Fin whale calf
A beautiful day on the water! We learned today not to take sightings for granted... After spotting a couple minke whales early on in the trip (and getting great looks at them), we searched for a LONG time and then heard from our friends on the Prince of Whales that there were some whales a little closer to shore. So we headed in that direction, and then it was like the activity exploded! Eventually we ended up with a 'grand slam' - sightings of 4 species!
First we checked out a blow, which turned into a small fin whale. We soon realized, as a huge fin whale surfaced nearby, that we were looking at a mom/calf pair! This was my first mom/calf pair of the season, so it was very exciting. Plus, the weather was super-calm and we got great looks at the calf as it hovered just below the surface near the boat.
We then moved on to spend time with a humpback, who I haven't identified yet - check back for updates on this whale! The whale has a cool fluke, with lots of "rake marks," which can happen when a shark or orca tries to chomp on a humpback whale! The whale was obviously feeding below the surface, as it kept coming up with water filtering out its mouth.
We then got another call from Capt. Billy on the Prince of Whales, reporting dolphins! So we headed in his direction and found a very active pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins - we saw several spectacular leaps, and they "surfed" right alongside us for awhile, affording spectacular looks.
Dolphins near the bow
Leaping dolphin!
On the way home, we passed more dolphins, another humpback, plus another fin whale and a minke whale! Plenty of life around!
Today's trip illustrated the cooperation that exists between the local whale watch companies - we initially spent a lot of time figuring out where whales weren't! But another day, we might be the first to find them. It's an arrangement that works great for passengers, as we can all cover more area together, and find more whales, than if we were acting just for ourselves. At any rate, thanks to all the wonderful passengers who came aboard and shared part of your holiday weekend with us! Thanks in particular to the ladies who were so excited about the possibility of seeing dolphins today. Hope to see you all again soon!
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