September 10 on the Granite State

It was a "Grand Slam" for us today as we watched 4 different species of baleen whales during our trip this afternoon. Our first whales sighted included Minke whales and even a Right whale out in the distance as we made our way towards Jeffreys Ledge. The main attraction however were definitely the fast-swimming cetaceans of the sea today.

We came into an area where we had at least 4 (and at one point at least 5!) Sei whales surfacing on either side of the boat. These animals are the fastest baleen whales in the world, easily reaching speeds over 30mph! These whales are extremely fast swimmers but were being extremely "cooperative" or at least as cooperative as a wild animal can be today! While our Sei whales were constantly changing direction and slicing through the water with such ease, they were not using their speed to cruise through the area, rather to utilize their quick maneuverability to take full advantage of the productive feeding grounds of this portion of Jeffreys Ledge! At one point no matter where you were standing, there was one of these super streamlined whales at the surface.

Two of our Sei whales scooting around the area. Note the slightly different shapes of the dorsal fins each of these whales have.

After watching these animals zig and zag all around we decided to check out some of the other spouts we were seeing from whales not too far away. We ended up coming across yet another baleen whale, it was a Fin whale.

The dorsal fin of one of our Fin whales. Fin whales typically have a less tall and broad dorsal fin than that of Sei whales.

This Fin whale was also circling the area and as we spent more time with this whale, we soon realized we had 2 Fin whales in this area! Fin whales are not only one of the largest whales in the world, they are also the second fastest. These whales can reach bursts of speeds traveling over 20mph! However, just like the fast Sei whales were were watching earlier, the Fin whales were also not showcasing their speedy abilities. These whales were concentrating on a certain area as both animals joined up and were changing direction every time they surfaced. How two whales weighing over 60tons each can synchronize their movements with each other with such erratic surfacings is something that never ceases to amaze me. Grace, beauty and such strength in the second largest creatures on the planet!

Our Fin whales surfacing just in front of the other

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