June 21 and 22 aboard the Granite State

The last couple of days have proved that everyday is a new adventure...when talking about whales and New England weather. Yesterday was an ideal day to be on the water. Clear skies and calm seas made for a wonderful day. We saw many whales return for the first time this season. Our Humpback whales included Trident and her new calf, Quote's 08 calf, and Pinpoint, who was born in 2004. Our Fin whales included Braid, who has 2 large sections of propellor scar marks, showing that the whale survived a ship strike, and several others that we are currently trying to identify. We also had 2 large pods of Atlantic white sided dolphins throughout the day and they were quite active! I want to say a special thank you to a little girl who celebrated her 9th birthday aboard the boat and she adopted Flask, the humpback whale, to help celebrate her special day!

Today started out the same way as yesterday with clear skies and variable winds, making for a very nice boat ride. We welcomed more whales who returned to Jeffrey's Ledge for the first time this season, including Flicker, a Humback whale first seen in 2008, and a group of 4 Fin whales, that we are in the process of identifying.
As we made our way back to the harbor, the wind started to pick up just a little bit and clouds started to roll in. We had an afternoon trip to go on and we didn't know what to expect with the sudden change in weather. After all, New England weather always keeps us on our toes. As we left the dock for our afternoon whale watch rain started to fall. As we approached Jeffrey's ledge, we had an unexpected visitor...Fog! As the fog rolled in, we decided to shut down our engines in hopes of hearing a whale exhale above the water's surface. Whales exhale at about 300mph and it can be heard from quite a distance. We did this a few times, travelling to different areas and trying the same tactics, with no sign of any whales. We started to get discouraged, but then the fog started to lift and visibility improved greatly. Shortly after, one of our crew members spotted a blow, then another, and then another. We suddenly found ourselves surrounded by 3 adult Fin whales! As we were watching the Fin whales, we spotted a large dorsal fin above the surface of a different kind...it was a large Basking shark! As we approached the shark, it made a sharp 90 degree turn and swam underneath the boat! Even though the weather was not ideal, the whales did not disappoint. I want to thank all our hardy passengers for joining us today and not letting the weather keep them away.

Photos from the last two trips will be downloaded soon. Thank you in advance for your patience.
Keep in touch!Become a Fan on Facebook Follow Us On Twitter