July 2 Granite State

Today was another beautiful day to spend out on the ocean. This morning we had a "Grand Slam" of whale species, 4 to be exact, plus the added bonus of a few harbor seals throughout our travels. Our first stop of the day was a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. While heading to the area to spend some time with these whales we actually saw a large splash in the water. It was from a larger whale, a Humpback whale, tossing its tail out of the water! The whale had been under the water as we originally passed through the area and had spotted this animal from all the above-water activity it was doing. We didn't know which way to look as we had dolphins ahead of us and quite the active Humpback off our starboard side. The Humpback whale only smacked its tail on the surface of the water a couple time before ceasing this behavior and so we decided to check out the dolphins first and then make our way over to the larger whale.

The dolphins were relatively mellow as most of them were just effortlessly changing direction and maneuvering through the water. A few of them jumped out of the water as they used the pressure waves from the boat to gain momentum and sky-rocket into the air. This pod consisted of around 20-30 whales and after getting some nice looks we headed back to the area where we had seen the Humpback whale.

Turns out it was Nile again. This whale has been seen many times over the past few days by our Blue Ocean affiliated vessels and having her in the area this morning was a nice way to get some great looks at such a large Humpback whale. With a few other whale watching boats in the area they passed along the news of more whales around giving all of us the chance to spend time with the whales nearby! We got a quick look at a Fin whale before heading over to a pair of Humpback whales. It was a mother and her calf!

The dorsal fins of both the mother and calf Humpback whale pair

The mother Mudskipper is 11 years old and this is the first year this whale has been documented having given born to a calf this past winter!

The unique pattern of Mudskipper's tail

What a special treat to watch a first time mother swim around with her very first offspring!!! Congratulations Mudskipper!An extra special treat of seeing part of the unique pattern found on the calf's tail as this whale rolled around the surface of the water at one point. Check out the size difference (below) between Mudskipper and her calf!

Our morning trip ended with a few more sightings including Satula and Flicker, 2 more Humpback whales. We even ended up finding Flicker thanks to its large flippers it was lifting and slapping back down on the water out in the distance.

Even with so many boats around, the whales and all the vessels in the area, had plenty of space to maneuver and give these creatures all the space they needed this morning.

A deeper dive from the Humpback whale named Flicker

We headed back out to the same area this afternoon and came across multiple Humpback whales as well. We got some great looks at both Satula and Nile, both who even created a few bubble clouds nearby as we spent time in the area.

Above: Nile going on a deeper dive. Below: Satula coming up for a breath of air

Unfortunately we also got to experience some of the downsides of watching whales in the open ocean. With lots of private boats out in the ocean over the summer months, unfortunately some of them are unaware of how to "watch whales" properly. There are restrictions for all vessels, large and small, as to how close you can approach a whale of any size. One boat however, whether knowing these restrictions or not, definitely was not observing them. Multiple times this vessel literally got so close to the whale one of the passengers on board kept putting their hand towards the water, appearing to want to get a chance to touch the whale. The vessel even went so far as to motor up to the whale (the engines continuously running and thus a HUGE threat to the propellers coming in contact with this whale!!!) and float just moments from where this whale just surfaced! Many thanks to one of the other whale watching companies in the area for coming to "keep an eye" on this vessel as we needed to start heading for home. We all care about the whales and do our part to help make sure these creatures continue to swim freely and safely throughout the time we spend watching such majestic beings. While the "rules of the road" out on the open ocean are slightly different than that you find on land, it is still important to know and recognize all of the regulations when it comes to ocean life. With so many other boats sighted out around the whales today, private and commercial alike, we all need to do our part to share this environment with everything that calls the ocean home. There is plenty enough ocean to go around so please respect all of the world's wildlife and give all creatures space. The whales, and all of us, thank you!


Thanks for spending the day with us today as we had folks celebrating anniversaries, first timers to the whales here in the Gulf of Maine, and even a four-legged furry (and very well-behaved) friend who joined us today. It was a pleasure having everyone on board!

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