We headed out to the same area in the afternoon trip, but they group had split up. There were still several Fin Whales in the area, but they were more spread out. There were 2 of them who made a very close approach to the boat not once, but twice. One of them even rolled on it's side when it was swimming up ahead of us. Simply put, the weather was great and the whales were even better. It was a great day to be out there!

Video clips from today's trip!
Fin Whales Traveling Together - 1 minute 25 seconds | 25.3MB
Fin Whale Approaching the Boat - 24 seconds | 10.6MB
Two Fin Whales Swimming By the Boat - 20 seconds| 7.30MB
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A little further offshore we found a small pod of North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins who were traveling along with a Fin Whale. It's pretty cool to see a pod of Dolphins in the same area as a Fin Whale. It gives you a great size comparison between the two species. We spent some time with the Dolphins and Fin Whale before heading back to the harbor.

The afternoon trip was pretty much the same except there was no fog to fight with. The whales were great and we were able to find another pod of Dolphins. There were at least two calves in this pod who were traveling side by side with their mothers. It's always nice to see Dolphins as they're a real crowd pleaser!
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The afternoon we found more Fin Whales including a mother and calf pair, but they wouldn't let us get to close to them. It looked as though the mother was trying to be extra protective of her young calf and wouldn't allow us to get to close to watch them. They were traveling quite a bit while they were taking long dives. It's a little disappointing when there's a calf that you'd really like to see, but you do have to respect them when they don't want to be disturbed. Since they clearly didn't want to be disturbed we moved on and found more activity.

This time it was an extremely large pod of North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins. By extremely large I mean that there were at least a few hundred of them scattered throughout the area. The Granite State had seen Dolphins a few times already this season, but it was my first sighting this year. It was a very welcomed surprise! While we were watching the Dolphins a pair of Harbor Seals joined in on the action as well as a large adult Fin Whale. Unfortunately, this was just about the end of our trip so we didn't have to much time to spend out there, but it certainly ended with a bang! Hopefully, the activity will stay high for this upcoming weekend!
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We started out with a Basking Shark who treated us to a very nice show. Normally Basking Sharks tend to be shy and will disappear if you approach to closely, but this one wasn't shy at all! It actually swam towards the bow and then turned and swam along the right side of the boat. It did a few large circles right beside us and then it headed out towards the stern where it turned and approached the boat once again. The sun was positioned just right so you could actually see the entire shark's body under the water. This was by far the best shark that I had ever seen!

Shortly after leaving the Basking Shark we found a Fin Whale was doing a lot of traveling and taking long dives. After about the third or fourth surfacing we left the area to follow up on reports of some Humpback Whales a little bit further off shore. There were at least 5 or 6 in the area, 3 of which we spent some time with. Our first stop was to check out a pair of adult females who were traveling together. These two whales were identified as Shark and Valley. They gave us some great looks before we swapped with another whale watching boat so we could check out another Humpback in the area. This whale turned out to be an adult male known as Flask. As always, Flask gave us some really nice looks before our time was up and we had to head for home. Another adult female known as Owl was also in the area, but we didn't have enough time to go visit with her. As we were leaving the area something breached a little bit behind us. Due to it's size we know it wasn't a Humpback Whale so we're assuming that it was a Minke Whale as that was the only other whale species in the area.
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The ocean conditions really helped while watching this whale because when the waves moved just right you could see the entire whale's body under the water which was an amazing experience! These animals are so large and being able to see it's entire body underwater is just unbelievable. Because this whale was being so good to us we spent most of our time with this one before we headed further offshore. Once we got a bit further offshore we found a couple of other Fin Whales which we got some decent looks at as well, but it was the early morning whale who made the trip!

The afternoon brought us more Fin Whales including a pair of adults that were associated (traveling together). They gave us some really nice looks with the most impressive - and surprising - look came when they both surfaced within feet of the port side of the boat at the exact same time. I wasn't expecting or prepared for them to surface together so close to the boat so I wasn't able to catch it on film. This of course was quite all right because it's good to actually watch them every now and then instead of watching them through a camera.

