We had the chance to see several different Fin Whales including a pair of adult who were traveling together. We were able to get some nice looks at this pair as well as a couple of the others who were traveling alone. Some of the surfacings were pretty close to the boat which allowed us to see how big they really are. Their size still amazes me especially when they are close to the boat!

Along with the Fin Whales we were able to see a couple of individual Humpback Whales. The first was identified as Repeat, a new whale for me. Repeat was concentrating on doing some feeding. Coming up to the surface long enough to filter water through it's baleen and then it would go down for a deeper dive again to gather up more food. The second Humpback Whale hasn't been positively ID'd just yet, but was behaving in the same manner. We watched the second Humpback for several minutes before we had to head back to the harbor.

On the way back we found a pod of North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins so we stopped to spend a few minutes with them. It was a decent sized pod and it included a few small calves which are always nice to see. Unfortunately we found them very late in the trip so our time spent with them was pretty limited, but it was still a very nice find and a very nice way to end the trip!
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We started the sightings early on when we passed by a small pod of Harbor Porpoise. These guys are normally pretty skittish around boats so we didn't stop to take a look, instead we watched them as we passed by. Shortly after the Harbor Porpoise we found a Minke Whale who ended up taking a very long dive so we continued on our way to look for more whales. Our next sighting was a large adult Fin Whale who had just gone on a deeper dive when we got into the area. We tried sticking around to get a nice look at it, but it seemed to have taken a very long dive so the decision was made to move on again before it resurfaced.

The next stop was on a very large pod of North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins. There were several hundred of them spread out as far as you could see. They were very active and we were treated to several breaches both close to the boat and in the distance. There were also several calves in this pod which is always nice to see. Dolphins are always a huge crowd please as they're so much fun to watch. After spending several minutes with them, we headed out of the area to do a little more exploring. The Dolphins had already made the trip a huge success, but we weren't done just yet!

Soon after we left the dolphins a pair of whales were seen in the distance so we headed over to take a look. They were both Humpback Whales, but we didn't know right away who they were. As we were traveling into the area both of them went for deeper dives. Once we got relatively close to where they were we stopped and waited for them resurface. After a few minutes they resurfaced on the right side of the boat and both of them were headed in towards us. Because they were coming in towards us the boat had to be shut down to make sure there were no accidents. We watched as one of them raised it's flukes to go on a deeper dive and shortly after the second whale did the same. We sat there again waiting for them resurface.

I was looking all around the boat waiting to see them resurface when all of a sudden I looked down towards the bow of the boat just in time to see one of them slowly start to drift up towards the surface. The whale was literally within feet of the bow and the sun was hitting the water just perfectly so you could see the entire whale perfectly under the water. I can't say it enough that it's hard to imagine how large these animals are until you see them so close!

After surfacing by the bow it headed towards the right side of the boat and that's when the second whale resurfaced by it's side. Both of them swam towards the front of the boat where the second whale went on a deeper dive, but the first one resurfaced by the bow again and then it headed towards the left side of the boat once again. As it did the last time, the second whale resurfaced right next to it once again. After a few breaths the second whale went on a deeper dive once again, but the first whale turned in towards us and swam directly under the boat. At this point we still weren't positive who these whales were, but they were putting on quite the show for us.

Once again the first whale resurfaced by the bow of the boat. After one surfacing it raised it's flukes and that's we knew for sure that this was a very well known adult whale named Flask. Shortly after, the second whale resurfaced and after a few breaths, it raised it's flukes which gave us a chance to see the underside of it's tail. I immediately knew who this whale was and I was very happy to have the chance to see her once again. This was another very well known whale to our area named Pinball. She's an adult female and she just happens to be the very first whale that I saw back in 2001. I've seen her a couple of times since then, but never up close and personal like today's trip. It was very nice to see both of them once again before the season ended.

We were able to get in a couple more looks at both Flask and Pinball before our time was up and we had to head towards the harbor again. It was an amazing trip to say the least and it'll definitely go down as one of my most memorable trips!
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The sightings started out nice and early with a pair of Sei Whales who were cruising along just below the surface. When we first found them they both made a very close pass by the left of the boat. You could see them very well right beneath the surface. After seeing quite a few Sei Whales, this was by far the best look that I had ever gotten. It was pretty incredible! We stayed with them and watched them as they were busy feeding.

