July 12, 2012 Whale Watches

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watches - Joanne

9 am trip:

We had near perfect conditions traveling across Massachusetts Bay.  Our first sighting was of huge endangered finback whale off the southern edge of Stellwagen Bank between the bank and Race Point.  The animal was moving relatively slowly, spending 7-9 breaths at the surface before arching and diving.  

We continued southeast down the backside to where the larger concentrations of humpback whales had been seen of late.  Once of highland light, whales were quite numerous, including humpbacks and minkes. 

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Our first sighting included Lariat, raising its flukes high out of the water.  Not far from her, we saw the Grande Dame herself—SALT-- and headed right over to see her!  She was traveling with Buckshot, both mature females.  Salt has been seen off Massachusetts in all but one summer since 1976.  Salt was the first Gulf of Maine humpback whale to be seen by researchers on the Silver Bank breeding ground.  And she is one of only a few Gulf of Maine whales to have been seen in the West Indies in three separate years.

Rattan traveling with Bounce and a third whale we only got a glimpse of; with a feeding trio in-shore, which we headed to, including Rocker (a mature male) bubble feeding with Abrasion (who’s calf was nearby).  Before having to return to port, we got to see Echo and Draco.  Echo was first seen in 1988 and although we don’t know her predecessors, genetics tells us she is descended from the same distant ancestors as Cardhu and Trident.  She has given birth to 6 calves since she was first seen; unfortunately, her first calf (Monogram) has not been seen since its calf year and her second calf, Beacon, died in December 2004 (cause unknown). 

2 pm trip:

Here is some video taken during the afternoon trip by Krill. Enjoy!

We headed offshore to the same area we had travelled to in the morning—down the backside of Cape Cod towards Cape Cod Light.  The whales continued to be quite numerous with several dozen humpback whales and a dozen minke whales in the area!  We had humpback whales all around us in every direction, including many of them surfacing right off our bow and stern. 

The majority of whales appeared to be searching for food and/or feeding deeper in the water column.   Fracture was one of a few feeding at the surface through a bright green bubble clouds.  Fracture was first seen in 1980, but he was not a calf, so his relatives are unknown.  He is primarily seen on Stellwagen Bank and in the Great South Channel.  In 1993, he was seen by whale watchers on over 70 days from April through October a record that only a handful of whales have topped. 

Humpbacks seen included adults and juveniles, several newly named whales, and a mom/calf pair, along with males and females—we had the full spectrum:  Apex, Buckshot, Crown, Dusky and calf, Eruption, Duckpin, Flock, Fracture, Infinity, Hatchmark, Milkweed, Pogo, Rattan, Rapier’s 09 calf, Rocker, Powerline, Swallowtail, Springboard, Seal, Vertex, & Ventisca.