible. One of the second largest mammals on earth maximizing on the plethora of food over and over again.

Fin whale filtering out saltwater!

Moving around, circling back and forth, filtering massive amounts of salt water, this fin whale was busy all the while we were in the area. Such a cool experience watching an everyday kind of activity these mammals need to accomplish in order to survive.

Fin whale spout

Fin whale

We also saw two minke whales; one only a few minutes into our trip! The morning ended with a humpback whale inshore of Jeffreys Ledge. This whale was moving around quite a bit but with enough looks we were able to identify it as Repeat.

Repeat the humpback whale

The afternoon trip started with some searching for Repeat. We searched but with no luck we continued further offshore. We ended up finding 3 fin whales all moving around independently of each other. Some were being slightly more conducive for watching purposes but it was still nice to see distant blows around.

Afternoon fin whale

Distant look at another fin whale

The wind was minimal Sunday morning and conditions were beautiful for whale searching. We started the trip checking out a mellow minke whale. This whale was surfacing slowly and smoothly when we first arrived.

Minke whale

Further offshore we came across a fin whale popping up here and there. A very distinct dorsal fin but still working on making a match to who this whale is.

Morning fin whale (above and below)

On the afternoon trip on Sunday we traveled to a different area of the Jeffreys Ledge region and came across a fin whale. This particular whale was only staying below the surface for a few minutes at a time. It was darting around but staying close allowing for some great looks.

Afternoon fin whale

Turns out this whale is known as #0402, a whale first sighted by Blue Ocean Society in 2004!

Fin whale #0402

June 22-24, 2020

There were no whale watching trips on Monday and Tuesday morning wasn't what we were hoping for. Unfortunately, we dealt with fog the entire trip and even after receiving a report of whale activity close by, luck just wasn't on our side. Our searching efforts did not produce any sightings. In the afternoon we left the harbor without any fog in sight so our spirits were high. There were whales. However, the whales were far from helpful in the act of being watched. Two different breaching minke whales were seen from a distance but not when nearby. We also found a fin whale, but once again, relocating it was NOT ideal; two breaths in almost 20 minutes. Yikes! Not whale watching at all by our standards.

Wednesday morning started as a repeat. Fog, fog, fog. We hoped it would burn off to give us greater distances to search. With that aspect not going our way, nor the wind on top of lumpy seas, we again had no luck in the whale department. The weather is bound to change soon enough and that will be a pleasant reprieve!

June 20-21, 2020

Happy Solstice, Happy Father's Day and perhaps the most exciting, happy opening weekend of the 2020 season! Gosh, it is great to be back on the water. On Saturday, we spent time with Dross the Humpback whale on both trips. This whale was scooting around all day, spending a bit of time under the surface but never ultimately moving far in a consistent direction.

Dross diving during the morning trip

In the afternoon we were even treated to two unexpected breaches! Not a bad first day.

With such an unexpected behavior, I barely captured the moment and instead got a better 'aftermath' shot! (above and below)

Sunday morning was not fruitful. We traveled almost 70 miles, round trip, searching for marine life. Unfortunately, we were unable to find whales. During our afternoon trip, we attempted to check out two minke whales. Our luck was only slowly improving considering the unpredictable movements of these individuals were not helping our whale watching activities. Our luck finally improved on our way home when we came across a fin whale!

Fin whale

If you would like information or to make reservations for our 2020 season please visit our website at Granite State Whale Watch. Hope to see you soon!

Information for our 2020 season

The coronavirus pandemic requires us to make significant changes to our whale watches in order to keep our staff and passengers safe and healthy. With so much uncertainty these days, we want to let our passengers know what they can expect when they come out with us this season.  Like everyone else, we are taking it one day at a time, and we anticipate that guidelines and procedures may evolve as the summer goes on.

First though, we want to make everyone aware of our refund policy. It hasn’t changed from years past and is very generous; you are entitled to a full refund for any reason at any time prior to your departure. Whether your vacation plans change, you’re not feeling well, or your boss called you in to work that day, just give us as much notice as possible and you can either move your reservation to a different day/time or receive a refund. Likewise, if we have to cancel a trip, you have the same options.  

