July 11 on The Atlantic Queen

Today was a long day of whale watching for us on the Atlantic Queen. We headed out a bit anxious about the day. We had alot of reports about whales and none really paned out for us. We took a gamble and crossed our fingers that the reports were solid. After a long time of starring out toward the horizon we had a Minke whale, actually 2 Minke's, they were traveling but did give us some nice looks. Also in our travels we cam e across this small Harbor Seal. It stayed with us for alittle bit then just turned away and headed down. I really love seals. the Blue Ocean Society assists the New England Aquarium in rescue and rehab of marine mammals which include seals. I've been sent out alot to deal with seals on our local beaches and some times marshes. This includes alot of education with the general public to keep a safe distances form seals as they are a protected species. It's a new week of whale watching and another week of heat, so come out and see us!

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July 10 on the Granite State

This morning we spent some time with a very relaxed Fin whale. While this whale originally was on the move when we first found it, before long this whale slowed and began to circle the area. Maybe the reasoning for the slowdown was the fact that there was lots of food in the water. We started to see large patches of bait on our fishfinder! This piece of equipment really does not aid us in terms of helping us find whales as we travel along Jeffreys Ledge searching the horizon for cetaceans. It does however, tell us what is directly underneath us at any give time.

While spending time with this whale we continuously were moving over large patches of fish. Within the first 100ft below the surface of the water we were seeing highly dense concentrations of some sort of schooling fish. The fact that whales can detect and find their food by using their senses, not any equipment, every single day is an amazing feat. And these whales need a lot of food! An adult Fin whale needs 1,000,000 calories every single day! That is a massive amount of food these mammals must find in order to survive and it is incredible to think just how complex and aware these creatures are as they swim through the world they live in order to live day to day.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature provided quite the scenery on our ride home, and brought some wind and rain along with her. So while we did not journey back to Jeffreys Ledge this afternoon we will be back out tomorrow to see what we can find!

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July 9- Prince of Whales- Newburyport

Excited passengers awaiting a whale

We certainly escaped the heat on land today! Just as we were leaving the Merrimack River, the temperature dropped at least 15 degrees, and the stiff southerly wind threw up (no pun intended...) a bit of sea spray to further cool down our passengers!

A sharp-eyed passenger spotted our first whale- presumably a minke whale- but we couldn't relocate it after a bit of searching. Next another minke fooled us into thinking it was something else as it had a very distinctive blow, which is unusual for a minke whale.

Finally, with luck on our side, we found a pair of fin whales. One was particularly cooperative as it was lounging just below the surface. We could see it's white right side clearly through the choppy seas. When it decided to wake up, it make a sharp turn and went down for a deep dive.

Fin whale blow

Fin whale distinctive chevron pattern (swirly gray markings)

Fin whale dorsal fin- used for ID along with the chevron pattern

Although I haven't had time to check our catalog yet to see if we have seen this whale in past seasons (50% of fin whale are new to our catalog each year!), it has some distinctive markings.

More whales were around us but not behaving all that well for our purposes. Today most of the whales seemed to be going down for long dives and only spending a breath or 2 at the surface. Some days are like this....nature doing what it does best...being nature!

Thanks to all who joined us today including Lila and her family! Lila helped our intern Heather show folks the baleen and did a fantastic job explaining it! Hope to see you all again soon!

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July 9th on the Granite State

Today was a bit of a challenge for us aboard the Granite State. The morning was foggy and while it wasn't too bad as we left Rye Harbor it didn't take long for us to find it again offshore. We headed to Jeffreys Ledge, to an area we had whales just the other day, but the fog seemed like it was at it's worst in the area where our whales had been! With determination and help from everyone on board we scoured the area. Unfortunately we came up empty-handed.

While the conditions today provided no luck in finding whales, I must also mention we have had some very successful, and some incredible(!) trips in the fog. Though reduced visibility from fog can be challenging it is not impossible to find whales and sometimes the further we head offshore the quicker the fog bank can rapidity diminish at any point in time. With that, we want to say thank you to all those who joined us this morning. It was a valiant effort by all eyes as we scanned the area for any signs of whale activity, and we look forward to you coming back for another voyage out to Jeffreys Ledge.

This afternoon we made our way back to the same area. The fog lifted giving us lots of visibility in all directions around the boat. Turns out in almost the same place we had been maneuvering the area in the morning, we had whales! You almost have to chuckle as we had come so close and yet been unable to respot these animals in the morning.

Our first whale of the trip was a Humpback whale. We believe this may be Nuages. Our photos taken aboard the trip match up quite nicely to the black and white pigmentation pattern of this whale in our catalogue and are in search of another identifiable photograph to confirm some of the unique ridges of this animal. Of course if things change we will let you know!

