September 1 Granite State

Our whale watch started with a group of whales today.  We were treated to a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins before getting to Jeffreys Ledge this afternoon.  Initially this group was on the move charging through the waves but soon started to dart back and forth close by.  These whales were probably trying to chase down some afternoon fish food! 

Atlantic white-sided dolphins on the move

Eventually the group continued on but this time started to "ride the waves."  These whales were cruising along with the ocean movements.  Sometimes this type of whale will use the wake we create as an opportunity to give themselves a bit of a break and surf down our wake.  Today however these whales were not interested in our wake, just the constant wave-action of the ocean.  We were able to get some wonderful looks at our group before getting word from our other whale watching friends of larger whales on the ledge. 

Dolphins jumping through the wavy ocean

We made our way to where a Fin whale was reported.  Along with the fact that there was a Fin whale came the news that this whale was spending lots of time under the water.  The whole time we were in the area this whale was showcasing its amazing ability to hold its breath for all dives intervals were lasting 15 minutes in length!  Luckily we managed to get some great looks at this animal for it surfaced close by on each occasion.  Looks like Fin whale #0622 was circling around the area. 

An extremely small glimpse into the actual size of a Fin whale.  Moments later Fin whale #0622 was heading down into the depths of the ocean once again (below)

Fin whale #0622

With lots of time waiting for this animal to return back up to the surface and seeing more spouts further offshore we decided to press on and investigate some of the other whales a few miles away.  We maneuvered our way over to another species after passing a couple other Fin whales.  There happened to be a pair of Humpback whales around.  Owl and Bat were swimming around together. 

Bat and Owl

As we spent time in the area we continued to see whale spouts further offshore.  Eventually Owl and Bat surfaced in completely separate area from each other and so we let these lone animals continue on with their day and with a bit more time for exploration we headed towards some more whales. 

Bat going on a deeper dive

All in all we ended up spotting 8 Fin whales today, including #0622 and #0834, along with two other pairs of Humpback whales. 

Fin whale #0834

Low and behold we found Pinball and her calf, a very exciting pair to see as both Pinball and Owl are Blue Ocean Society Adopt-a-Whales! 

Even with only the top most portion of this whale's tail above the waterline we were thrilled to know Pinball and her calf were still spending some time around the area

Along with Pinball and her calf moving through the area we also saw out in the distance Humpback whales Springboard and Chromosome move through the area together.  Another Humpback whale was also spotted but we were out of time and needed to head home.  It was quite the day of activity even though many of our whales were spending lots of time under the water.  Even with the large lung capacities of these wild creatures it was another lively day on Jeffreys Ledge.

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