July 8 Prince of Whales

Perfect day of whale watching! So many species, so little time! Today was a day I wished we could have stayed out until well past sunset. The whales, though spread out, were plentiful.  In total, we saw 6 fin whales, 5 humpbacks (including a mom/calf pair), 4 minkes and 2 harbor seals! I think we passed by a basking shark too! Did I mention the weather was absolutely perfect too??

We started with a little minke- literally- it was smaller than most. We kept going to get up on the Ledge. There we spotted a blow a few miles ahead. Then we saw blow after blow. The spouts were multiplying! We came upon a fin whale, #0718, and also saw another fin whale about a half mile away.  Minkes were around too!

Fin whale #0718 chevron

Fin whale #0718

From there, we found another fin whale. I was a bit perplexed at first. This was #9904, the mom we had seen yesterday. But today the calf was no where to be found. This isn't completely uncommon as fin whale calves tend to stray for over an hour and over a mile away from time to time. And 9904 was very busy feeding so I can see why the calf went exploring. Hopefully soon after we left, the pair reunited. We will keep a sharp eye out for them in the coming days.

Fin whale Mom #9904

 After leaving the fin whales, we moved over to see a couple humpbacks. The first 2 were on the move and we only got glances but then we saw Pinball and her calf! Yea! Pinball, and adoptable whale, was awesome and her calf was a little wiggly- maybe wanting to nurse while mom was busy feeding.

Pinball, the humpback whale mom

Pinball and her calf

 A little harbor seal pup joined the fun for a bit as well!

Seal pup

Leaving Pinball, we found humpback whale Halfmoon in the near distance. Soon it was time to head home but we couldn't be done whale watching before a quick pass by Fin whale # 9723 and Dyad, another humpback! 

Halfmoon, the humpback

Fin whale #9723

Distant look at Dyad!

Thanks to our amazing curious passengers today! You were great! And thanks for supporting Blue Ocean Society!

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