July 30 on the Granite State

This morning we started with a group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. While they all seemed to be spread out over a large portion of ocean, there were still around 30-40 whales surrounding the boat. A few of the dolphins had a great time swimming along with the boat just off the pulpit (or front of the boat) as our passengers were treated to some very skillful maneuvering from these animals as they sped through the water keeping up with us.

We continued further offshore and came into an area where we became surrounded by a few larger whales. We first spent some time with a single Fin whale circling the area. While in the area with our Fin whale we also got an incredible look at a Blue Shark. This shark came swimming in towards the boat before realizing a large vessel was nearby, and quickly changed course 90-degrees away from out boat, swimming further under the water. Not too far from our Fin whale, we saw exhalations from two more animals and wanted to check out those whales before we were out of time.

We soon became surrounded by two large Fin whales! These whales ended up on either side of the boat. We were in the middle of a Fin whale sandwich. How many people can ever say that?!?

Our two Fin whales on either side of the boat. Notice the ever so slight difference in the shape of both these dorsal fins

It was awesome to watch both of these animals as they surfaced alongside the boat, realizing just how incredibly large these whales are (60+ ft long for each whale)!

Our course back towards Rye Harbor in the morning also brought us a sighting of another pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This group was a bit smaller than our first group, about 15 individuals this time, that seamlessly moved through the water.

Our afternoon whale watch brought us to the same area we had gone in the morning to see whales. While it was a bit of a ride out to the cetaceans we were treated to some great behaviors from our whales. We first spent some time with Lutris, the Humpback whale. This animal was staying under the water for minutes, only 3-5, as compared to average dive times of about 8-10 minutes for animals seen on the feeding grounds in the Gulf of Maine. Not only was this whale at the surface often, it was coming up filtering salt water out of its mouth! Multiple times this whale would have its lower jaw completely puffed out, indicating a huge amount of salt water and food in this animal's mouth! After watching Lutris circle the area and continue to feed under the water we got a bit of a surprise; whale defecation!

Lutris diving under the water and leaving a red cloud!

Lutris apparently needed to get rid of some excess waste and while going on a deeper dive, took that chance to dimiss that substance from itself. While it may seem a bit strange to be excited about whale defecation we know what this whale had recently been feeding on based on the coloration of the leftover waste at the surface. The cloud in the water was bright red, a sign of leftover krill!

As we watched Lutris continue to move around the area we also got a chance to see two other whales. Both of these whales were Fin whales. One happened to cruise through the area where Lutris was and so got a chance to see both species surface near the boat. What an amazing opportunity to see two types of whales and how drastically different their body shapes can be. A very sleek, and extremely large, Fin whale with a robust, large flippered, Humpback whale.

It was a pleasure chatting with all of our passengers, as we have had some incredible and intriguing visitors recently, and await the chance to meet more folks when we head back out to sea tomorrow!

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