Soon after leaving the Sei Whales we had a trio of individual Fin Whales that we were able to get some really nice look at before our time was up. The hightlight of the Fin Whale sightings was at the very end of the trip when we found a mother and calf pair. The mother was most likely doing some feeding while the calf stayed closer towards the surface. The calf seemed to be in a very playful mood as it rolled over several times. It even lifted it's tail out of the water which is pretty rare to see from a Fin Whale. The 'little' whale was definitely the star of the trip! On the way back to the harbor we passed several Harbor Seals. It turned out being another great day out on the water!
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On the way back to the harbor we spent some time feeding the seagulls. It amazes me that you can start out with feeding one or two seagulls and before you know it there are dozens of them trailing behind! I will say that it's pretty fun to watch!
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The sightings started pretty early on in the trip with an adult Humpback Whale and an adult Fin Whale who surfaced fairly close to each other. We ended up starting on the Humpback Whale with the intentions of going to the Fin Whale right after. It took a couple of dives before we were able to see it's flukes to figure who it was. It turned out being a whale named Evolution. I saw Evolution once before in the 2005 season when it was traveling with another whale named Dynamite. Today, it was going solo and it was doing a lot of deep feeding. Although, it was doing some deep feeding it also spent quite a bit of time at the surface which made it easy for us to get in some really nice looks before we decided to go spend some time with the Fin Whale.

While we were spending time with Evolution we lost track of the Fin Whale which on any other day would've been a bad thing, but today it turned out to be a really good thing! Since we were unable to find the Fin Whale we headed off to do some more exploring. That's when we were treated to the biggest surprise of the season - literally!

A blow was seen in the distance so we headed over into that area to check it out. From a distance it looked like it was most likely a large adult Fin Whale, but as we got closer it was clearly different. It's skin wasn't the dark uniform gray color of a Fin Whale. Instead it was a litter shade of gray with some heavy mottling. These were the markings of a very rare species that hardly ever come into our area. It was a Blue Whale!

I had been fortunate enough to see a Blue Whale once before on the Granite State back in 2002 (almost 10 years after the last reported sighting of a Blue Whale in the Gulf of Maine), but that was when I was just getting into whale watching. I always wanted to see another one especially now because I knew I'd appreciate it much more knowing how rare it really was to see one. Seeing one again in person is truly an amazing experience! Especially when it approaches the boat close enough so you can hear how loud it is when it exhales and then inhales.

We were able to stay with the Blue Whale for a little while before we had to give it some space so some other whale watching boats could spend some time with it. Our last look of the trip was an unbelievable one as it resurfaced within feet from the left side of the boat. Seeing it so close you really get to see how massive they really are. It's even more impressive when you can see that they're about 20-30' longer than the boat!

On the way back to the harbor we stopped to take a quick look at a Minke Whale. Being the smallest baleen whale we see in the Gulf of Maine they normally appear to be a lot smaller than they really are, but after seeing a Blue Whale they REALLY looked tiny!

For the afternoon trip we headed out to try to find the Blue Whale again which we were able to relocate. It was much more cooperative in the afternoon. It seemed to be taking shorter dives and wasn't traveling as much. It made a couple of close passes by the boat which really make you appreciate what you're looking at and the power that these whales must have. I just can't say enough how huge they are!

After watching the Blue Whale for a while we headed off again to give some other boats a chance to spend some time with it. From there we found two individual Fin Whales who were busy feeding. Normally Fin Whales appear to be very large animals, but comparing them to the Blue Whale we saw, they seemed to be much smaller! After spending some time with the Fin Whales we headed for home again and we were treated to another Minke Whale sighting as well as a few Harbor Porpoise.

Overall, this will go down as an unforgettable day for myself as well as many others. Especially for some of the crew on the Granite State who had never seen a Blue Whale in person before. It was a very special day and I'm so glad that I was able to be on the boat to see it!
 

We started out in an area where a whale was reported earlier in the morning. Not knowing what species was out there or where it was, the boat was slowed down so we could take some time to try to relocate whatever was out there. After a few minutes of looking a blow was seen in the distance. Shortly after it was determined that it was an adult Northern Right Whale. Being so critically endangered (only an estimated 350 are left in the world) we could not approach this whale and we had to keep a very safe distance from it. This made photographing it very difficult, but when it comes to Right Whales you can never be to careful. The most important thing is to make sure they're safe. I took a few pictures of it, but spent most of the time just watching it. After a few glimpses we headed off to look for more whales.

Our next sighting was a pair of Sei Whales who were busy traveling together and most likely doing some cooperative feeding. They spent quite a bit of time at the surface and were taking shorter dives which made getting nice looks at them very easy. From the pair of Sei Whales we found a single Sei Whale who made a very close pass by the right side of the boat. This is a species of whale that we don't see very often while we're whale watching so having the chance to see three of them in one trip was a nice treat!
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Even with the rough sea conditions we were able to go whale watching and were treated to five new Humpback Whales. Our first was a pair traveling together. They were identified as Alphorn and Pele. They were doing some cooperative deep feeding. Even though they were hungry and busy feeding, they did spend quite a bit of time with us at the surface so we were able to get some really nice looks before heading further off shore for some more exploring.

