Wed Aug 28 – Whale Watching

With summer vacation soon ending, the mood onboard the Viking Starship yesterday was excited and
joyful as we left the dock under beautiful blue skies, a light breeze, and unlimited visibility. We sailed
passed historic Camp Hero and Montauk Point Lighthouse before finding numerous schools of bunker,
visible as dark patches at the surface. Here, hundreds of shearwaters (primarily Cory’s and great) flew,
fed, and rested with full bellies at the surface. The fish and bird life continued for the first couple of
miles of our journey as we sailed southeast towards productive waters where cetaceans (whales and
dolphins) were seen in abundance on previous trips. The unlimited visibility provided excellent views of
Fire Island, and the bow was full of families and friends enjoying the voyage. To our surprise, despite its
beauty and an abundance of bait detected by the ship’s SONAR, no whales would be found. We passed
Block Island before heading south to loop back in different waters. The wind and seas picked up a bit
adding a level of excitement to those at the bow, and things got even more exciting when a large pod of
short-beaked common dolphins raced toward the vessel and gave everyone the encounter of a lifetime.
Dolphins rode the bow and swam alongside the vessel as others surfed the waves and breached ahead
of us. Bait was detected throughout the water column and soon enough dolphins could be seen charging
at, and just beneath, the surface feeding on the feast. The close approaches continued for half an hour,
with dolphins porpoising and rubbing bellies immediately next to the vessel, beneath admiring eyes.
Passengers on the lower level could hear the blows of exhalation and occasional whistles, providing an
exhilarating and memorable experience. Altogether, at least 180-220 dolphins swam, fished, and surfed
alongside our vessel, before we continued northeast toward Montauk. Unfortunately, no baleen whales
would be found despite persistent searching. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful and memorable day at sea,
ending beneath a gorgeous sunset as we passed the Point and returned to harbor.
180-220 short-beaked common dolphins
160-200 Cory’s shearwaters
80-120 great shearwaters
10-20 Wilson’s storm petrels