Sun Sept 15- Whale Watching- Starship

This trip was a gift. The weather was warm like a summer’s day, but with Labor Day two weeks behind
us, it felt better than usual. The mood on board was sweet and grateful. We found dolphins
(Tamanend’s bottlenose) early, and then spent time with two juvenile humpback whales within a few
miles from shore. We decided to continue heading offshore hoping to find the large adults which we
spent time with most of the season. As we approached, blows lit up the horizon like (to quote one of our
volunteers) fireworks in a summer’s sky. Here, we encountered 16-18 humpbacks, including at least two
calves. The calves rested at the surface until breaking into a breach, roll-over, head-stand, and/or tail
throw. The adults were in associated pairs and trios surfacing and diving synchronously, feeding on
dense patches of bait detected below. Whales surrounded the vessel and immersed the passengers with
their sights and sounds. Two separate passengers celebrated their 30 th birthday with us and one lucky
couple got engaged while whales breached and surfaced around the vessel! Adding to the excitement,
one of the whales was quickly identified as Salt, the ‘matriarch of the Gulf of Maine’ who was previously
been encountered off MTK twice in early August (she is named by the Center for Coastal Studies in
Provincetown, MA for the extensive white ‘coating’ on her dorsal fin). Salt was first documented in 1976
off MA and is at least 48 years old. She is a well-documented mother, grandmother, and great-
grandmother to many humpbacks, some of which we encountered on previous trips
(https://coastalstudies.org/our-work/humpback-whale-research/gulf-of-maine/a-humpback-whale-
named-salt/). It was a wonderful day on the water and everyone was thankful to be a part of it. Only five
trips remain in our (extended) season. Don’t miss the boat: book today!
20-30 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin
18-20 humpback whales, including two juveniles nearshore
5 sooty shearwaters
7-8 Cory’s shearwaters
1 Manx shearwater