A little while later we found an individual juvenile Humpback. This whale is a new whale for this season and hasn't been named yet. Instead he (or she) has been given a number of 0737. This number means that this whale is the 37th new whale sighted in the 2007 season. This whale was a young one and at some point in it's very short life it survived an attack by a pod of Orcas. It's flukes had the scars to tell it's story and it's dorsal fin was also pretty scarred up. This whale must be pretty tough to have survived such an ordeal so soon it's life!

While we were with 0737 it made quite a few close passes to the boat. At one point it even rolled over and lifted it's left pectoral fin out of the water a little bit. After seeing so much flipper slapping a few weeks ago I thought for sure this whale was going to treat us to some more, but it was just a quick roll over and then it straightened out again and went on a deeper dive. Two more blows were seen in the distance at this time so we headed over into that area to see what was out there.

It turned out to be another pair of Humpback Whales identified as Columbia and Echo, both adult females. They were behaving in the same manner as Alphorn and Pele as they did some deep feeding. We found them late in the trip so we were unable to spend to much time with them, but our last look was pretty amazing. They surfaced within feet of the bow and after a few breaths Columbia raised her flukes nice and high and Echo did the same right behind her. It's hard to believe their flukes can be up to 15' wide until you see them up close and personal!
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Back at the harbor there were several Double-crested Cormorants and Common Eider Ducks hunting for their lunch. The Cormorants were going after fish and the Eiders were going after small crabs. One of the Eiders was searching right under the bridge so I was able to watch it cruise along under the water. Once it found a crab it brought it back up to the surface and started to enjoy it's catch. It was pretty neat to be able to watch them and of course I was able to get some photos as well.
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Sei Whales are more of a rare sighting for us so seeing one is kind of unusual, so having a pair together like today was pretty awesome! These two whales were most likely doing some cooperative feeding because they were diving side by side and traveling together. At one point the surfaced right on the left side of the boat for a few breathes which was really amazing. They gave us several really nice looks before we headed off to do some more exploring.

On the way back to the harbor we passed several Harbor Seals and an Ocean Sunfish pretty close to the Isles of Shoals (about 6 miles off shore).
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Being so close to shore we didn't wanted to spend to much time with these whales because the larger ones are found about 10 - 15 miles further off shore. As it turned out, the Minke Whales from the early part of the trip was all we were going to get in terms of whale sightings of the day.

Back at the harbor there were a few Common Eider Ducks who were also doing some feeding. These guys were diving below the surface for a few seconds before resurfacing with crabs to much on. It was pretty interesting to see this behavior so close up, but I must say that I did feel bad for the crabs!
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The morning trip started out with a quick glimpse of a Minke Whale followed by a couple nice looks at an adult Fin Whale. While we were watching the Fin Whale a couple of blows were seen up ahead in the distance so we headed over to that area to check it out. It turned out being a familiar pair of adult female Humpback Whales named Newton and Scylla. These two whales must've been using a lot of their energy feeding because they were spending their time logging (sleeping) at the surface. We slowly eased our way into the area being careful not to startle them. Once we got close enough for a good look the boat's engine was shut down and we were able to sit there with these two large whales as they were resting at the surface. 

Both whales were very relaxed and undisturbed while we watched them. Neither one seemed at all bothered that we were sitting there with them.  As we were watching them, they drifted pretty close to the boat which gave us a chance to get some incredible looks at them. It was an awesome experience that won't be forgotten anytime soon. Being that close to any large whale is an amazing experience especially when the engine is shut off because not only can you hear the whale exhale, but you can also hear it inhale. We stayed with these whales for quite a while before they drifted far enough away from us so we could slowly ease our way back out of the area to look for more whales. Newton and Scylla had already made this trip a huge success, but this was just the beginning of a great day!

Shortly after leaving Newton and Scylla we found another pair of well known Humpback Whales named Tornado (an adult female) and Regulus (an adult male). As we were heading over towards their direction Tornado began tail slapping which was followed by Regulus flipper slapping right beside her. I've been whale watching since 2001 and this was my first time ever seeing flipper slapping so this was a very special treat for me! Unfortunately, by the time we got closer they had stopped this behavior, but it was still cool to see even at a distance. We stayed with these two whales for a little while before heading off to look for more whales while we still had some time to spend out there. 

Our next and final sighting from the morning trip ended up being playful pod of North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins. This pod was very large and very active. There were several of them who breached multiple times all around the boat. There were a few calves (referred to as little footballs because of their size) included in this pod which was nice to see. We found these Dolphins pretty late in the trip so we couldn't spend to much time with them, but we were able to spend long enough to get some excellent looks. It was the perfect way to end the trip. On the way back to the harbor we passed a few more Minke Whales one of which was pretty close to shore!

