The start of the 2012 whale watching season began for the
Granite State
this weekend. We were thrilled to have the weather on our side,
especially for this time of the year, so all we needed to do was just
"find the whales." Well we did all weekend long. On Saturday the 12th
we left the dock with lots of familiar faces on board as the crew and
our passengers were equally excited for what was to come on our first
voyage. Our first whale of the season turned out to be a very
cooperative Minke whale.
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| Minke whale |
With the first whale under our belt we were able to
sigh a bit of relief knowing that at least one whale was spending time
on and around Jeffreys Ledge. Little did we know that was just the
beginning. We next found an animal almost 3 times the size of a Minke
whale, this time it was a Fin whale. Thanks to the Blue Ocean Society
for Marine Conservation, we were able to use their continually updating
Fin Whale Catalog to match this particular Fin whale to #0902, a whale
first seen on Jeffreys Ledge in 2009.
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| Fin whale #0902 |
From there, we just kept seeing whale spouts, and
more whale spouts, out in the distance. Amongst other Fin whales in the
area we also spotted at least 6 Humpback whales including Spar, Nine,
Joy, and Badge.
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| Nine the Humpback whale |
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| Joy the Humpback whale |
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| Humpback whales |
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| Even
on the way home as this whale went down for a dive we were still able
to identify this unique whale's tail pigmentation pattern as a Humpback
whale named Badge. |
With already a great day on the water we were equally
happy to find even more life on our way home of yet another species.
Approximately 40 Atlantic white-sided dolphins in two different pods
were seen on our ride in. Nothing like a 4 species, aka. a Grand Slam,
to start a new whale watching season!
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| Atlantic white-sided dolphins cruising around the boat |
On Sunday, the 13th, the first sighting we found was not even a
whale, it was a shark! A Basking shark was doing some feeding just below
the surface of the water as it's dorsal fin was sticking out of the
water while slowly swimming along with its mouth wide open.
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| Basking shark |
Traveling further offshore we spent some time with a
Minke whale before coming across a Humpback whale. Turns out it was
Wigwam, a whale first sighted in the Gulf of Maine in 1992.
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| Wigwam the Humpback whale |
Soon thereafter we were spending time with one of the second largest animals in the world; a Fin whale.
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| Fin whale showcasing its very large body |
With some nice looks we decided to use the remaining time offshore to
do some searching. Well things paid off as we ended up coming upon 3
Humpback whales. These animals were maneuvering around the area and at
one point made a tight turn in towards the boat. Little did we know
what was in store for us...
All three whales decided to check us out as they circled
the boat. Looks like maybe the whales were as curious about us as we
were about them. These massive beings were literally hovering in the
water all around the boat as we sat floating in the Atlantic Ocean. An
experience that definitely doesn't happen often and most definitely
never gets old. What a feeling to contemplate just what mammal is
watching whom? Quite incredible.
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| Nine the Humpback whale watching the Granite State |
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| The tip of a Humpback whale's head |
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| Hello there whale! |
Only after the whales decided to move on did we ease our way out of the area and head back to the mainland.
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| Magpie the Humpback whale |
Many thanks to all of our passengers who braved the cooler ocean
temperatures to catch a glimpse of some of the majestic mammals of the
sea that reside here in the Northeast. We are looking forward to next
weekend and just what we might find on our trips!
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