May 18, 2012 Whale Watch

9 am Whale Watch Charter - Krill

We typically don't post information from our whale watch charters, but our group onboard today encouraged us to do so.  We had Ticonderoga Middle School onboard and what a great group of kids and teacher they were! This is one of my favorite school groups for teachers like Janet and Kyle are such great supporters of marine wildlife conservation and education that they are kindred spirits.

Not only did we have humpbacks feeding on the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, but we also had at least 5 minkes whales and 2 finback whales. 

Here is a short video that I was able to collect as we held position for a group of humpback whales that were surface feeding all around our vessel.  We were able to identify a number of humpback whales including: Entropy, Canopy, Rapier and calf, Cardhu with a possible calf, Milkweed, Ampersand, Ventisca, Bounce, Wizard, Pitcher, Fracture Centipede, Anchor and calf, Music, and Perseid.

May 17, 2012 Whale Watch

9 am Whale Watch - Krill

747

We had winds out of the northwest that made for a bumpy ride offshore. But with clear skies and excellent visibility, our spirits were high as we headed to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. There we had at least 15 to 20 humpback whales feeding in the area. Some were feeding in small groups of 2 or 3, and many were feeding on their own.

Ganesh

Fluke out dive by Centipede

We were able to identify many of the humpbacks when we were watching them feed all around the boat. And now that we have had time to examine our photographs, we had added to the list of known humpbacks.  Whales seen today include: Ganesh, 747, Centipede, Circus, Midnight, Tunguska, Fracture, Eruption, Wizard, Ursa and Scylla's 2008 calf. Not bad for one trip offshore!

Fluke out by Eruption

Eruption

Straining

We also had a few minke whales in the area and a handful of Northern gannets.  Wonderful day offshore. Hope you can join us soon.

May 13, 2012 - Whale Watch

Mother's Day Whale Watch - Krill

What a fabulous day offshore. At least 15 to 20 humpback whales surface feeding on the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank.  We had great views of two mother and calf pairs including Pisces and her calf of this season and Rapier with her new calf.

Here is a short video of Pisces and her calf right next to the boat. Pisces does a chin breach as they head away from the boat. When mom breaches out of the water, you get a better feel for how big she is!

Happy Mother's Day from all of us at Captain John Whale Watching and Fishing Tours.  Here is another video with additional scenes from today's trip.



Humpback whales that we were able to identify include: Wizard, Ventisca, Ventisca's 2008 calf, Midnight, Etch-a-Sketch, Rapier and her calf, Pisces and her calf, and Underline.

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.

NECWA intern Chris.

Crew member Rich.

Crew member Ronnie.

Naturalist Krill. 

The stars of the show!