July 27 on the Granite State

A crisp horizon, not too much wind, and sunny skies was a great way to start our trip this morning. We did plenty of searching on our way out towards Jeffreys Ledge and then continued to search once we got there. Whales we have been seeing over the past few days were yet again no where in sight and so we pressed on to check out some other areas on and around the Ledge for whale activity. Just before we were out of time for further exploration out in the distance, not too far away, there was a whale spout!

Well one spout turned into two and then into three. Before we knew it there were 5 Fin whales in the area. We spotted two animals moving through the water together and decided to spend our time with those whales. Not only were they two large Fin whales on the move together we were able to identify one of them in the pair. It was Fin whale #0622 which I believe is the first sighting for this animal on Jeffreys Ledge this year.

The dorsal fins of Fin whale #0622 above and the still unidentified second Fin whale below

What and exciting find! While we have been unable to identify the second Fin whale we watched, it will be interesting to find out if both these animals are frequent visitors to the Ledge, or if #0622 was associated with a Fin whale the Blue Ocean Society researchers have yet to document.

This afternoon the wind calmed down even more and conditions were very pleasant on the ocean. It was great conditions for spotting our first cetaceans of the afternoon, a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! It turned out we came across two pods of these animals during our travels today, totally around 20-25 of these whales.

We too got a chance to spend some time with the same Humpback whale the Prince of Whales (and the Atlantic Queen II) watched. This animal was definitely showcasing its ability to hold its breath for long periods of time! One surfacing, after spending 15 minutes underneath the water, came up for 2 breaths before going on another deeper dive! Incredible how these animals, being mammals just like us, have adapted to living their lives in a completely different world than us humans. They spend the majority of their lives under the water, a place where we would not survive for much longer than seconds before needing a breath, and where some of these whales can hold their breath for up to an hour! Amazing.

More Bluefin Tuna splashing at the surface, some Harbor porpoise, a Minke whale, and even a sighting of a Gray Seal (a mile from Rye Harbor) rounded out our trips today. Today was a great way to avoid the heat on land and spot marine activity offshore!


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