July 15 Prince of Whales

After our rough trip (literally) yesterday of trying to get out to Jeffreys Ledge and having to turn back early due to rough seas, we were happy to find just a lingering swell out on the ocean today!

We began by finding a very nice minke whale inshore. This whale gave us several nice looks- swimming back and forth, around our boat. We could easily follow it along while it was sub-surface by looking for the minke mittens- the white patches on the flippers!

We continued on and with the help of our friends on the Atlantic Queen, we had a few looks at a fin whale. I am hoping Patty got better photos than I did of this wiggly whale-

Elusive fin whale

Soon, Deckhand Ryan spotted another blow not too far away. As we investigated, we found this to be a young humpback whale! This whale was surfacing for a few breaths every few minutes and then decided to stop and stay put for a bit. We all got some great looks at it- one was very surprising as it blew right next to us without warning!

Humpback blowholes

After getting a look at the flukes, I didn't know who this little whale was. I searched our onboard catalog and came up empty. With a little more work tonight (a Friday night...) I found this whale to be Shuttle's calf from last year! Now on its own and returning to the feeding grounds without its mom, this whale will be named in the near future. Humpback whales are named for markings on the flukes, typically. Can you see any distinctive marks that look like anything specific?

Shuttle's 2010 calf- just a year and a half old!

Thanks to our enthusiastic passengers today, and congratulations to Kate, our raffle winner, who won the adoption package of humpback whale "Owl"!



Keep in touch!Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter