The morning trip wasn't all that bad. It was bumpy and there was a little bit of fog, but nothing major and we were successful in finding several whales. In total we had approximately 9 Fin Whales, including #9618 who was our first Fin Whale of the day. Shortly after we found this whale it went down on a deeper dive. We sat and looked around waiting for it to resurface when all of a sudden it did within feet from the boat. It's amazing to be so close to such a large animal and it's even more amazing that most of the time you don't even know how close they are until they exhale! We stayed for a couple of looks before heading off again in search of more whales.

Then we found the hot spot. There were several blows in just about every direction. There were Fin and Humpback Whales all feeding on small Herring. Once in the area, we started with an adult Humpback named Trident. She went on a deeper dive shortly after we got into the area and while we were waiting for her to resurface I looked down just in time to see the green shadow of her flipper (pectoral fin) gliding under the boat. I had a feeling she'd swim completely under and resurface on the opposite side, but something was telling me to stay where I was. A few seconds later my feelings were confirmed when she surfaced on the other side. Once she was clear from the boat we continued on again, but didn't make it very far at all when another adult female named Leukos treated us to a couple of tail breaches before she disappeared. Our next Humpback was named Dice. We spent the remainder of our time watching him (or her) open mouth feeding which is a spectacular sight. It's hard to believe that they can open their mouths up so wide and take in so much water and fish!

The afternoon trip was about as bad as it gets out there. The wind had picked up quite a bit which in turn made the seas pretty rough. On top of that, we found ourselves in a very thick fog bank which prevented us from finding any whales. Luckily though, we still had some great bird sightings which included Sooty, Greater, and even Cory Shearwaters, Northern Gannets, Common Terns, and Wilson's Storm Petrels. I'm on vacation next week. Hopefully my luck will turn around so I can see some of the craziness that the Granite State has been seeing without me.

Sunday, July 26, 2009 - Terrible weather once conditions caused the PM trip to be canceled
The Granite State found several feeding whales yesterday afternoon and I had pretty high hopes for more of the same today. Unfortunately, luck hasn't really been on my side lately when it comes to seeing the lunge feeding Fin Whales and bubble feeding Humpback Whales. Today was no exception. We had decent visibility for the early part of the trip, but soon found ourselves in pretty thick fog. To make matters worst, the wind had picked up and the sea conditions got nasty. I was up on the upper deck and took a few small amounts of spray before we hit a larger wave which sent up a pretty big wall of water. The cold water just seemed to keep on coming and before I knew it, I was soaked! I ended up
grabbing my stuff and headed down towards the cabin where I sat for a little while trying to dry off. In my years of whale watching I'd never gone inside the cabin to escape the weather so this was a little different for me.

Offshore the boat was slowed down to try to locate any signs of whale activity as we traveled through the thick fog, but we had no luck. On the way back towards the harbor the crew spotted a Fin Whale, but this whale didn't seem to care that we wanted to take a look at it. It went down for a deeper dive and even after waiting for about 20 minutes we
were unable to relocate it.

Luckily by this time the sun had come out, we gained quite a bit of visibility, and we were traveling with the wind so the passengers who got soaked could sit outside to dry off. It was a nice ride home considering the ride out. Trips like this don't happen to often thankfull!

Saturday, July 25, 2009 - An amazing encounter with White Sided Dolphins! 
We had a pretty bad storm move through the area yesterday which made me kind of nervous on how things would be today. To my surprise, it turned
into quite a beautiful day out on the water. It started out rather overcast, but it was warm and there was no fog thankfully. The sea conditions were great as well.

The storm seemed to have shifted things around a little bit, but we did manage to find some great whales to watch. Our first sighting was a small pod of White Sided Dolphins. These whales are seen on a regular basis so it was a nice surprise for us today. The sea conditions only made the experience even better.

Normally I hang out on the upper deck, but there was more than enough room to roam around the boat today so my aunt and I  decided to go up to the bow for a change. I am so glad that we did to say the least. The Dolphins seemed to be very curious about us. They kept swimming along side the boat and going from side to side under the bow. With the flat, glassy seas you could clearly see them as they swam along. At times one of them would swim on it's side and look up at us. This was by far my best Dolphin sighting over the years. I was so amazed with them that I didn't really take many pictures, but the memory will stay with me for many years to come.

From the Dolphins we went on to find a single Humpback Whale who barely lifted it's flukes up and out of the water so it's identity is still unknown. At first I thought it may have been an adult male known as Hornbill, but matching the dorsal fins to my earlier Hornbill sightings it definitely wasn't the same whale. Whoever this whale was, it was spending quite a bit of time feeding beneath the surface. It was taking a shallow dive or two followed by a deeper and longer dive. We did manage to get in some great looks before we had to head for home.

Overall it was a great day. The Dolphins were simply amazing and I'm so thankful that I was there to experience it.

