Tuesday, August 23

This morning we started the trip with a large Fin whale. This whale however had other plans in mind. This whale initially was spending A LOT of time below the waterline. Luckily our patience, which ended up be the word of the day, paid off. Eventually, this whale began to surface more frequently and we got some nice looks at this massive mammal.

Fin whale

We then went searching for more whale activity. We searched, and searched, and searched some more. We continued to persevere and it ended up working out in the end. After chatting with our friends from Newburyport Whale Watch they too were in hot pursuit for any whale activity in areas that had yet to be searched. Soon they had distant spouts so we headed that way. We were able to end our morning with 3 Minke whales, a passing Fin whale and 3 Humpback whales. The Minke whales were on the outskirts of the areas we were in as we moved in towards the other group of whales. Pinball and her calf were circling around while Hornbill was also moving around the same general area.

Hornbill

Pinball's calf

This afternoon we spent some time with Pinball and her calf again. Hornbill however, was nowhere to be found.

Pinball

Pinball and her calf

After some nice looks at our pair of whales we knew it was time to go searching again. The only way to find the whales is to go looking for them which is what we do each and every day. This afternoon our search efforts paid off as we found Owl the Humpback whale to end the day.

Owl

Tomorrow we will be back out there searching once again for the magnificent mammals of the sea!

 Monday August 22, 2016
Although the wind kept us onshore this afternoon, we were lucky to see some great whales on our morning trip!  The fin whales were taking long dives today, but we did find one that came up close enough to us for a great look at this huge whale.  There was a small group of three humpbacks who were very active at the surface (Pinball and her calf and Hornbill).  We also saw several minkes throughout the trip.  For our bird loving passengers, we saw a great shearwater and a couple of manx shearwaters.  These are my favorite pictures from this mornings trip:

Sunday, August 21

The ocean breezes continued to increase as the day went on so the motion of the ocean continued to be felt throughout the day. For the whales however, waves are what they live in, so they still surface to breathe which gives us a moment to check them out where the water meets the sky. This morning we saw 4 Minke whales, 3 Fin whales and 4 Humpback whales. We started with Pinball and her calf.

Pinball's spout and her calf at the surface

Initially, these whales were on the move but soon they slowed and circled around the area. They stopped and circled so much we got some incredible looks as these whales swam in towards and all around us.

Incoming Pinball and her calf

Pinball's calf's flipper in the air

We then got a super quick look at Shuffleboard the Humpback whale before attempting to catch up to a pair of Fin whales on the move. These whales were steadily swimming along so we only got a few, but AWESOME, looks at this Fin whale pair.

Fin whale surfacing

Fin whale

Beautiful Fin whale chevron pattern

Soon we were venturing back to where we had seen other whales and got a brief look at Braid the Fin whale.

Braid the Fin whale

Before heading for home we quickly checked out Pinball and her calf one last time.

Pinball and her calf circling around one another

This afternoon we made our way back to the same area. In total, we came across 2 Minke whales and 5 Humpback whales. We started with Owl the Humpback whale not moving far in any direction.

Owl (above and below)

After some great looks at this adult female we meandered our way over to more spouts. Pinball and her calf were around.

Pinball and her calf

Pinball and her calf diving simultaneously

Once again we found and got a quick glimpse of Shuffleboard in the area. Among the few Minke whales that showed themselves briefly during the trip we eventually watched our mother/calf pair of whales turn into a trio. Not sure who the third whale was but always fun to watch adults group up for a brief moment in time.

Pinball, her calf and an escort this afternoon

Before heading for home we saw a few distant breaches by Owl, some lob-tailing by her, and a few movements by our trio of whales.

Owl lobtailing

Saturday, August 20

Two amazing trips today, yet very different from each other. This morning we had a nice variety of species, while this afternoon, we had a nice variety of behaviors! This morning we found humpback whales Pinball and her calf, Owl, Hornbill and Shuffleboard. 

Humpback whale OWL

Humpback whales PINBALL and her calf

Humpback whale HORNBILL

Humpback whale SHUFFLEBOARD

A couple minke whales were also in the mix. We looked offshore and noticed a lot of splashing- another humpback whale was flipper-slapping! We cruised out there only to get a very brief look at Nike, and then never saw him again.  

NIKE

 But we did see another blow nearby. A huge fin whale surfaced repeatedly right behind the boat. This was Comet!! We got some truly amazing looks at her as we had calm seas and could see her face underwater when she came so close to us. Beautiful.   

