Wed July 24 – Whale Watching – Viking Starship
Our 2024 trip reports are starting to sound more like fairytales than whale watching summaries and that
is especially true for our Wednesday, July 25 th trip. The east end experienced flooding rains in the
morning and fog sopped in much of Montauk ahead of the trip. It was drizzling and/or extremely damp
as we departed, and even Camp Hero was out of view due to the poor visibility. That all changed once
we passed the lighthouse. Visibility improved to about three miles and then five. Within an hour, blows
belonging to more and more whales were spotted. We spent time with approximately sixteen humpback
whales and over one hundred short-beaked common dolphins. A minke whale surfaced repeatedly near
the vessel (which is atypical for a minke) and, as if to agree with our moods, the skies cleared! I even
reminded everyone onboard to apply sunscreen because the sun was in sharp contrast to conditions
during our departure. Everyone had excellent views of the adult whales, which dove around and
surfaced around our vessel, at times making close, intentional approaches towards us as the boat sat
safely out of gear. One of the calves we have been seeing was briefly spotted and a yet-unidentified
whale (possibly the calf) breached several times ahead of the vessel. It was a GREAT day. Eventually, it
was time to head back and both whales and dolphins could be spotted for several minutes as we
steamed back. In time, they disappeared out of sight and the dark clouds which enveloped the land
were soon upon us, as if we had entered – and were now leaving – some magical portal into an amazing
world. Many of the whales we encountered were new, but some were the same we have seen now for
three weeks indicating that they are sticking around. Please join us and tell your friends. These
opportunities are way too good for us to keep to ourselves!
16-18 humpbacks, with many more blows in distance
140-180 short-beaked common dolphins
1 minke whale
1-2 presumed finback whales in distance
25-40 sooty shearwaters
50-80 great shearwaters
40-60 Cory’s shearwaters
20-30 Wilson’s storm petrels