After having such a great morning trip I couldn't wait to get back out there in the afternoon and once again the whales were amazing for us! Our sightings started when we were able to relocate Regulus and Tornado again. After a few distant looks they both made their way over to the boat before going on a deeper dive. Several minutes later they resurfaced pretty close to us so we got some excellent looks at them before they went for a deeper dive again. While we were waiting for them to resurface another Humpback Whale was seen flipper slapping in the distance, but because Regulus and Tornado were much closer to us we stayed put. Shortly after they both resurfaced closer to the boat on the left side. This is when Regulus decided to put on a bit of a show for his. He decided to do a little slapping and he followed that up by rolling over on his side to do a little flipper slapping. Seeing this behavior in person is very exciting to say the least, but even seeing it in person it's still hard to believe that a Humpback's pectoral fin can reach up to 15' long! 

We stayed with these two whales for a while and then we made our way to a trio that were traveling together. The trio was identified as Owl and Pinball (adult females) and a new whale for me named Littlespot (an adult male). This was a very special sighting for me because Pinball was the very first whale that I saw out in the wild back on my first trip in July of 2001. I saw her one other occasion back in July of 2003 when she returned to Jeffrey's Ledge with her new calf who was later named Karli. Having gone for four years without seeing her I was very happy to see her once again and to see that she's still healthy and doing well for herself. Newton and Scylla were also in the area being watched by another boat. That gave us a total of 7 adult Humpback Whales (females Newton, Owl, Pinball, Scylla, and Tornado along with males Regulus and Littlespot) in the same area which is a pretty rare sight! What a day!
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From there we found an adult Fin Whale who was acting in the same way as the Minke Whale. Taking longer dives and traveling quite a bit while it was under the water. We were able to get a few nice looks in, but because it was traveling so much the decision was made to move on once again.

Our next sightings ended up being four Humpback Whales known as Owl, Tornado, and Newton (adult females) along with Regulus (an adult male), who were traveling together side by side. Regulus is one of the Humpback Whales that I've wanted to see in person for quite some time so I was very happy to finally have the opportunity to see him.

Unlike the whales we'd seen earlier in the day these whales were traveling very slowly and were spending most of their time at the surface just cruising along. They were most likely taking a bit of a break from all of the feeding they were doing which gave us plenty of time to get some really nice looks at them. 

We watched them slowly travel along for quite a while before they each went down for a deeper dive. Several minutes later they resurfaced one by one on the right side of the boat. Owl, Regulus, and Newton continued the slow traveling behavior, but Tornado decided to break apart from the group. One of the highlights of this trip happened when she did a couple of good tail slaps before heading off on her own to do some more feeding. We could still her in the distance as she traveled along, but we decided to stay with the trio who were traveling together.

A little bit later while we were still watching the trio of Humpbacks we had another unusual sighting surface on the right of the boat. It was one of the most unusual fish that I've ever seen, an Ocean Sunfish. These fish can get very large reaching 10-13' from fin to fin and they can weigh more than 2,000lb. They feed mainly on Jellyfish, but they also eat other smaller fish and crustaceans. These fish tend to be a little curious and this one was no exception as it traveled over to the boat and then flopped over on it's side to get a good luck at us. It swam right beside the boat and then under the bow and over to the other side at which point we had to ease out of the area and head for home. The last Ocean Sunfish that I saw was back in July of 2005 so it was nice to see another one and it was a great way to end what turned out to be an excellent day out on the ocean! 
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We started out on a Minke Whale who came really close to the boat. Although I was unable to get a good look at it, the naturalist said that it had an underbite which could be seen when the whale surfaced. I wish I was able to get it with my camera, but unfortunately I was unable to. 

After getting a few looks at the Minke the blow from a larger whale was seen up ahead. It was an adult Fin Whale so we headed over to check it out. While we were watching it, a 2nd Fin Whale surfaced on the opposite side of the boat so we ended up with a Fin Whale on either side. This is always nice because it allows everyone on the boat to get a good look at either one. The highlight of Fin Whale sightings came as one of them traveled towards the back of the boat and rolled over on it's side right behind us. Although you couldn't see it clearly you could make out the shadow and follow it's movement which was pretty awesome! After getting some really nice looks at the Fin Whale we headed off once again to try to find more whales.

