Monday, June 14th aboard the Granite State

The weather started a little cloudy today, but we had lots of passengers eager to help us find whales. We left the dock, unsure of what we would find, but we headed to Jeffrey's Ledge with hope of finding some old friends. We saw a total of four Fin whales today, including this hungry one, who continually fed along the surface and gave our passengers quite a view of just how big it's mouth really is! There is nothing like seeing the second largest animal in the world feeding close by.

One of the other highlights of the day, was actually the first whale we found. After taking several breathes along the surface, the whale arched it's back indicating a deeper dive, and to our surprise it was "Fjord." Today marks Fjord's return to the Ledge this season and it was great to share the crew's excitement with all our passengers. Fjord is one of our Adopt-a-whale's and I'm happy to report that this whale is back for another year!

I want to thank all our passengers for coming out today. I hope to see you again soon.

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June 13 on the Granite State

As with our whale watching friends on the Prince of Whales we too scoured the Ledge for signs of life during yesterday's whale watch. It wasn't until we were in the offshore waters did the fog lift giving us much better visibility to search for whales. The first sign of a whale came we when spotted the exhalation from a Fin whale. Not being too far away we changed direction and waited for this animal to take another breath. We waited, and waited and waited. As Dianna mentioned from her vantage point on the Prince of Whales, this animal while not travelling far, was taking long dives and even less breaths at the surface.

During one of our waiting sessions we spotted quite the commotion off in the distance. Fast, quick, splashing was being seen. Our initial thought was we must have a school of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna swimming by as the whitewater being created was barely allowing for any glimpse of what was creating it. Suddenly an Atlantic white-sided dolphin jumped through the water. We had more whales! Again this pod was charging around the area, back and forth, exemplifying just how quickly and easily these whales can move through the water.



Not every day do we get a chance to see a baleen whale (the Fin whale) and a toothed whale (the Atlantic white-sided dolphin) in a single trip. Thanks to our passengers who didn't lose hope as we left Rye Harbor in the fog and returned to the Harbor in the fog. Just goes to show that often times the weather on land is not quite the same conditions you have 15-20miles out on the open ocean!


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June 13, Prince of Whales, Newburyport

Today we were in search of the elusive great whale...literally. We found three whales as well as a pod of white sided dolphins (technically toothed whales) but all were challenging to get good looks at. The first minke gave us the slip. The second minke was better and actually appeared as we were waiting for a big fin whale to surface. This minke, pictured below, was close to the boat and we all got a couple of great looks at it before it disappeared.
The fin whale was very busy, only surfacing for a couple of breaths before going down for 10+ minutes. I am guessing it was feeding as it was circling around but not leaving the area and only coming up for needed air before continuing to catch its lunch.

On our way in, we watched a small pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins race around the area. These dolphins were also feeding, constantly changing direction and always moving at a fast speed. The images below show just how fast these little guys were going- you can really only see the white water and barely any of the dolphin! Speedy dolphins!

The activity on the ledge is encouraging even if the whales were not as well behaved as we would like. Several species of pelagic (offshore) birds were seen including northern gannets, Wilson's storm petrels and a sooty shearwater. The presence of birds is always a good indicator of the food production (plankton and small fish) in the area. Hopefully once the whales fill their bellies, they will slow down a bit and allow us some better looks.


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June 12 on the Granite State

Sea conditions were about as good as you can get out on the open ocean today. Throughout most of the trip we were travelling on water as smooth as glass. We passed under a few brief showers but conditions were looking positive for a good day to search for whales. And search we did.

We travelled 80 miles round trip today during our cruise. With clouds overhead and clear seas below we thought for sure if there was a whale we were going to find one. In the end we did, about 60 of them, and they were quite the crowd-pleaser after searching on the horizon for so long.

On our way back in from Jeffreys Ledge we intersected with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! This particular group was slowly moving to the Northeast and spread out over a good distance of ocean so everyone on board could leisurely watch them no matter what direction you were looking from the boat. With such relaxed dolphins we were excited when they reacted to the wake of the boat, jumping and leaping through the water.



Along our voyage to and from the Ledge we also got a quick look at a Basking shark and an Ocean sunfish for those towards the front of the boat. Since both of these creatures are fish and do not require the air to breathe many of our passengers were unable to catch a quick glimpse before these creatures quickly swam down into the depths of the ocean. An occurrence that happens occasionally though we have also had times when these fish have remained on the surface for all to see.

We would like to thank our VERY patient and understanding passengers today. We were on the move for most of the day, covering as much ocean as we possible could in one trip, and appreciate the effort of all who helped to search the horizon. The wild animals we call whales are as unpredictable as the weather. Things change in hours and days. Whales we had in one area yesterday, though not there today, could easily be back tomorrow. It is with a little luck, some incredible effort by everyone on the water, and the knowledge we possess that brings us that chance of encountering these amazing creatures.


