August 14 on the Granite State

Whales, whales and more whales today. And these weren't just any whales, they were the 2nd largest whales in the world! We saw Fin whales on both trips today and they were all different individuals. Jeffreys Ledge was alive with whales and we were lucky enough to spend time with these mammals.

This morning the ocean was almost flat calm. Barely a ripple on the surface which provided incredible looks at anything we came across in our travels. We watched a Blue shark stay suspended just below the surface before spending our time watching 3 different Fin whales.

This afternoon, the ocean breeze picked up a bit but it did not deter us from finding more Fin whales, all which turned out to be different ones from this morning's trip! This afternoon we ended up getting great looks two different pairs of Fin whales; that's 7 different large Fin whales in total for both trips today!

Sometimes at first glance Fin whales appear to look the very similar with each other, but after closer examination you can start to see difference between each and every Fin whale. That is how the Blue Ocean Society has been able to individually identify over 800 Fin whales seen on Jeffreys Ledge over the years! As the years go on and with each new season of whale watching, our Fin Whale Catalog continues to expand. Check out these photographs taken during our whale watches today as you may notice just how drastically different the dorsal fins and markings on a Fin whale's body can really be!

Morning photographs of our Fin whales:

The left and ride side of one of our Fin whales. Note the slight horizontal scar present just below the dorsal fin in the top photo and the VERY unique vertical white scar and lightly-colored blotch pattern (below the dorsal fin) in the photograph below

A definite indentation is present on the dorsal fin of this Fin whale which helped to identify this whale as Fin whale #0826 (all thanks to Dianna, the Blue Ocean Society Research Coordinator!)

A much more nondescript dorsal fin and lack of scaring on the back of this Fin whale. A closer examination however notes a small indentation just below the curvature of the dorsal fin

Fin whales seen during today's afternoon whale watch:

A relatively smooth back and dorsal fin from this particular Fin whale

Some very interesting protrusions/lines on the back of this Fin whale, closer to the blowholes than the dorsal fin(photo above) and the photo below shows this whale's particularly shaped dorsal fin

Yet another different dorsal fin for a Fin whale spotted on Jeffreys Ledge this afternoon! Identified as Fin whale #0622

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