July 18 on the Granite State

Our morning whale watch was a bit different than some of our trips have been in the past few days. We spent some time in an area of Jeffreys Ledge that has been fairly quiet in terms of whale sightings this month, but today there were whales! Not only were we much closer to Rye Harbor than we have recently been, when coming across whales, but there were multiple whales in this area. We ended up getting some great looks at a Fin whale.

Our Fin whale spent some time travelling and some time circling the area. This whale would move a little bit, stop check out the area, and then continue on for a little longer before stopping and circling another area yet again. During one surfacing our whale came up just off our port (left hand) side and our passengers were able to watch as this animal passed by the back of the boat as we stayed idle with this 50+ft long animal close by!

The chevron (v-shaped silver pattern) and dorsal fin of our Fin whale

With some nice looks at this large whale we continued on to explore some other areas of Jeffreys Ledge that have been spots of recent whale sightings. We were thrilled when we found a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins during our scouting efforts. This group of about 100 whales(!) was on the move but steadily heading in one direction. The massive movement by these dolphins gave us the chance to steadily move the boat with the whales as they continuously found our wake to be a great spot for cruising on through the water!

Our journey back toward Rye Harbor brought lots of Bluefin Tuna sightings as a few of them jumped clear out of the water as we passed through the area. We even got a quick glimpse of a Minke whale before returning for our afternoon trip.

On our way back out to the Ledge this afternoon we continued to see splashing from schools of more Bluefin Tuna as they were most likely chasing after small schooling fish. Again a few jumps out of the water from these large fish was quite the sight as we pressed on toward a southern section of Jeffreys. Our first whale was a Fin whale, a whale that spent some time circling the area. With a few more spouts from whales in the distance we watched our Fin whale for a bit longer and then continued on our way.

We ended our trip with a pair of Humpback whales. It was Diablo and her calf again. A nice pair to watch as the two of them remained very relaxed as they came to the surface to breathe before going on a deeper dive. While these animals were on the move, they were actually moving in a direction closer to Rye Harbor, giving us the chance to stay with these animals and get some incredible looks.

Simultaneous deeper dives from Diablo and her calf

The ocean and the whales were once again wonderful. Our recent excursions to the Ledge have provided very different sightings during every trip as we have been passing through the same areas during both the morning and afternoon trips. It is incredible to realize in just a few short hours how much a certain area of Jeffreys Ledge can change, whether whales move in or out, as we go in search of these incredible mammals.

Thanks to our passengers who joined us for anniversaries, birthdays, first-time whale watches, and veterans of spotting whales. We hope to see you all again soon!

Keep in touch!Become a Fan on Facebook Follow Us On Twitter