Shortly after leaving the Fin Whales we found a pair of adult Humpback Whales traveling together. They were identified as Newton and Scylla, both adult females. They weren't traveling very fast at all and they were spending quite bit of time at the surface. They treated to several looks at their flukes as they went on deeper dives. The highlight came as we were getting ready to leave the area. Newton had just raised her flukes to go on a deeper dive and it appeared as though Scylla was about to do the same although her flukes barely came above the surface. All of a sudden she flipper her tail up twice and slapped it back down on the surface. It was almost as if she was waving goodbye to us. It was a great way to end a great trip!
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After going nearly two months without seeing a Humpback, I was finally able to see not just one, but two of them! We found two adult Humpbacks who were traveling together. They were identified as Newton and Scylla, both females. When we first found them they were traveling side by side, but shortly after Scylla decided to do some traveling and went off on her own. 

Because Newton was traveling less and spending more time at the surface we stayed with her. She was very nice to us while we were watching her. She was taking short dives and wasn't traveling very far at all. Shortly after she went on a deeper dive I decided to try my luck on the bottom deck up towards bow of the boat. My timing could not have been any better because shortly after I got up there she surfaced within feet of the boat and traveled right beside the boat. It's hard to believe how big these animals are even when you see it with your own eyes! This was one of our last looks at Newton as we ran out of time and had to head back to the harbor. While I love seeing all of the whale species on Jeffrey's Ledge it was really nice to see a Humpback after such a long period of time without any!
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We started on a single adult Fin Whale who was doing some traveling while under the water. This was the same whale who treated the Granite State with an extremely rare occurrence the day before when it breached three times! Unfortunately, I wasn't on the boat for that one, but I can only imagine how impressive that must've been! 

While we were watching this whale two more blows were seen in the distance. It was another pair of adult Fin Whales who were traveling together. Since the first Fin Whale was doing so much traveling, we headed over to the pair to see if we they would be more cooperative, but they were busy feeding and were acting in the same way. 

Because of the rough sea state we had a very hard time with trying to keep up with them so we headed out of the area to see if we could find a more cooperative whale, but unfortunately we were unable to. So our trip ended with a total of 3 Fin Whales. While the sea conditions prevented us from getting a lot of nice looks we did manage to get a few in so this trip goes down as yet another success!
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Our first whale sightings, a pair of Minke Whales traveling separately came pretty late in the trip. These Minkes were very good to us as they came close to the boat a few times. They have white bands on their pectoral fins (referred to as the Minke Mittens) which helped us to be able to track their movements under the water. Being able to track them is pretty cool because it gives you time to prepare for photography. When Minke Whales surface their snouts break the surface first, but unless you're looking at the right place at the right time it's difficult to catch this with the camera. Luckily, I was able to get some nice shots of the two Minkes that we had today. Because we had found them so late in the trip we couldn't stick around to long, but at least we knew were to start our search in the afternoon!

The afternoon was much better. We were able to find some more Minke Whales as well as an adult Fin Whale who treated us to some really nice looks before we had to head for home. Overall, it was a great day for whale watching and although it took some time we did find some very nice whales to watch!
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We stayed with this whale for a little while before heading out of the area to look for more whales. We ended up finding a second Fin Whale who was also busy feeding and wasn't spending much time at the surface. After a few looks we headed out once again to see if we could find something else.

Along the way we came to our third Fin Whale. This Fin Whale was easily identified as Ladder. One of the few Fin Whales with an actual name, Ladder was named because of  scar on his right side. At some point in his life (assuming Ladder is a male) he was struck by a boat and has the propeller scars to prove it. Luckily, he survived this accident and is doing very well for himself. Ladder was our last whale sighting of the day, it was a great way to end the trip!
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We started on a large adult Fin Whale who was spending quite a bit of time up at the surface. It was traveling pretty slowly and when it came up to the surface it took multiple breaths before diving again. As we were watching this whale there were a couple of other Fin Whale's who made their way into the area. We were able to get several great looks at them before we headed out of the area to see if we could find more activity.

This is where we got a very nice surprise in a pod of North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins. This was a small pod, but they were awesome! Dolphins are always a crowd pleaser and today was no exception. They seemed to be having a blast swimming beside the boat and going from side to side. The ocean was glassy calm and the sun was angled just right to where we were so we could see them clearly as they swam under the surface. Just about all of the passengers were amazed at how you could see them so well under the surface and at how they seemed to be 'playing' with us.

While we were watching the Dolphins a Fin Whale surfaced pretty close by so we headed over to check it out. The Dolphins tagged right along with us and they eventually met up with the Fin Whale. Dolphins like to swim with Fin Whales so we were able to keep track of the Fin Whale under the water by following the Dolphins. It was really cool to watch. The Dolphins appear to be pretty large when you see them alone, but they look tiny when they swim side by side with a Fin Whale!

