Whale Watching

As we always do, we began our trip reminding passengers that we have no idea what we will see as these are wild animals that can move tremendous distances and we are here to observe their natural behaviors (this is not a scripted experience with baited or caged animals); every trip is different. On many occasions this season, that has meant surprises that we could have never anticipated; encounters and observations rarely seen and some more often seen, but always unexpected and amazing. Unfortunately, it also means that sometimes we may find no whales or dolphins at all, and although extremely rare, that was the case aboard Sunday’s adventure. As we sailed through the area where two different humpbacks were encountered just the day prior, it was evident that both whales moved on and no sign of them could be…

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to sail aboard the Viking Starship. With unlimited visibility, clear skies, and just the right amount of cool ocean breezes, we headed offshore in hopes of finding some of the whales that have been lingering around the area, or perhaps some new ones not yet seen this season. Not…

Another successful trip: 100-120 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins and 2 humpback whales! One more day with great visibility (14 miles) and  3-4′ seas.  We headed SE on the Viking Star and 1 hour after passing Montauk Lighthouse we found an aggregation of ~100 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins searching for food. WE left those dolphins and continued on…

We found them again! This was another beautiful day with unlimited visibility. We headed out towards where we’ve been seeing whales over the past trips and once again found a whale that we’d seen on our last two trips. This whale was first identified in 2024 off Block Island.  We stayed with this whale for…

Today we sailed southeast to find cetaceans in an area where several humpbacks have been seen previously. On the way, we found two large groups of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins (at least 120-150 individuals each) which we shared an exceptional encounter with. Typically, Tamanend’s are relatively shy around our vessels and disappear beneath the surface when…

Another successful trip: humpback and minke whales! We couldn’t ask for better conditions! A relatively calm day at sea with unlimited visibility made searching for blows easier than most days. Although it took a while to get to where we’d been seeing whales recently, we did find them. We found a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) first seen…

Despite a light drizzle at the dock, we sailed away from Montauk under cloudy, but dry conditions, and found our first whale approximately three miles from shore. This was a minke whale, the smallest of baleen whales, which surfaced regularly around the vessel in short (30 seconds to 1.5 minutes) intervals while feeding on the…

A challenging yet successful trip ! The predicted conditions offshore where we’d been seeing whales was such that to ride there to search there would have been extremely uncomfortable. Since the nearshore waters are where we expect to see Tamanend’s bottlenose bolphins and juvenile humpback whales, we decided to turn west at the lighthouse and search those waters those nearshore….

Conditions were perfect for a whale watch as we left the dock under clear skies and a light breeze. Almost immediately after passing the point (lighthouse), we encountered pelagic bird activity: Wilson’s storm petrels, Corys, great, and sooty shearwaters, along with gulls and terns by the hundreds. Bait was thick at the surface and we…

More Minke Mania and Calf Capers! Our trip today took us approximately 12 miles southeast of Montauk under clear skies and calm seas. As we approached our destination, we could see a breaching humpback from over a mile away, and knew we were in for something special. The breaching continued as we neared the young…