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Mon July 13 – Whale Watching

Another incredible, unbelievable day at sea!
Conditions yesterday could barely have been better; low 70s, a light breeze, and sunny skies. Visibility
was at least 10-12 miles and hopes were high. The activity has been quite a bit offshore, so we settled in
for a transit that ultimately took us 20 miles off Montauk. Sporadic pelagic bird sightings and a large
ocean sunfish (Mola mola) kept us entertained along the way. Then, we saw the blows; at first a few
belonging to finback and humpback whales that were moving quickly beneath the water and not
affording any good views…yet. We continued on to where multiple blows spanned the horizon. There,
we found 6-8 humpback whales including at least one calf. Some of the humpbacks approached closely
toward our vessel to the delight of passengers onboard. Around us, 4-6 finback whales surfaced, and
then a large pod of short-beaked common dolphin charged in for close-up, extraordinary views and
encounters. The fin whales were feeding in a mix of dolphins and an occasional minke whale, while the
humpbacks continued to appear adjacent to our vessel. Leaping sharks occasionally were seen in the
distance and small schools of skipjack tuna leapt near our bow. Then, as the action started to spread out
and we continued south, we came into an area with at least 8-12 more finback whales. These are an
endangered species, with over three-quarters of a million individuals wiped out during commercial
whaling. To see one finback whale is always great, but to find this many, and in such close proximity,
was astounding. As we sat and watched safely out of gear, the whales appeared next to the vessel and
even seemed to spend time purposely with us. More minkes and humpbacks could be seen around us. It
was a sensational day, and as we headed home, we quickly realized it was not over, as a loggerhead sea
turtle and sporadic pods of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins were observed along the way.

1 Mola mola
1 loggerhead turtle
12-18 finback whales
6-9 humpback turtles
2-4 minke whales
180-260 short-beaked common dolphins
40-60 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
Hundreds of Cory’s, Scopoli’s, and/or great shearwaters
Several sooty shearwaters
60-80 Wilson’s storm petrels
1 parasitic jaeger

Sea turtle swimming in blue ocean water near the surface. Dolphin swimming in clear blue water with a visible dorsal fin. Whale spouting water in ocean waves. Two whales in the ocean, with one diving and showing its tail above water. A whale's tail emerges from the ocean, water splashing around it. Fin of a whale breaking through ocean water, creating waves. Two dolphins swimming in the ocean. Ocean sunfish swimming near the water surface. Whale tail surfacing above ocean water, small splashes visible. Large dorsal fin of a basking shark partially submerged in ocean water. Dolphin swimming and splashing in the ocean. Whale spouting water in the ocean with a bird flying nearby. Six dolphins swimming in the ocean with visible waves.

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