We spent quite a bit of time with the Dolphins before our time was up. It was an absolutely beautiful day out there and we were very sad to see it come to an end, but after having the trip we had we just couldn't complain!
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Our first whale was believed to be a Fin Whale, but we never got a good look at it. It surfaced quite a bit ahead of us, but by the time we got to the area it had been down on a dive for about 10 minutes. We waited for several minutes, but were never able to relocate it. It was still early in the trip though so we continued on to look for more whales.

Our 2nd whale of the day was a very large adult Fin Whale. At first it appeared to have the same behavior pattern. It was down for about 10 minutes and never came up again so we kept going. Shortly after we started to move it resurfaced again up ahead of us. When we got to the area it disappeared again, but then we were able to see it just under the surface. We were on it's right side so it's skin appeared to be a bright green color under the water. After watching it travel very slowly just beneath the surface it was pretty clear that this whale was logging (sleeping). After several minutes of being under the water it came up for air and then it went for a deep dive again. When it came up for air we were close enough to actually hear it inhale which is pretty awesome. We waited for several minutes for this whale to resurface, but we were unable to relocate it. So, we moved on yet again...

Our last sighting of the day was a Minke Whale who we were able to get a few quick looks at before our time was up and we had to head for the Harbor. Overall, it was a decent trip. The conditions were great, but the sightings were a bit slow. Whales are wild animals though so it's expected that they can't always entertain us. We'll see what happens next weekend...
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The first sighting of the day was a very small pod of Harbor Porpoise which were literally right outside the harbor. We stopped for a few minutes to try to look at them, but being shy animals they didn't stick around long enough for us to see them. We continued on our way with high hopes considering our early sighting.

The further offshore we got the thicker the fog got which didn't help us at all. Still, we managed to find another whale. This time it was an adult Minke Whale, but we were only able to get a couple of looks at it before we lost it in the fog. We waited for a few minutes for it to resurface, but it must've come up beyond our visibility range as we were never able to relocate it. Unfortunately for us, this was the last whale we were able to find in the morning.

On the way back to the harbor after the morning trip the visibility seemed to be improving a little bit which was a pretty good sign. Of course by the time we got back to the harbor and back offshore the fog rolled right back in and it was thicker than the morning. It was looking pretty hopeless, but somehow we managed to find a small pod of North Atlantic White Sided Dolphins. There were probably about 20-30 of them and being as fast as they are we had a very difficult time keeping track of them. With the help of three other whale watching vessels we did manage to get a few nice looks at them before we had to head for home.

On the way back in we passed through a pretty bad storm which got rid of the fog, but dumped some rain on us instead. There were bright flashes of lightning all around us which was pretty cool. I've always liked thunder and lightning storms so seeing it out on the ocean is really neat. 
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The morning trip started out with an early adult Fin Whale sighting who was far to busy to be bothered with us. It was taking long dives and traveling quite a distance while under the water. By the time it had resurfaced it was so far away that we were unable to get close enough to get a good look before it went back down again. We tried a few times to get a nice look, but it wasn't meant to be. The decision was made to follow up on some other whale reports in the area before they go to old.

From the first Fin Whale we headed to another area where there were other whale reports. Unfortunately, we were unable to find whatever was out there. After traveling slowly trying to locate it we headed off to do some more exploring. This is where another Fin Whale saved the trip! This last Fin Whale of the day was pretty relaxed and stayed pretty close to the boat. We were able to get multiple excellent looks at it before our time was up and we had to head for home.

The afternoon trip was a lot better than  the morning. It started out with a familiar Fin Whale known as 'Ladder'. Ladder was named because of some pretty bad propeller scarring on it's right side which resemble a ladder. This scarring makes it a very easy whale to identify. 

Ladder was incredibly relaxed and stayed just below the surface just about the entire time that we watched him. Only going down for one or two deeper dives and even still, when he resurfaced he was still very close to the boat. On one of his deeper dives he actually lifted his tail out of the water which is very rare for a Fin Whale to do. I've been whale watching since 2001 and this is my first time ever seeing a Fin Whale's tail come out of the water. That alone made the trip pretty awesome, but it actually got better. At one point he surfaced to the right of the boat and ended up swimming right below the bow of the boat. On another surfacing he came up within feet of the left of us. He took a few breaths and then he dove once again. Having these two close up looks at an adult Fin Whale is pretty amazing to say the least. Even seeing them in person on such a frequent basis, it's still hard to believe that they are as big as they are.

We stayed with Ladder for quite a while before moving on to see another adult Fin Whale. This whale was also pretty relaxed and allowed us to get some really nice looks before our time was up and we had to head for home.