Overall it was an excellent day. I normally like a little more variety on trips, but with whales like we had today there's no possible way that I can complain about it!
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After staying with this whale for a little while we headed further off shore again where we found another Fin Whale who gave us some nice looks. From there we found an adult female Humpback Whale known as 'Wy" (or "Y" whichever you'd prefer). Normally seeing a Humpback Whale is such a thrilling experience, but unfortunately this whale was busy looking for food and was spending little time at the surface. She was also changing directions very quickly so we had a really hard time trying to watch her. Still it was very nice to see her out there.

The afternoon trip brought the same variety of whales. There were several Minkes, Fin Whales, and we also caught up with Wy again. This time she was more laid back and allowed us to get some excellent looks!
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We started out with a single Minke Whale very close to shore and while we were watching this whale we spotted two little Harbor Seals in the same area. The Minke Whale gave us some really nice looks, but because we were still so close to shore we didn't stick around to long because there were more reports offshore. On the way out we passed by several more Minke Whales.

Our next big sighting was a Fin Whale that we stopped for to try to watch, but it had other plans and never resurfaced while we were waiting for it. After waiting several minutes we continued on our way. After traveling a little bit we found two adult Fin Whales who were traveling together. Although most Fin Whales are not named some of the ones that are easily recognized for scarring patterns or dorsal fin shapes are. One of these two whales was identified as Ladder who got it's name for a scar on it's back that looks like ladder rungs. Ladder's companion wasn't identified. These two whales were as cooperative as they get! They were taking short dives, traveling very slowly, and they surfaced close to boat on a couple of occasions which allowed for several amazing looks! We watched these whales for quite a while before leaving them to look for more whales. 

The trip was already a big success, but fortunately we weren't done just yet. We found Flask, the adult male that has been around for a few weeks now, and he was still spending time deep feeding. By now the trip was just about over, but we got some excellent looks at Flask as well before we had to head for home.

The afternoon trip was pretty much an exact copy of the morning except there were no Harbor Seals and the larger whales had moved closer together. The pair of Fin Whales that we found in the morning were still together and Flask was still out there as well. They were all spending a lot of time deep feeding and they actually crossed paths with each other which was really cool to see! It was a very successful weekend. Things are really beginning to pick up out there!
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We started off with Owl because there was a second whale watching boat who was spending time with Flask. Owl is a very large adult and she is very easy to recognize because she has a large scar on her back. When she was a juvenile she was hit by a boat, but luckily she managed to survive and has since become a mother! Her last known calf was in 2003.

While we were spending time with Owl she was sticking to shorter dives and wasn't traveling very far at all. She was using a lot of energy feeding which meant she was spending a good deal of time at the surface breathing. This allowed for some great photo opportunities. After we spent some time with Owl we headed off to relocate Flask so we could spend time with him as well.

On the way to finding Flask we found a large Basking Shark who treated us to a close up look. It was just gliding under the surface and it swam towards the boat and eventually it swam under the bow. We waited to see if would resurface on the other side of the boat, but it didn't. We took that opportunity to continue on to try to find Flask.

Within a few minutes we found him! He was behaving pretty much the same way as Owl. Staying relatively close to the boat and not diving for long periods of time. Most of his time and energy was also spent deep feeding. After a few of his short dives he gave us all an absolutely amazing look as he surfaced, swam in a large circle, and then swam right towards the boat. He took several breaths as he was coming towards us and then he raised his flukes up and out of the water to go on another dive. He was very close to us and you could see his entire body under the water. It's absolutely incredible when you get these close encounters!
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Today was a completely opposite experience. It was still overcast, but we had great visibility which really helped us find some whales. We started out with a single Fin Whale who gave us an incredible look as it swam along side the boat. It's always so amazing to see these whales up so close. They're such graceful animals.

While we were watching this whale a second Fin Whale made it's way into the area and crossed paths. Seeing to enormous Fin Whales traveling side by side is quite the treat. Shortly after the two whales met up, our first whale started to move out of the area, but the second whale stuck around so we watched this one for a little while before we were on our way again to find more whales.