Friday, July 17, 2009 - Fog filled morning with a decent afternoon. 
The whale watching has been excellent over the past few weeks so I decided to take a Friday off from work to get an extra day in before the whales move on. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong Friday to do this! The morning trip was very disappointing as we ended up in very thick fog for most of the trip. Being stuck in the fog while trying to locate whales is very challenging. These are wild animals who are constantly moving in and out of the area in search of food. Where there were whales yesterday, or even a few hours ago for that matter, there may be none now. Add the fact that visibility was very limited so we couldn't see the spouts or any splashing, it proved to be very challenging. Still, we did manage to find three whales throughout the trip.

One of the ways we find whales in the fog is by shutting the engines down to see if we can hear them. For the larger species like Fin and Humpback Whales they're exhalation can be heard from quite a distance away. Our first attempt at cutting the engines didn't bring us any whales, but luckily the second one did. We had been sitting silently for several minutes when out of nowhere a pair of large adult Fin Whales surfaced off to the left of us. Even with such poor visibility we were able to actually see them, they were pretty close to us. We spent the next several minutes trying to keep track of them, but it was difficult as they kept disappearing just beyond the line of fog so we couldn't see them. Overall we were treated to a few really close surfacings next to the boat which was great!

We had just started to make our way back towards Rye Harbor when a nice little Minke Whale popped up on the left side of the boat. We got some really nice looks at this whale before it too slipped out of view into the fog. I've been on several trips in the fog, but today seemed to be the worst I've ever been on in terms of visibility. One good thing was
that even without having the sun shining on us the air was still warm enough to be comfortable in just a t-shirt.

We did much better in the afternoon. The fog was slowly starting to clear and we actually ended up in an area where we could actually see! We first stopped on a nice Minke Whale which turned into two, and then a 3rd popped, followed by another. There had to have been at least six Minkes in this one area. Most of them were close enough at one point or another to get excellent looks before heading off again in search of more whales.

It didn't take long at all before we found our next whale, a large adult Fin Whale who was traveling with a friend. One of the Fin Whales was identified as Prong who is an adult female. Prong and her friend were cruising slowly just below the surface most likely taking a bit of a break from all of the feeding they've been doing. While we were watching this pair a third Fin Whale also came into the area and passed by them. From a distance we could see this whale doing some cool lunge feeding. It was a great way to end a day that started out so poorly!

Sunday, July 5, 2009 - Almost a Grand Slam (when 4 species of whale are seen - we only missed the Humpbacks)!

Today was my first double trip of the 2009 season. This was definitely not due to my lack of trying. We've had some pretty terrible luck with the weather for the past few weeks. When it wasn't raining it was just really overcast or foggy. The sun rarely made an appearance. This made whale watching very rough, if not impossible. Today however, the sun was out in full force. There were no clouds in the sky and best of all, no rain or fog! It felt so good to actually have a nice warm summer day to just relax on the boat soaking up the sun and of course the whales.

The morning trip started out strong with a nice little Minke Whale. Though I say "little", Minke Whale are still quite large in size. They can grow to be 30' in length and weigh as much as 10 tons or more. It's just that in comparison to the other whale species we routinely see (Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, etc.) they are little. This whale was preoccupied with searching for food and after a few really nice looks it disappeared completely. The looks like that we did get in were great. The sun was hitting the water just right which allowed us to see it's "Minke Mittens" which is a white patch on either pectoral fin.

After leaving the Minke Whale we found an adult Fin Whale identified as #9724. We got some excellent looks at this whale. Fin Whale's have a white lower right jaw which appears to be a bright green color from our point on the boat. With the sun beating down on the ocean we could easily follow this whale as it swam along by following the green. We stayed with this whale for a little while and then headed off to do some more exploring when we got a little surprise in the form of a small pod of White Sided Dolphins. This was the Granite State's first dolphin sighting of 2009! These little whales, which included a few tiny calves, were on a mission and were traveling pretty quickly. They proved to be very difficult to get photos of, but I did try before we headed off in search of more activity!

Shortly after we found a pair of large adult Fin Whales traveling together. While we were watching this pair a third Fin Whale surfaced right behind them. This third whale kind of popped up from out of nowhere so we were not expecting it at all. The original pair began charging through the water as if they were saying that they wanted nothing to do with this new whale. The pair even began exhaling very loudly like Humpback Whales do (we call this trumpet blowing) which seemed to add something to what they were trying to say. Only the whales know for sure if they were really trying to send a message to the third whale or not, but it's interesting to note that the pair continued on their way while the third whale went in a different direction.

The afternoon trip was another success with several more Minke and Fin Whales. Our last Fin Whale of the day was a whale identified as #9904. We got some pretty incredible looks at this whale before we had to head for home. Throughout the day there were many bird species identified including different species of seagulls, Northern Fulmars, Common Terns, Greater and Corey Shearwaters, Wilson's Storm Petrel's, and my personal favorite Northern Gannets.

