June 20 Atlantic Queen Trip

Minke Whale

It took a bit of cruising to find them, but we started our trip with a bunch (yes, that's the scientific term) of minke whales, all in about the same spot, which made for exciting viewing - minke whales just about wherever we looked! There were probably 3-4 in the area but they were coming up and going down so quickly, and zig-zagging around, that it seemed like many more!

Fin Whale

We then saw more minkes - a total of at least 5-6 for the trip, plus got some looks at a fin whale, the second-largest species on Earth! There were lots of birds around, too - great shearwaters, Wilson's storm-petrels and a number of gulls. Thanks to all who enjoyed the cool breezes with us!

Great Shearwater

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June 20 Granite State

Fin whales and Minke whales were the talk of the ocean as both trips provided some great looks at each of these species today.  We got a chance to watch some of the second largest animals on the planet (yep we are talking about a Fin whale!) make some very tight turns as it was constantly changing direction and making it sometimes even challenging for us to figure out where these animals might decide to surface next. 

The head of one a Fin whale as it surfaced right alongside the boat!

Off the left side, then out in the distance, then right off the stern, Fin whales and even a couple Minke whales were popping up in every which direction.  What a great size comparison to witness Minke whales that at maximum can be about 1/2 the length of a single Fin whale!

Fin whale body and dorsal fin

Minke whale body and dorsal fin

Not only were the whales around but we couldn't help but be impressed with just how much food we were picking up on the Fish Finder on board.  While searching for whales this device does nothing in the way of finding whales as at any point in time this machine is only picking up what is directly underneath the vessel.  Many times once we have found whales (thanks to our eyes and sometimes other fishing/whale watching vessels in the area!) we start to notice small patches of bait fish on the Fish Finder.  The whales are going after the fish and typically where there are whales there is some food in the water.  Today there was certainly a lot of food near the whales. We kept going over different patches of food throughout the day including a few instances of having almost the entire screen lit up with scaly fish schools under the boat! Below are a sampling of a few spots we floated over during our trips today.

A few hints to decoding the Fish Finder screen:
The number on the bottom left is how deep the water currently is.
The numbers going down the right side is the surface of the ocean (0) leading down to the ocean bottom usually marking every 100ft.
The closer the color is to red (red= most concentrated vs. black/blue= least concentration of bait/fish) the more food in the water. 

165ft of water and a good grouping of fish within the first 100ft below the ocean surface

Some fish in the depths of the ocean below 100ft

 

Almost the entire water column filled with fish starting just below the surface down to the bottom of the ocean 186ft below the boat!

The ocean provided some great whale sightings and a perfect way to avoid the sweltering heat on land. Thanks to our returning passengers and to all our first time whale watchers as it was another good day to be on Jeffreys Ledge!

Fin whale

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Prince of Whales June 20 2012

A hot one on the water today!  Thankfully it cooled down as we headed off shore.

Above are some of our anxious passengers waiting for the whales to make an appearance, there waiting paid off!  We started with some shy minke whales darting all around us, it was worth it as they were lunge feeding!

Two of our summer interns, Erich and Christie were working hard today,looking for marine debris, educating our passengers and of course looking for whales!

Our waiting and patience paid off as the fin whale above made a couple "close to boat" approaches.  Some of our passenger got a wonderful look off the stern when the huge fin whale popped up.  As soon as it was up it was down again.  Each time they go down I become anxious, I always feel they will pop up again close by.  As I mentioned this to our interns this fin whale came up on the port side heading right at us took a quick breathe and then went right under the boat. Yes I screamed and my heart was pounding!  That part of my job never gets old.

Congratulations to Stephanie Defreest from Salisbury who won our raffle today!  Take care of Satula!  A special thank you to our repeat customers and to our passengers heading back to Atlanta and Ireland, safe travels!
Tomorrows weather looks just as hot come on out and cool down with us!





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June 18th on the Atlantic Queen

It was a beautiful day for our trip out to Jeffrey's Ledge! We started our whale watching early with a fin whale just a few miles off the Isles of Shoals. This whale was consistently feeding well below the surface making it a little difficult to get some good looks.