On the way back to the harbor some of the kids on the boat decided to feed a couple of Seagulls who were following us. Before we knew it there were dozens of them trailing behind us. They were coming from just about every direction. Needless to say, I spent most of the ride home taking pictures of them. Overall, it was a great day for whale watching. It started out pretty slow, but the Fin Whales in the afternoon more than made up for it!
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We traveled for quite a while before we found our first whale. It was an adult Fin Whale. This whale was very nice to watch. It was using up a lot of it's energy feeding so it was pretty relaxed and slow moving. It was also sticking to short dive times which is always a plus. We got some really nice looks at this whale, but it would've been so much better if the ocean was a bit smoother. As we watched and followed this whale, it lead us towards our next Fin Whale sightings of the day, a mother and calf pair. They were swimming side by side which let us see the size difference between mom and her baby. The calf, while still a large animal, was so small in comparison to it's large mother. 

We were able to get a few really nice looks at this pair before our time was up and we had to head back to the harbor. On the way back in we traveled by three more Fin Whales who were traveling side by side. It's so amazing to see such large animals traveling in groups. They may have been doing some cooperative feeding or just traveling together for companionship. Unfortunately, our time was running really low so we couldn't stop to see them, but it was still cool to watch them as we passed by.
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Our trip started out in an area where there were two adult Fin Whales. We headed over the one who surfaced closest to us and we were able to get some really nice looks at it's right side as it glided just below the surface. Fin Whales are asymetrically colored meaning that each side of the whale is a different color. On the left side, it's a dark grey and on the right side it's lower jaw is white which looks like a bright neon green under the water. As long as you're on the right side of the whale, chances are pretty good you'll have a pretty easy time following it under the water. We stayed with this whale for a little while before venturing further offshore to follow up on some other whale reports.

Further offshore as we travelled along, the bird activity increased quite a bit. Northern Gannets could be seen in just about every direction diving into the ocean to catch fish. There were also several different species of Shearwaters who were gliding just over the surface in search of food. Wilson's Storm Petrals we seen skimming the surface and of course there were plenty of Seagulls scattered all around. While I obviously go whale watching mainly for the whale sightings, I must say that I've been getting more and more into the bird watching side of things as well. Mainly the Northern Gannets who have been seen in large numbers so far this season. They're such beautiful birds and watching them dive is pretty awesome!

Thankfully there were many birds to watch as we went along because the whales that were reported in the area earlier were either gone or were taking very long dives by the time we got out there. We ended up turning back towards an area that we had just passed through because there was a new report of some activity. Once we got there we found another Fin Whale who was traveling just below the surface very slowly. Luckily we were on the whale's right side so tracking it under the water was pretty easy if you knew what you were looking for! We stayed with this whale for a while and then we did a little more exploring before our time was up. Back at the harbor there were a few seagulls hanging around who offered some added entertainment, and of course photo ops!
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Our sightings started out nice and early with a very large and cooperative Basking Shark who was busy feeding just below the surface. Basking Sharks are harmless to people as they're filter feeders. They do not have teeth, they just glide through the water with their mouths wide open and they collect plankton as they go along. Normally Basking Sharks tend to be a little shy around boats. Since they're fish and not mammals they don't need to breathe air so when a boat approaches to closely they simply just drift further below the surface until they're ready to come back up again. Luckily for us, this one didn't seem to be to scared of us at all as it made a really close approach towards the front of the boat. At one point the boat's position and the sun's angle was just right and you could see the shark clearly under the water. You could see each individual gill slit which was pretty amazing to see. We stayed with this Basking Shark for a little while before heading further off shore to an area where the whales have been busy feeding.

The bird activity increased a lot as we got further off shore. At one point we passed what appeared to be a log with about 30 Northern Gannets resting on it. There were more Northern Gannets flying around in search of food and they could be seen frequently diving into the water. Other bird sightings included Common Terns, Wilson's Storm Petrals, Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Double-Crested Cormorants, Norther Fulmars, as well as many species of Seagulls. If you're a bird watcher, now's the time to get out there. The bird activity alone is pretty awesome!

As we were heading offshore to follow up on some reports we saw a few Minke Whales here and there, but because there were other reports in the area the decision was made to keep going and thankfully it really paid off!  We ended up catching up with an adult Humpback Whale named Clamp who I we saw last weekend.

Clamp was concentrating on doing a lot of deep feeding. She was using up a lot of energy feeding and didn't seem to have enough left over to raise her flukes up and out of the water. Luckily, they were able to ID her based on her dorsal fin and the fact that she's been in the area for the past several days. The funniest part of this sighting was that you could actually smell her breathe when she exhaled. At first nobody really knew what it was, but it was later announced over the intercom that it was actually her breathe. The smell itself was pretty foul, but it was funny to know that's what we were smelling.

