June 26 Granite State

After multiple days of being "confined" to land the winds ceased and we were able to go in search of whales once again. The surface of the water was calm as could be this morning but with the ocean having been churned up constantly over the past few days we had a good swell which some people enjoy, and others, not so much. Luckily all our passengers enjoyed the conditions and all the whales we saw this morning. In total we spotted 6 Fin whales and at least 6 Humpback whales this morning.

Two of six Fin whale spotted this morning

It seemed we couldn't go more than a few minutes before sighting another spout from a large whale wherever our travels took us! Fin whales were circling the area and many of our Humpback whales were constantly surfacing with their lower jaws bulging at the seams as they were filtering out gallons of salt water and trapping all the fish inside! We even had a few opportunities to watch these whales surface right alongside the boat filtering water as they came up and truly getting a sense of just how large these mammals are.

Close encounter with a Humpback whale as it filters water out of its mouth!

Our afternoon trip was similar in the fact that we also saw Fin whales and Humpback whales. Unfortunately it took us a bit of time to find them as we came into an area where fog had settled in. As we slowly moved through the area in hopes of relocating some, or any, of the same animals we had seen in the morning we spotted a whale just ahead! Talk about being in the right place at the right time as the next time this Humpback whale surfaced it was only feet from the boat, its mouth fully extended indicating a mouthful of lots of salt water and food!

We would have loved to stay and spend more time with this whale, but the fog continued to roll in and there were 3 other whale watching boats all converging to this known located whale! We had been fortunate enough to get such incredible looks, and with visibility decreasing by the moment, we knew it was time to move on and give this whale more space especially knowing multiple vessels were maneuvering into the area. We decided it was worth pressing our luck and going in search of better visibility and/or other whales than to stay put on a whale we had been so lucky to get such great looks at. Knowing we are visitors to these animals watery habitat we do all that we can to avoid "crowding" any whale and allow these animals to be as unaffected as possible by all who go in hopes of catching a glimpse into the lives of these enormous creatures of the sea.

In no time flat, not only had the fog lifted but we started to see other exhalations not far away! In all we saw 2 Fin whales and 2 Humpback whales this afternoon. The Fin whales appeared to be traveling through the area and not spending much time at the surface but we did get a couple nice glimpses as one passed alongside our boat during this afternoon's trip. Our other Humpback whale spent much of its time at the surface of the water and was also documented to be filtering water, indicating lots of whales actively feeding in the area. Even with the unexpected weather conditions we had a wonderful trip and a fantastic day out on Jeffreys Ledge today!


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