With gusty winds and a rolling sea forecasted, we were
presently surprised to find it quite manageable offshore. We came across a few humpback whales
just off the southern edge of Stellwagen Bank. From two miles away, we could see
aerials and big splashes!
A young humpback whale named Convict was displaying every
aerial possible—tail breaching, chin breaching, full breaching and
flippering. Repeatedly! At the end of the day, comparing the
start of our trip with the end of another whale watching boats trip, we were
able to determine that Convict did this for over two hours!! Convict was still
going when the last boat left to return to port. At one point, Convict had a
companion, but it was quite low profile, barely showing itself.
Before leaving, we had a quick look at Longboard and
Pumpkinseed, who were traveling together with blows from 4-5 more humpbacks not
far to the east. And amazingly
awesome windy day offshore!
