June 20 Atlantic Queen

Satula diving

What a gorgeous day!  We had nice, calm seas and sunny skies as we headed towards the southern end of Jeffreys Ledge. 

Our first sighting was a minke whale who was zipping around, apparently feeding on a patch of prey.  We got some quick looks at this energetic whale before getting some great looks at Satula, a humpback first seen in 1988. He was named for the saddle-shaped marking on his left fluke - satula is the Finnish word for "saddle."

Satula - see the saddle-shaped marking on the left fluke?

Satula was moving slowly at the surface, but seemed to be feeding as he was zig-zagging around and we saw a bubble cloud rise up behind him at one point!  There were also a couple minke whales in the area.

Satula's back and dorsal (he lost his dorsal fin several years ago)

After some great looks at Satula and his huge fluke, we moved on to get some looks at a very fast-moving fin whale.  It makes sense that this whale could move quickly, as fin whales are one of the fastest baleen whale species!  We did get some good looks at the whale's left side, and some more distant looks at the right side of its head (and its distinctive white lower jaw) before it was time to head home.

Fin whale

Fin whale - can you see the white lower jaw?

It was another fabulous day, and we're looking forward to being back on the water again tomorrow! Thanks to all who joined us today!

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