August 17th on the Granite State

It was too good to be true. The weather has been quite nice over the past week and today Mother Nature reminded us that at any point in time the weather can change here in New England. Today was no exception as we started, and ended, in the fog. Leaving Rye Harbor this morning we were in the fog and we stayed in the fog for a few hours. A few spots cleared enough to give us some space around the boat, but within moments we would right back into some very thick fog. While we were hoping the sun would penetrate through, eventually it did, and our patience paid off!

We ended up coming into an area where we were seeing dorsal fins at the surface. We had found some toothed-whales! But these weren't Atlantic white-sided dolphins we were expecting to find...it was something else. Pilot Whales!!!!!!!
The last time the Granite State saw pilot whales was August 14, 2008!!!! That is almost exactly 2 years to the date that we had these whales on Jeffreys Ledge. Note the much broader dorsal fins on the back of a Pilot whale especially in comparison to the dorsal fin of an Atlantic white-sided dolphin.

Three pilot whales at the surface. From top to bottom: the flipper of one of the whales, a smaller probably younger whale, and the dorsal fin from a larger pilot whale

What an incredible and unexpected sighting! Today was a reminder of just how unknown some of our whale watching trips can be. Whales move in, through, and around Jeffreys Ledge all the time and we do our best to find whales throughout the entire trip, from the moment we leave the harbor until we return. Depending on the situation at hand sometimes we will stop and survey a particular area, sometimes we will cover as much ocean as possible, sometimes we will shut off the engines and just listen. There are many techniques used to "sight" whales all based on our senses, whether it be our eyes or ears. Sometimes we are lucky, sometimes we need to continue on, but we always make sure we utilize all mechanisms available depending on the day. Many thanks to our patient and helpful passengers who also aided in our attempts to find whales today as we ended up with 6 Blue sharks, a Fin whale, and even some Atlantic white-sided dolphins throughout our journey this morning.

Our morning Fin whale going on a deeper dive

With the visibility much better this afternoon we headed back out to where we had whales and ended up first coming upon a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This particular group was on the move, cruising through the water so easily and quickly, our passengers could appreciate just how seamlessly these mammals are able to maneuver in their habitat.

We ended up spending the rest of our time with 2 Fin whales. As we first approached the area we spent time with one of the whales until realizing we actually had 2 Fin whales relatively close by. We were able to get looks at both whales as we even recognized one by the distinct scar pattern this whale possess alongside it's back and body leading towards the tail.
The day was not complete until we started to head back to Rye Harbor and the fog we had spent so much time in this morning decided to join us for the ride home this afternoon. A full circle of the weather patterns today and a prime example of just how things can change in just a few short hours...whether it be the weather or the whales!


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