June 12-14, 2023

Whales have been doing a good job shifting around the past few days, causing for extra search efforts during our trips. But wild animals can and certainly do just that! Our searching paid off on Monday when we found and spent time with a humpback whale. This humpback whale is a new one for us for the season, and we are in the process of identifying it.

The windy and rainy weather kept us on land on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we had two trips starting with a school group from Deerfield. The trip began with another unknown humpback whale and ended with a VERY familiar one - Pinball and her 2023 calf!

Pinball

Pinball spent most of her time subsurface. Her calf, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Lots of squiggly behavior creating plenty of whitewater.

Tail-breach

Pinball's calf lob-tailing

During our afternoon trip, we returned to where we were in the morning. We ran into some offshore fog, but it soon cleared, and we were in search mode. Followed by more search mode. And still even more. Unfortunately, we did not find any whales and look forward to our passengers returning to experience the whale aspect of the Gulf of Maine!

June 10-11, 2023

Sightings on Saturday were well inshore of Jeffreys Ledge. Three humpback whales in total. Still working on identifying each of these whales by using their unique dorsal fin shapes and black and white pigmentation patterns on the underside of their tails.

We enjoy being part of the research community as our research affiliate, the Blue Ocean Society, compiles and contributes all our sighting information to the Center for Coastal Studies. Here's to learning more about the whales that roam our area and where and when they will show themselves next!

On Sunday, the where and when of whale sightings kept us on our toes. First a spout just beyond the Isles of Shoals, only to not be seen again after a 20-minute wait. Then more spouts, four(!), later in the trip. Two fin whale pairs. We ended up trying to track with one of those pairs; a mother-calf pair! Seeing mother-calf pairs are always a special treat but of the second largest animals on earth... awesome! Well, that was when they decided to slow down their travels eventually allowing for some beautiful looks.

Fin whale mother-calf pair!

Mother of the fin whale pair

We also got a gorgeous look at another fin whale in the area just before heading home. Along with a few minke whale sightings our patience and effort made for some great looks at these marine mammals.

Fin whale diving

We are now running whale watch trips daily so stay tuned as we update regularly on our adventures out on the open ocean.

June 3-4, 2023

Weather is keeping us on land this weekend. Stay tuned for sighting updates next weekend when we get back out on the water.

May 27-28, 2023

Welcome to the 2023 season!!! The winter weather is in the past, warmer temperatures are on the horizon, and the holiday weekend means whale watching has commenced! Saturday was great to stretch our "legs," traveling out to Jeffreys Ledge in beautiful conditions and spending time with four Humpback whales - Gondolier, Picket, Ditto, and Quill.

Pair of Humpback whales

On Sunday, the steamy temperatures on land made it feel as though summer had already arrived. Alas, the ocean temperatures reminded us otherwise. We spent the trip with two Humpback whales - Nike and Nile. Nike was darting this way and that. Nile created a few bubble clouds as it moved through the area.

Nile

Bubble cloud

Humpback whale flipper!

Mother Nature certainly worked her wonders having the weather and whales cooperate for a great start of the season. Many of our passengers this weekend included familiar faces, first-timers, and all those in between! Thanks for choosing us and sharing the excitement of wildlife for another year. We look forward to what this season has in store for us and experiencing those moments with all of you. See you soon!

October 8-9, 2022

The day has arrived as we officially wrapped up our 2022 whale watching schedule this holiday weekend. Numerous whales were seen on both trips, some more visual than others. On Saturday we first attempted to watch a fin whale but it was not spending much time at the surface. Further offshore we found a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. These toothed whales are always fun to watch.

Dolphin

Out on Jeffreys Ledge, we came into an area where there were at least 12 humpback whales!

Diving humpback whale

Part of a fluke

Midway through a lobtail

Groupings of these baleen whales included Cacophony, A-plus, Satula, Pitcher, Campground (thanks Dianna!), Orion, Tectonic, Nile, Valley, Ravine and Rattan. So much to watch as these whales moved around the area. We ended the day with an ocean sunfish to wrap up the variety of marine life.

Ocean sunfish

The cool wind had us all bundled up on Sunday as we ventured offshore. We ended up finding two fin whales, three humpback whales and two different pods of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! The fin whales were being slightly elusive but eventually showed themselves.

Fin whale on the move

We spent time with humpback whales Ibex and I.T. soon become associated with a pod of ~12 Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

Humpback whale

 Atlantic white-sided dolphin

Another humpback whale showed itself (still unidentified at the moment) before finding a pod of ~75 Atlantic white-sided dolphins during our travels home.

Atlantic white-sided dolphin cruising through the waves

With the season coming to a close we thank you all for joining us on a trip(s!), following us on social media and sharing in our moments with wildlife. The marine environment is a special place and we hope your experience with us produced memories for life.

October 7, 2022

We were so relieved to get back out on the water on Friday. It had been almost a week since we were last out, and we didn’t know what to expect. Well, mother nature delivered, big time! Our first encounter of the day was an absolute feeding frenzy. We spotted hundreds of birds from a couple of miles away, and then some splashing at the surface. When we arrived in this area, we were surrounded by dolphins, northern gannets, and gulls. There were at least 200 Atlantic white-sided dolphins in this group. Much to our surprise, we noticed that some of these dolphins were not like the others: they were common dolphins! Despite their name, these are not a common species in our area, and to see them in a mixed pod was even more special.

Northern gannets

Common dolphins

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

After spending some time with these animals, we found a humpback whale. This turned out to be a male named Ibex, also called Mr. Burns by some other whale watchers. This was also a special encounter, as we have never seen Ibex on Jeffrey’s Ledge before! We spotted a blow in the distance and headed in that direction. This whale was below the surface for a bit, and we even spotted our feeding frenzy again. We headed back to the dolphins and birds, and a second humpback popped up in the chaos! This was a female named I.T. This was our first time seeing her this season. We let the dolphins and birds go and spent some time with I.T. Before heading back to the harbor, we stopped by the feeding frenzy again to enjoy this rare sight. A wonderful start to our last weekend!

October 1, 2022

Happy October! We are into our last week of the 2022 season. Where has the time gone? We are grateful for all our passengers who have joined us and the whales who have spent time in our section of the Gulf of Maine. As our season begins to wind down, the whales are still going strong. Today's trip included nine humpback whales, with other exhalations visible in the distance.

Our first sighting included five whales with pairs from there on out. Identified humpback whales included Jawa, Valley, Grommet, Pinball, Dross, Pitcher, Satula, Cacophony and Gondolier.

We even checked out an ocean sunfish. Tomorrow's trip has been canceled so check back in later this week once we get back on the open sea. Don't forget to pack your jacket, hat and gloves if you are scheduled to join us this week, fall is in the air!

Ocean sunfish