We also spent some time with a Fin whale, who was travelling a bit, but at one point surfaced just beyond the back of the boat. What a great look as this whale as it made its way through the water before going on a deeper dive.

With a little bit of time left and our eyes still peeled for any other whales it didn't take long before we found another Humpback whale. It was Nile.

Nile's tail and a photograph of this whale coming to the surface for a breath of air. Nile was named for the black zig-zag line on the left fluke resembling that of the Nile River.

This whale is a female, and a productive one at that. She was born in 1987 and has given birth to multiple calves in the past. We spent some time with this animal as well before it was time to head back to Rye Harbor.

While it was a tough start today it just goes to show how things can change. We have no control over where the whales go, what behaviors we see from them, and what the weather may be until we make our way to Jeffreys Ledge. When we get a chance to watch a whale we are watching just a small slice of that whale's daily activities and to see just one is something many people in the world do not get a chance to enjoy. So thanks again to all who searched, and watched, and saw the whales today. It is an experience we hope to share with all of you someday.

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE: Nuages has just been confirmed and better yet our Fin whale has been identified as Ladder!!!! An Adopt-A-Whale for the Blue Ocean Society and a whale we have seen only a couple of times this year!

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Friday July 9 on the Atlantic Queen

Today was a hot one on the water! We went about 20-22 miles to find this mystery Humpback, we are waiting on a positive ID on this animal. There was certainly alot of food under the water. The orange patch is some consumed Krill, and the other photo shows this whale was also feeding on mackerel and herring!

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July 8th on the Granite State

The stars of the show during this morning's whale watch was the first species we encountered during our trip. We came across a pod of 60 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This groups was on the move, but going nowhere fast, giving all of us aboard the boat some time to enjoy these zip-zooming mammals in the water.

After a bit more searching we came across a single Fin whale. The only problem with this sighting was that there was a tug and barge moving through the area in close vicinity to the whale! With the animal not taking very long dives, causing it to be at the surface much more often, this whale was more susceptible to this large vessel moving through the area. But have no fear... our Captain was already on the VHF radio hailing the large tug and barge to inform them of a whale close by. It is always very important to be on the lookout for whales anytime you, or someone you know, is out on the ocean. Whales are mammals just like us and are required to come to the surface to get a breath of air in order to survive! A watchful eye by anyone on board a boat can help lessen the chance of a whale-vessel interaction, as ship strikes are one of the major threats to all large whales! So be aware and be vigilant and help to save a whale...THANKS!

The morning trip ended with us finding Hornbill the Humpback again. However for our afternoon trip, in a matter of hours everything changed. It was a challenging afternoon for us as the ocean was providing unsuccessful sightings of whales. Animals that had been around previously were gone, or hiding, and we were getting anxious. We had a Basking shark literally jump clear out of the water at one point, but many of our passengers, including myself, completely missed it. We had a Fin whale that was spending the majority of its time under the water, surfacing only for a breath before staying under for another 10 minutes. What to do.... nothing seemed to be working to our benefit. But then we got word.

Thanks to our friends aboard the Prince of Whales, they were passing through an area not too far from us and saw a spout. They were out of time to check out the whale but passed along the information to us and off we went. Well our patience and searching paid off! We found not just one whale, but 2. Two Fin whales that turned out to be a mother and her newborn calf! We were able to get some amazing looks as the mother Fin whale was resting just under the surface not moving much at all! All our passengers could see the underside of the Fin whale, with its bright green sheen due to the white belly of all Fin whales (and the plentiful plankton in the water turning white objects into shimmery green patches!), and watched as the calf would surface alongside every so often.

Our Fin Whale mother surfacing for a breath

An incredible sight having an adult reaching over 60ft in length staying stationary alongside our boat while having the calf there close by. In the end, our efforts paid off this afternoon.

It is important to realize that all whales are wild animals. While we have a good idea of where these animals might be when we go searching everyday, we are at the mercy of all whales and have no idea what the day may bring. Whether we spend most of our time searching for or watching these massive animals is chance in which the whales always have the upper hand. Whales come and go as they please and it is the uncertainty and thrill of the unexpected that causes so many of us go out in search of these incredible creatures. So thank you to all who joined us today, helped in the search, and hopefully came back to the dock with a new appreciation of just how mysteriously unexpected whales can be.

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July 8th on the Atlantic Queen

Today the whales were doing some exploring of there own. We headed out with the sun and warm breezes and found this Fin Back whale. From the photo's you can see hoe close it came to the boat! This whale stayed next to us traveling just below the surface, it's white jar on the right and it's chevron were very visible. This was our only whale of the day. It's important to remember these whales are here to feed. They are here for only a short period of time. We are just frequent visitors to there feeding area.

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