Thanks to our fishing friends we came into an area were there had been a whale not too long ago. We found it! We had a skittish Minke whale swimming all around. These animals can be quite unpredictable with their surfacing patterns so not too long after we found it, it was gone. We pressed on in hopes of finding something else for all our passengers and we did!
We came across another Minke whale. This particular animal was barely staying under the water for 5 minutes before it was back at the surface circling about. We were able to get some amazing looks at this animal, which again can be quite the challenge when it comes to this species. Not only was it not staying under the water for too long it was also surfacing close to the boat, allowing all our passengers to get some great looks at this easily 20ft animal. All in all we ended up seeing 4 different Minke whales during our trip.
Our afternoon trip came as a bit of a surprise because as we were covering some of the same areas we had been in the morning, we came across whales. As we always mention to passengers, these creatures we go out in search for are wild animals. They are constantly on the move coming in one area and out again as quickly as they would like. We happened to be passing through a particular area at the right moment because we ended up intersecting a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
The first group of these dolphins we saw were small, only around 8-10 animals in this pod. However, the more time we spent with these whales the more we kept seeing popping up at the surface not too far away. We had around 60 of these Atlantic white-sided dolphins, all in smaller groups, spread out over the area. What a great find and a nice way to start our trip. As we continued on, thanks to some of our passengers on the upper deck, we changed course as 2 whale spouts had been seen!
We found more whales! This pair turned out to be a pair of Humpback whales, more specifically Diablo and her 2010 calf.
Diablo's calf on the surface while Diablo is rising to the surface for a breath of air as well
During the first couple surfacings of this pair, the calf would surface and then roll sideways, raising its flipper high into the air and then smack it on the surface of the water, before doing the process all over again. What a treat.
Diablo's calf on its side showcasing its flipper and even a small portion of its tail for our passengers
Many thanks to all who joined us today, morning and afternoon, who helped in the searching efforts for a chance to see these wild large whales in their natural habitat.
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