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June 11, Prince of Whales, Newburyport

What a fantastic sight to see- a spout on the horizon- a sign of large marine mammal life nearby!

Today as we ventured out of the Merrimac River, the Gulf of Maine greeted us with some hefty swells. The river mouth, being so shallow, is often a rough crossing and we expected the seas to lay down as we cruised to deeper water. Well, that never really happened today. A storm to the east created some nice swells that some folks equated to being rocked to sleep, while others had a different opinion of the gift from Mother Nature.

As we approached the ledge, we found a very nice fin whale who was taking short dives and not moving very far at all. As we examined our photos, we found this whale to be #9709, a female first seen as an adult by BOS staff in 1997. This means that this whale is at least 20 years old!

Fin whale #9709 showing her unique "squiggle" in her dorsal fin and new (as of 2009) scars behind her dorsal fin.

As we were watching 9709 (we welcome any suggestions for a name for this beauty), our friends aboard the Atlantic Queen II came by for a quick visit.

Atlantic Queen, Rye Harbor

Just as we left the area, we noticed a small school of bluefin tuna breaking the surface. Tuna feed on herring, the same fish that this fin whale was likely feeding on! As we crossed new water on our way home, we also passed by a small pod of harbor porpoises! Life on the ledge is definitely picking up!

Hope to see you all out there with us soon!

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Great Day on the Atlantic Queen

After all the rain yesterday, it was great to get down to the boat and see sunny skies and fairly calm seas. It was my first trip out this season, and I was a little apprehensive after hearing that whales had been hard to find lately. But that wasn't the case today!

Fin whale #9709's giant blowholes

We got good looks at a fin whale, who turned out to be whale #9709 in our catalog - a whale we've seen frequently since 1997. After several surfacings, we headed out further on the Ledge to see what else we could find. After a loop around, we saw another blow next to the Prince of Whales, which turned out to be the fin whale #9709 again! Hey, it's quality, not quantity that makes us happy, and this was an amazing look. At one point the whale turned and headed straight for us and down our right side - from my vantage point on the fly bridge, I could even catch a quick glimpse of its eye.

Fin whale #9709's dorsal fin. It's hard to see in this photo, but the whale has a barely-perceptible "squiggle" on the back of its dorsal fin, along with scars in the front and back of the dorsal that were possibly from an entanglement in fishing gear that happened sometime over the last few years.

I'll never complain about seeing one of the largest animals on Earth, and having such a great sighting was terrific. Thanks again to Cutler School, whose students and teachers came 2 hours from Swanzey, NH to join us - hope you all enjoyed the trip and your afternoon at the beach!

Friends on the Prince of Whales: mate Ryan, BOS Research Coordinator Dianna and BOS summer intern Heather.

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June 11- Granite State

Our long distance travellers from the state of Vermont joined us on the water today as we headed out of Rye Harbor with the 3rd grade class from Union Elementary. Excited kids and sunny skies provided a great start to the day.

Before we had even passed by the Isles of Shoals we had our first marine animal sighting of the day. However, much to EVERYONE's surprise it wasn't a species we typically encounter during our trips. We had come across a LEATHERBACK TURTLE!!! Leatherback turtles are the largest and capable of diving the deepest of all the turtles in the world! A leatherback can grow up to 7ft long and dive to depths of 4,200ft!!! In the complete state of surprise that we found this turtle, I am sorry to report I did not get a chance to take a photograph. I have a feeling however, that many of the children did as they were just as excited to have their first sighting of the day as the crew was in finding this creature. After a handful of breaths of air the turtle ever so easily slipped under the surface of the ocean disappearing from sight. Wow, this was definitely a sighting I will not be forgetting anytime soon and a reminder of how unexpected any sighting can be.

Our trip was only beginning and soon again we had another animal in sight, this time a blow from a whale. We found a Fin whale that was definitely on the move, in multiple directions, so our time spent with this animal was definitely a bit of a challenge. It is easy to get so caught up in seeing these animals sometimes that you forget these whales are wild, and can and do whatever they want, whenever they want. With a few good looks we decided to press on towards the Ledge.

Thanks to our fishing friends we had been informed of a large whale on Jeffreys and were pleased to find yet another Fin whale for all to see. This whale was particularly exciting to find because it turned out to be Dingle the Fin whale!



This whale was first sighted on Jeffreys Ledge in 2003 has made multiple appearances over the years to the Blue Ocean research affiliates, most recently last year! It is always a great feeling to see an "old friend" return to feast on these feeding grounds.

Thanks to a lively group of kids who were full of amazing and intriguing questions!

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