Fin whale COMET

We then saw a second fin whale, and also, to top things off, a pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins! 

We also passed by a 3^rd fin whale on our way home.

This afternoon, we found a humpback whale right by the Isles of Shoals. We usually have to travel at least 10 miles to see a humpback but this one was just doing some slow surface traveling. We still have yet to figure out who this coastal whale is but will update when we find out. 

Humpback whale

 We then headed out further to find humpback whales Hornbill, Shuffleboard and Pinball and her calf once more.  Hornbill was very obliging by swimming right towards us before diving alongside the boat. Pinball and her calf really stole the show though. 

Pinball and calf

Pinball was tail lobbing over and over while her calf rested nearby. Then the calf started to be active, tail breaching and flipper slapping repeatedly. Awesome!!   

Pinball

Pinball's calf

Then just as we were leaving, the pair was tail breaching and flipper slapping in tandem. This was really fun to watch. We still don’t know why whales do these things but always fun to watch. Then as we were heading home, Shuffleboard was spotted tail lobbing and tail breaching too!    

Shuffleboard

 As one of our guests pointed out, I do have the best job ever!  Thanks to all of our guests- you are allowing me to live the dream!

Friday, August 19

Glassy calm seas greeted us this morning as we left Rye Harbor in search of whales. On our way out, we did something we rarely do- pass by whales! Several small pods of elusive harbor porpoises and a few minke whales were spotted close to shore. We rarely pass by whales but we had a report of more whales a little further out that we wanted to make sure we had time to see. Our gamble paid off this time!  Our first stop was not on a whale though. It was a big ocean sunfish!  Sunfish have been rare this summer so we were happy to find this one.

Ocean Sunfish

As we watched the sunfish, we saw a blow in the distance. We came upon several humpback whales including Hornbill, Pinball and her calf, and Shuffleboard. Owl was out in the distance as well!  A minke whale approached us briefly, and a fin whale was cruising around in the distance. Amazing morning!  

Pinball

Hornbill

Minke whale

 Then we ventured on to find a huge pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins! This was one of the most active pods I have ever seen! Dolphins were charging around, chasing fish, leaping into the air, and swimming by the boat. Gulls and gannets were abound trying to catch some of the same fish the dolphins were feeding on. The pod was around 200 animals. Amazing!

This afternoon, most of the smaller whales (including the dolphins and porpoises) were not to be found, but we did see 5 humpback whales and a minke whale!  Owl was nearby this time, showing off her distinctive scar.

 Pinball and her calf were quite sweet, diving in synchronicity. 

Shuffleboard was spotted and before we knew what was going on, she was hanging out with a new whale to the area known as Nike!  

Such an awesomely calm and active day on the ocean!

Thursday, August 18

This morning we were privy to a superfecta of whale species! We saw all four of the most commonly sighted species of whales all on one single trip. Our trip totals included 9 Minke whales, 6 Humpback whales, 2 Fin whales and a pod of 50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. The trip started when we came into an area where we had 3 Minke whales moving all around.

Minke whale

We then made our way over to Owl the Humpback whale very much inshore from where this whale has recently been seen.

Owl

Soon we were headed offshore to see what other life might be around this morning. We ended up seeing more Minke whales and 5 Humpback whales moving through the tuna fleet. We checked out a few of these whales, all dependent on where they were and how best to maneuver the boat around the flurry of fishing activity in the area. Known whales included Pinball and her calf and Hornbill.

Pinball

Pinball and her calf

With more time to explore we pressed on, and passed a Fin whale, since we were spotting more activity ahead of us. A group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins were traveling through the area. This pod of about 50 whales were steadily on the move. What a fantastic surprise!

Atlantic white-sided dolphins (above and below)

Dolphin

On on travels home we even got a chance to check out a Fin whale that was on the move.

Fin whale

This afternoon we started the trip with a cooperative Minke whale slowly moving around.

Minke whale

In total, we had 5 Minke whales pop up during the trip. We also had 5 Humpback whales. Familiar whales of Hornbill and Pinball and her calf were seen once again.

Pinball and her calf

We also had a pair of adult Humpback whales creating bubble clouds and moving around together. Newcomer Geometry was seen swimming alongside Shuffleboard.

Geometry

Shuffleboard

In the past three days we have seen three new Humpback whales move into the area where some of the familiar ones remain. Always enjoyable to see who is deciding to spend time in our small section of the Gulf of Maine.

Whale tail