While we were watching Clamp, there were Minke Whales and a couple of Fin Whales that moved into the area as well. We ended our trip with heading over to one of the Fin Whales who gave us some really nice close up looks.
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We started our trip with a large adult Fin Whale who gave us some really excellent looks as it travelled along side the boat. We were on it's right side so we could follow it pretty easily underwater by looking at it's white lower jaw. While we were watching this whale a second Fin Whale made it's way into the area, but we never made it to go see this whale because there were more reports further off shore.

On the way out to the reports a pair of adult Fin Whales surfaced up ahead of us. Since we were already pretty close to them we stopped to check them out as well. They were pretty much in sync with each other as they swam along. After taking a few breathes they both arched their backs and went on another deeper dive. At this point we continued on our way.

A little while later another whale, an adult male Humpback Whale named Satula, surfaced up ahead. Satula is very easily recognized because at some point in his life he got wounded pretty badly. Nobody knows exactly what happened to him, but the result of his ordeal he's missing a pretty large chunk out of his dorsal fin. This was my second time seeing Satula so it was nice to see him again and to know that he's still doing well for himself. My first time seeing Satula was last season when he treated everyone to a tail breach that I was lucky enough to get on film!

While watching Satula another familiar Humpback Whale moved into the area. This second Humpback was an adult female named Clamp. I saw Clamp once before back in 2005. Clamp was very nice to us then and to make it more exciting, we found out the following spring that she was pregnant we saw her as she returned to the Gulf of Maine with her new calf! She was traveling alone this time though, but she was getting closer and closer to Satula as we headed out of the area. Chances are pretty good that they may have caught up with each other to do some cooperative feeding. If we only had more time to stay out there with the whales....

Back at the harbor there were some fishermen who were busy cleaning some fish that they had caught throughout the day. They toss the scrap pieces into the water which causes quite a stir with the seagulls. It was just another chance for me to get some more pictures.
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About an hour and half later we hit a break in the fog and the visibility had improved by quite a bit. While our chances of finding whales were increasing more and more by the minute, another whale watching vessel saved us quite a bit of work because they had already found a whale for us to go see.

This whale was a very large adult Humpback Whale who had a type 5 tail (meaning that the underside of it's tail was almost completely black). Nobody on the Granite State had ever seen this whale before so it wasn't identified until a few days later. It was identified as Crook. Crook was a very slow moving whale and was taking short dives. It was also staying pretty close to the boat which allowed for several really nice looks. Crook was definitely a nice whale for us to watch. This was also the first Humpback sighting of the season.

We stayed with Crook for a little while before our time was running low and we had to head for home. The ride back in was nice up until about 8 or 9 miles offshore where the fog was still sitting there. We passed in between the Isles of Shoals, but could barely make them out. Luckily for us, this thick fog didn't effect our sightings today!
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We started out on a Minke Whale who (unlike most Minkes) came pretty close to the boat a couple of times. Normally Minke Whales are more shy than the larger baleen whales and they're more hesitant to approach the boat. This one was very nice to us though. The people who were up in the bow of the boat were treated to an excellent look as it passed right in front of them.

After we left the Minke Whale we found a couple of Fin Whales who were traveling in different directions. One of the Fin Whales seemed to be using it's flukes under the water to push the food towards it's head. On a few different occasions it looked as though it was going to raise it's flukes out of the water which I've never seen a Fin Whale do before. It would've been pretty awesome to see, but unfortunately this whale didn't do it.

Overall, it was a great trip and a great day to be out on the ocean. The weather itself wasn't perfect, but the sea conditions and the whale activity more than made up for it.
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We've gone whale watching in the fog quite a few times with great success, but today wasn't as successful. We ended up finding a couple of Minke Whales and a single Fin Whale all towards the end of the trip. One of the Minke Whales made a really close pass by the boat which was really cool. You could follow it under the water by watching the white patches on it's pectoral fins. These patches are referred to as the Minke mittens. Being able to follow the Minke Whale underwater was pretty cool and it also gave me the chance to get my first 'snout' picture! When Minkes come up to the surface to breathe, their nose (or snout) is usually the first part of it's body that normally breaks the water's surface. This all happens so quickly that it's very difficult to photograph!

While our whale sightings most likely would've been much better if there was no fog, we were very surprised that we didn't find more whales considering the large amount of bird activity. There were several different species around including; Common Terns, Northern Gannets, Sooty Shearwaters, Greater Shearwaters, Wilson's Storm Petrals, Double-crested Cormorants, Northern Fulmars, several different Gull species, and even some Loons! We even had a small Common Yellowthroat decide to catch a ride with us. It rested on the boat for about 30-45 minutes before he went on his way. This much bird activity is usually a great sign of whales being close by. No such luck today though. We'll see what happens next weekend.
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