Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Back to Viking Fleet Fishing Reports

Fri Aug 7 – Whale Watching

A 5-species cetacean day!
On our travels offshore to find the humpbacks we encountered on Wednesday’s trip, we discovered
numerous small pods of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins which could be seen swimming through the
swells and waves around our vessel about 3 miles from the lighthouse. The dolphins were not at all
bothered by our presence, and could be seen in all directions around our vessel affording passengers
excellent views. Continuing offshore, we saw a tremendous breach from miles away and at least one
spout, but the whales were on the move and we, at first, only encountered a small finback whale. We
continued on, encountering numerous small pods of short-beaked common dolphin, which would
approach the vessel and swim beneath our bow to the excitement of the passengers. No humpbacks
were spotted in their previous locations or to the west, so we headed east in hopes of finding them.
Unlike the previous few weeks, bait was incredibly sparse and low. About 4.5 miles from our original
turning point, we found our first humpback, Yarrow, a previously-encountered whale off Montauk.
Another humpback could be seen lobtailing in the distance, but could not be found again once we
turned to investigate, although we did spot a minke whale during our search. More blows belonging to
up to 6 humpbacks were seen and we got good looks at most of them, including some close approaches
by Yarrow and another one of our known whales, Loon. These whales were all on the move and heading
west, traveling with us back to our original searching location! Whales are here to feed and when food is
sparse, the behaviors are quite different from when they are feeding; it is always special to see and
experience their natural behaviors as the season progresses.
We are now sailing on Saturdays and going out five days a week! Every trip is different, so come on out
with us today to capture the magic of this season with us.

70-90 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin
1 finback whale
1 minke whale
40-70 short-beaked common dolphin
6-7 humpback whales

Whale tail above ocean surface with water splashes. Two dolphins swimming in the ocean, partially submerged in water. Dolphin swimming in the ocean, partially above water. Humpback whale tail above ocean water, slight splash visible. Two whale tails emerging from the ocean water. A large whale's back surfacing in ocean waters. Whale tail emerging from ocean water, splashing around.

Previous Post Next Post