The weather offshore was just phenomenal as we headed towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Here within the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary we found a single finback whale feeding in the area.
Finbacks are the second largest of the baleen whales that feed in our cold, New England waters. This species is considered one of the fastest offshore and is therefore given the nickname the "greyhounds of the ocean."
Finback whales are often quite elusive and are difficult to get a good look at. But not this animal. This finback whale was breaking all the rules. It didn't stay down for very long and when it returned to the surface to breathe, it swam slowly and took quite a few breaths.
This very slow and regular behavior allowed our captain, Capt. Jonny Dennen to get us some amazing views of this very endangered animal. Not easy maneuvering around a finback whale, but Capt. Jonny did a wonderful job.
After a few surfacings from the finback whale, we decided to head northeast to the middle of the bank. Here we found a single humpback whale that turned out to be the most famous humpback whale in the world, Salt! The last time I saw Salt was this past Tuesday and she was traveling in company with two other mature females, Trident and Nile. But on today's trip, Salt was on her own and was consistently conducting 12 to 14 minutes dives.
Salt is the most famous whale in the world for she was the first humpback whale to receive a name. Capt. Erin Avellar, son and co-owner of the Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch named Salt back in 1976. Erin named Salt for the extensive white scarring on her dorsal fin, the fin on her back. This scarring is noticeable on both the right and left sides.
Salt has been seen each years since 1976 and over this time period, she has brought back 12 beautiful calves. By being able to recognize Salt and her calves over this past 30+ years, Salt and family have taught us a lot about humpback biology and life history.
What a thrill for all of us onboard the boat today! Even we seasoned veterans are ecstatic when we see Salt for she is the most well documented, most photographed and most loved humpback whale in our area. Salt appeared to be feeding deep as she never really moved out of the area. She continued to take 12 to 14 minute dives followed by brief breathing excursions at the surface.
As we watched Salt, we were joined by the Nora Victoria, a whale watching boat out of Boston, MA. Onboard this boat was our friend and colleague, Capt. Earl. Captains' Jonny and Earl are very good friends as are most of the captains that work offshore. Most company's share their sighting information and this benefits not only the companies, but also the whales. The days of jockeying around a whale to shield the view from another company are over. And thank goodness they are over!
As we headed for home, some of our passengers got a quick glimpse of a minke whale, the smallest of all the baleen whales. Unfortunately we didn't have time to stop on this animal since we were going to be late getting back to the dock as it was.
But what a trip we had with a very workable finback whale and a sighting of Salt, our most favorite whale!