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - Fin Whales and rough seas!
Yesterday was a beautiful day out on the ocean and the forecast for today was calling for more of the same. However, somebody failed to tell the wind this! We had some unexpected high winds today which created some pretty choppy seas throughout the trip. Even the top deck was getting sprayed from the waves that we crossed over. We still managed to have some great whale activity so all things considered, it was still a success.

It took us a while to find our first whales of the day, but we were rewarded once we did. We ended up in an area with several large adult Fin Whales who were busy feeding below the surface. One of these whales gave us an excellent look at it's white lower right jaw which they use to confuse the fish that they feed on. Another one of the Fin Whales had a really deep beautiful rusty gold coloration making it one of the most beautiful Fin Whales I'd personally ever seen!

There was a large amount of bait fish in the area which not only served as a source of food for the Fin Whales, but also for the several different species of birds that were out there today. Along with the many common seagulls, we also saw several Northern Gannets (who were diving for food), a couple of Northern Fulmars, and a few Wilson's Storm Petrels.

Saturday, May 30, 2009 - Playful Humpback Calf and amazing Fin Whales and Basking Sharks!
This was only my 2nd trip of the 2009 season, but it was by far better than my first. The first trip was a great success, but the weather and sea conditions for today's trip was perfect. It was warm and sunny and the ocean was flat calm allowing us to get some amazing looks at a large adult Basking Shark and an adult Fin Whale.

We started our whale sightings early with a pair of Minke Whales. One of them was a bit shy and didn't really want to be seen, but the other was very nice to us and allowed us to get some excellent looks. With the ocean being so calm we got to see the white patch on it's pectoral fins which is called the "Minke mitten". We stayed with the Minke Whales for a little while before heading out to see what else we could find.

Shortly after, we found our next whales which turned out to be a mother and calf pair of Humpback Whales. While mom was busy feeding, her young calf was having fun rolling over at the surface, flipper slapping, and even tail breaching! At one point the calf even found some seaweed which it played with for a few minutes before continuing on with the rolling and flipper slapping. Unfortunately for us, the mother was spending most of her time below the surface feeding. She did resurface a few times with what appeared to be mud on her dorsal fin most likely from feeding at the sea floor. She never lifted her flukes to reveal her identity so unfortunately we still don't know who she was.

Our next sighting wasn't a whale, but it was just as exciting. We found a large Basking Shark who was feeding just below the surface. With the flat calm seas and the angle that the sun was hitting the water we had the perfect conditions for watching this shark. Those who were wearing polarized sunglasses (myself included) could see the entire body from the tip of it's nose to the top of it's tail. They tend to be pretty shy around boats so after several minutes of swimming beside us it slowly sank deeper in the water until it was completely out of sight. This was by far my best encounter with one of these large sharks.

A little while later we found a pair of individual Fin Whales were swimming in large circle patterns to corrall food to eat. The first Fin Whale went on a deeper dive shortly after we got into the area, but the second one was still up at the surface so we moved over to check it out. I'm so thankful that we did because this turned out to be an amazing sighting. The Fin Whale swam in towards us, rolled over on it's side, and gracefully swam along the left side of the boat before going on a deeper dive. Just like with the Basking Shark from earlier, the sun was hitting the calm seas perfectly so as long as you were wearing polarized sunglasses you could see the entire whale's body just below the surface. I did manage to get this sequence on video, but unfortantely it didn't come out as good as I'd hoped because the camera
didn't have a polarized lens. You can still get the idea of it though.

We also saw several different bird species throughout the day including different species of Seagulls, Northern Gannets, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Northern Fulmars, and also our first Greater Shearwaters!

On the way back to the harbor we passed by several more Minke Whales and Basking Sharks. It was a beautiful day on the ocean watching the whales, and sharks!

Saturday, May 23, 2009 - First trip of 2009, Komodo's return!
After a long winter the first whale watch of the 2009 season has come and gone. It was a beautiful day and we had some great whale and bird activity.

Our first whale of the season was a familiar one as we'd seen this whale several times last year. It was a 2 year old Humpback Whale known as Komodo who busy searching for food. Komodo was taking relatively longer dives as it searched, but twice it displayed some very cool lunge feeding at the surface. We stayed with Komodo until he (or she) went on a longer dive than before. After waiting several minutes we slowly eased out of the area to see if we could find any other whales.

Our next whale was an adult Fin Whale who was traveling, but we did manage to get in a couple of nice looks before heading back to the harbor. On the way home we passed a few Minke Whales. For the bird sightings, there were several Northern Gannets and Northern Fulmars in the area as well as a couple of Wilson's Storm Petrels. Seeing so many species of birds is a great sign that there's a lot of food in the area since they feed on the same thing as the whales.