We are trying to follow state and federal guidelines as closely as possible, so some of the changes that you will see this season are:

            

• We will be operating at a very reduced capacity in order to provide enough space for social distancing of 6 feet between groups.          

•  All staff and crew members will be wearing cloth or disposable face masks at all times, and we recommend that our passengers do so as well. We are requiring face masks, which we can provide, when you are unable to maintain a distance of 6 feet from people who are not in your party (ex. when walking around the boat to use the restroom, when buying something from the galley, etc.)      

• We will be cleaning and disinfecting common surfaces frequently throughout the trip. In addition to soap and running water in the restroom sinks, we will have hand sanitizer available for crew and passengers in other areas of the boat.

•  Our employees will be educated about and trained in safe practices to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, and will be questioned daily about any symptoms present. As a passenger, we ask that you not come out on a trip with us if you have symptoms of COVID-19 (including fever, cough, shortness of breath).

• We are strongly recommending booking your reservation online, as this limits the amount of face-to-face contact with staff when you arrive at the harbor. If you’ve done this, you don’t need to come into our ticket office, and you will be checked in upon boarding the boat (please have your reservation confirmation available, either on your phone or printed out). Since capacity on the boat will be so limited, a phone reservation is second best, and we will accommodate any walk-ons if we can.

• The galley on the boat will have a reduced menu, with no hot food and serving only packaged food and drinks (chips, candy, bottled water, soda, beer, etc.) As always, you are welcome to bring any food or drink of your own onboard that you would like, except for alcohol and glass bottles.

• In order to maintain social distancing and good hygiene during the trip, we will likely be cancelling more trips than normal due to inclement weather, like rough seas offshore and thunderstorms.   Thank you in advance for your understanding.

We are extremely thankful for the continued support of our staff and customers as we all adjust to this new normal. Please reach out to us if you have any questions regarding our policies or the changes we’ll be making. We hope everyone stays safe and healthy, and we look forward to seeing everyone this summer!

October 13-14, 2019

The weather has been less than ideal this fall speeding up the end of the year. Sunday was our final public trip of the season. Luckily the wind was almost obsolete as we spent time offshore in the diminishing swells created during the past week. The ocean was alive with whales. We saw a total of nine humpback whales and three fin whales. The fin whales were being their sneaky selves as they were spending lots of time subsurface.

Sleek fin whale

Not all of the humpback whales were fluking, showcasing their unique pigmentation patterns, but so it goes with wildlife. We found a trio and even a group of five on the move together!

Trio of humpback whales

Three, out of the five, humpback whales in our second group

Identified individuals include Bungee, Infinity, Reaper, A-plus and Moonlight.

Infinity the humpback whale

Associated humpback whales

On Monday, we had an all-day bird trip. There were things to see the entire time. Lots of birds and lots of whales (for our crew!). Sightings included multiple puffins, a leaches storm petrel, a south-polar skua, a little gull, red and red-necked phalaropes, northern fulmars, and shearwaters to name a few! On the whale side of things we had groups ranging from two to five individuals, with some of them lunge feeding on krill! What a way to wrap up another year.

Many thanks to all of our passengers this season. The ocean is a beautiful place with incredible creatures and our hopes are to share a snip-it of that with all of you. Thank you for making 2019 a success. See you in 2020!

October 5, 2019

Wow. October already. The season is quickly winding down. There is only one more week of the 2019 season. The weather cooperated quite nicely today. Unfortunately, we have already canceled our trip tomorrow because the wind is scheduled to crank right back up; a seemingly reoccurring theme this fall. Today we saw four humpback whales. We started with a pair: Littlespot and Fan. These two adults were slowly traveling along.

Fan

Rain-blow

Littlespot and Fan

To our astonishment, while spending time with these humpback whales, they breached. But not just one. Both! And simultaneously! Both whales launched themselves high into the air in the most serene synchrony you can imagine. The unexpectedness of the event unfortunately caused for no photographs taken but the memory of the beauty will last a long time. We ended the day with another pair of humpback whales: Ravine and her 2019 calf. These two were being mellow. The calf was even napping for a short time.

Ravine and calf (above and below)

Just before leaving the pair however, both mom and calf got interested in the boat! The calf lingered longer but both whales checked us out before continuing on with their day. Even a calf looks REALLY big as it meanders under and next to the boat!