Great Day on the Atlantic Queen

After all the rain yesterday, it was great to get down to the boat and see sunny skies and fairly calm seas. It was my first trip out this season, and I was a little apprehensive after hearing that whales had been hard to find lately. But that wasn't the case today!

Fin whale #9709's giant blowholes

We got good looks at a fin whale, who turned out to be whale #9709 in our catalog - a whale we've seen frequently since 1997. After several surfacings, we headed out further on the Ledge to see what else we could find. After a loop around, we saw another blow next to the Prince of Whales, which turned out to be the fin whale #9709 again! Hey, it's quality, not quantity that makes us happy, and this was an amazing look. At one point the whale turned and headed straight for us and down our right side - from my vantage point on the fly bridge, I could even catch a quick glimpse of its eye.

Fin whale #9709's dorsal fin. It's hard to see in this photo, but the whale has a barely-perceptible "squiggle" on the back of its dorsal fin, along with scars in the front and back of the dorsal that were possibly from an entanglement in fishing gear that happened sometime over the last few years.

I'll never complain about seeing one of the largest animals on Earth, and having such a great sighting was terrific. Thanks again to Cutler School, whose students and teachers came 2 hours from Swanzey, NH to join us - hope you all enjoyed the trip and your afternoon at the beach!

Friends on the Prince of Whales: mate Ryan, BOS Research Coordinator Dianna and BOS summer intern Heather.

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