Luckily after a handful of deeper dives, this whale decided to come over a bit closer. This whale even surprised the passengers and crew a few times with some great looks.  

Just before leaving this whale to continue exploring the Gulf of Maine we had a minke whale pop up in the distance. Thank you to everyone who joined us aboard the Atlantic Queen for another great whale watch, and congratulations to new parents Keith and Julia for adopting Comet one of our adoptable fin whales!

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Prince of Whales June 18 2012

It turned out to be a beautiful day out on the water.  When we left Newburyport it was cloudy and we were not sure if the sun would shine- luckily it did!  Just past the Isles of Shoals we found our first whale, a big fin whale.

This whale was traveling by itself at first taking 3 minute dives, then 1 minute dives then back to 3 minute dives.  Folks at the bow of the boat got a very close look when it popped up right next to us!  As it graciously swam by you could see the enormous tail moving in an up and down motion.  We stayed with this fin whale for a bit when a minke made a quick appearance. Though we didn't get a great look, it was fun to see this small whale around the second largest whale in the world.

As we made the turn for home we saw another minke. Boy everyday sure is different.  The first day of summer is coming on Wednesday and it will be a hot one! Come out and cool off with some cool whales!







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June 15 Granite State

Our morning whale watch yesterday was once again faced with a bit of wind but our school group was energized and excited all morning long. We did a fair amount of searching and our luck paid off as we were able to spend some time with a squirmy Minke whale (surfacing this way and that, constantly moving around the area!), and a Fin whale that was doing some filtering while surfacing. 

Fin whale

The fact that our Fin whale was actively filtering out lots of salt water from its mouth is a good indication that this animal was actively feeding in the area.  We like hungry whales and Jeffreys Ledge is a good place to find lots of whale food!

The ocean conditions for our afternoon trip was drastically different.  Instead of the constant wave motion we had a mellow swell and barely a breath of air to contend with.  More Minke whales were sighted throughout our travels and we even got the chance to spend some time with a familiar Fin whale.  Prong the Fin whale was sighted!  She was first documented on Jeffreys Ledge in 2000 as she was swimming along with her calf, verifying her gender as a female!

Prong

Thanks for the nice looks Prong and we hope to see you again soon!

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June 14 Prince of Whales, Newburyport

I feel that I may be duplicating the Granite State's post (below) as we had a very similar trip! Today's winds were higher than the forecast and the ride out to Jeffreys Ledge was a little rolly-polly. We tried to head in a direction to make the ride as comfortable as possible. When we got to an area that seemed as if it should have whales, we altered course and started seriously searching. Within minutes, we spotted a blow, about a mile to the north of our position. Initially, this whale, a fin whale, was a bit elusive. But finally, when we got a decent look at it, I knew exactly who she was- a whale that I personally haven't seen since June of 2006!  COMET!

Fin whale, Comet, showing her distinctive scar behind her dorsal fin

Comet, a fin whale first seen by Blue Ocean Society in 1997, had been a regular visitor to Jeffreys Ledge in 1997 and again in 2000. She then took a hiatus and wasn't seen again until 2005. Between 2005-2007, she was seen frequently, and as Melanie said in her post below, it was in 2007 that we learned Comet was a female! She was finally seen with a calf, which is our rudimentary way of determining gender. The past four seasons she seemed to have disappeared again. You all could probably sense my excitement, that even from a distance, I recognized this long-lost friend. Not only is Comet a whale that I first saw back when I began my career of whale research, but she is also one of Blue Ocean Society's Adopt-A-Whales! http://www.blueoceansociety.org/Store/store.html

Comet's unique marking on her left side

If you look closely, you can see a small notch in Comet's dorsal fin- another identifying feature!

We followed Comet for about 45 minutes until our friends on the Granite State arrived to view her as well. At that point we were out of time and made the much calmer trip back to Newburyport. Thanks to all of our inquisitive and interested passengers! You were a very hardy bunch!

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