Learn about the whale, dolphin and porpoise sightings in Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay. Join naturalists - Krill, Fred, Joanne, Dianne, Leah, Lauren, Tammy, and Michael - aboard Captain John Boats as they head offshore each day from April through October to view the unique coastal marine wildlife off New England. Our intern Ian will also be providing seabird reports.
Although we can not post each and every whale watching trip that we take offshore, we will do our best to post as many as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
May 12, 2012 Whale Watch
Gray Seal
12 noon Whale Watch - Krill
Northern Gannet
We had a great day offshore with excellent visibility and great views of humpback whales, minke whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins and gray seals. The best part of our trip was a close approach by two humpback whales that we were able to identify as Hazard and Sanchal.
Sanchal is the 2008 calf of Salt, the most famous humpback whale in the world and the first whale to ever receive a name. So great to see Salt's calf all grown up.
Hazard and Sanchal stayed around our vessel for over 20 minutes. This gave our passengers to get a wonderful and close-up view of these endangered animals. Hard to know what was watching "whom" as the whales surfaced first on our port side and then swam under the boat to surface on our starboard side. As our passengers waved to get their attention, the whales rolled over to get a better look at us. I wonder if Hazard and Sanchal realized just how much we love these types of interactions? They seemed to enjoy this interaction just as much as we did!
We had a great look at a gray seal as well as a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. All in all a wonderful day. Check out this video of Hazard and Sanchal next to the boat. Amazing!
In the end, we had a great time with friends, new and old. We had a great crew onboard and want to thank captain Tommy and crew members Ron and Rich. Humpback whales we were able to identify include: Midnight, Wizard, Circus, Sanchal, Hazard, Ventisca, Division, Snare, Mostaza, Checkmark, Rapier and calf and Eruption.
Thank you for visiting our Naturalist Blog. This blog is maintained by Carol "Krill" Carson, Outreach Educational Coordinator for Captain John Whale Watching and Fishing Tours. If you have any questions or comments, you can reach Krill at krillcarson@mac.com.