Our next whale was a Minke Whale who gave us some nice looks before we continued on our way again to find more sightings. From here we found two individual Fin Whales, but only for one surfacing each. Before we knew, our time was up and we were headed for home. It was a great trip and a great day to be out on the ocean!

Back in the harbor there was a little Common Tern who was hanging out on the dock. I was able to get some nice photos of this little bird before leaving the harbor. Can't wait to get back out there again next week!
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We stayed with this until a second whale watching vessel came into the area. From there we headed off shore a littler further to try to find another whale. This is where we found a second Fin Whale who was displaying pretty much the same behavior as the first. It's always nice to have a co-operative Fin Whale as they can hold their breathe for quite a while and they can travel quite a distance once their under the water.

It was another great weekend for us and it was a nice escape from the heat and humidity on land. This weekend is looking pretty decent so far. Hopefully it stays this way! 
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Shortly after Satula started to become more active a second Humpback made it's way into the area, but it was still a little bit in the distance. Since Satula was closer we stayed with him which was a good thing because he tail breached after one of his surfacings. Luckily he was traveling in the same direction because I had my video camera pointed in the right spot and I was able to catch the whole breach.

A few minutes after the tail breach both whales met up with each other and began to do some co-operative feeding. One of the whales would blow bubbles from below the surface and the other would scoop up all of the food. Then they would alternate. It's pretty amazing to see two large whales helping each other eat!!

We headed out to the same spot on the afternoon trip where there were three other whale watching boats already in the area. Luckily there were more whales so we weren't all trying to see just one or two. This time we started out with an adult Fin Whale who was taking pretty short dives. Then a Humpback Whale made it's way into the area. This was Flask who we'd seen earlier that day and before we knew it, Satula had made his way back into the area as well. All of the whales were doing their own thing this time.

The afternoon trip was a little further south than the morning trip so our time with the whales was a little bit shorter. It was time well spent though as we got great looks at two different species. It was a great day to be out on the ocean!

Because we found this whale so late in the trip, we didn't have tons of time to spend with it, but we were able to get a few really nice looks as it made a few close approaches to the boat. At one point it even tail breached, but unfortunately I wasn't prepared for it so I didn't get it on camera. Still to be able to see it was pretty cool! Shortly after the tail breach we had to head back to the harbor. On the way back in we passed by a Fin Whale and a Minke Whale. So far the weather sounds perfect for next weekend. We'll see how it goes....
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A little while after we left the Minke Whale we found an adult Fin Whale who was busy deep feeding. We watched this whale for about a half hour or so before we had to head for home. On the way back in to the harbor we passed by more Minke Whales.

The afternoon trip was much different from the morning trip. We traveled quite a ways once again to find some whale activity before we finally found a pair of adult Fin Whales were feeding in the same area, but they were keeping their distance from each other. There was another whale watch vessel in the area so we each took a whale to watch. By the time we had to head for home both of the whales were in the same area. There were also several seabirds including Terns, Shearwaters, and Gannets in the area as well. It was another great trip, I just wish we were able to find them sooner!
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We had to travel quite a ways to find our first whale, but it definitely paid off once we did. Another whale watching vessel had found this whale and they were still watching it when we made our way into the area. This whale was a Fin Whale and it was doing a lot of lunge feeding at the surface. It was taking very short dives and when it came back up, it's mouth was wide open most of the time. Seeing any whale feeding like this is pretty rare, so this was definitely a special treat!

While we were watching this lunge feeding whale a second whale, a Minke, popped up in the same area. However, because Minke Whales tend to more elusive and because the Fin Whale was putting on such a great show we didn't spend much time with the Minke. After we stayed with the Fin Whale for a little while we headed out of the area to see if we could find more whales.

We did, but it was later on in the trip when we were making our way back to the harbor. This time was found another Minke Whale as it surfaced not to far from the boat. This was the only look that we got of this whale though because while we were waiting for it to resurface we spotted another larger whale further out. This was another Fin Whale, but unfortunately this was late in the trip so we could only stick around for a couple of looks.

It was a great trip overall and we're anxious to get right back out there for more whales. Hopefully the weather will stay good for a little while. We've seen enough rain and need some sun now!
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