Whale Watching

An epic trip unlike any this century! We headed out to sea to escape the heat. We had reports of dolphins and whales and headed SE and soon found a group of 50-60 inshore bottlenose dolphins, chasing their prey over an area of about 1 square nautical mile. After the dolphins we headed south to…

Dolphins, humpback whale, sharks, and more!   Sunday’s trip began with a bang! A gray seal rolled acrobatically in the water alongside our vessel as we sailed out of port. Then, only five minutes from the lighthouse, a breach was spotted by one of our sharp-eyed volunteers. We quickly turned course to find a juvenile…

Expectations Exceeded! After Wednesday’s incredible encounters and a weather-cancelled trip on Sunday, we headed offshore with high hopes that the whales observed last week would still be around for today’s cruise. That plan was quickly interrupted by two humpbacks appearing halfway into our transit, feeding and moving closely in association with one another. Upon further…

What a day at sea! We always begin each cruise by reminding passengers that we are sailing into the natural environment and have no idea what we will see or when. This trip was definitely a testament to that! We traded in the heat and haze of land for cool, ocean breezes traveling approximately 14 miles offshore in search of cetaceans. Visibility improved tremendously and conditions were highly favorable for spotting life at the surface. Despite this, no marine mammals were seen for the first two hours, but things were getting interesting. We passed through numerous debris ‘fields’, likely outwash from the Connecticut River stemming from the heavy rains that pounded New England earlier in the week. Then the water got very warm as we entered a warm-core eddy spinning off the Gulf Stream. Then came the flying fish, and…

Fourth cetacean species in only three trips!   Today’s whale watch was an exercise in patience. Reports of bottlenose dolphins brought us southwest in search of these dynamic cetaceans. Despite abundant prey just below the surface for much of our transit, no dolphins were found. We passed through numerous patches of sargassum, hoping to spot a turtle or two, but no turtles were found. Occasional sightings of Great shearwaters entertained us while searching for life at the surface. We headed into deeper water, keeping dry from the soaking rains pounding the mainland. At last, a blow and fin were spotted and investigated, revealing a fin whale, our fourth cetacean species in only our third trip of the season! The fin whale appeared to be feeding, spending short intervals underwater and surfacing around our vessel. While watching this whale, a second…

Long trip – but we found our 1st baleen whale! Our second whale watch of the 2023 season is in the books! Before leaving the dock, passengers were treated to sightings of two gray seals feeding in the harbor. Once departed, we swapped out the heat of land in exchange for cool, offshore breezes as…

2 species of dolphins and tons of pelagic birds! Our first 2023 whale watch was on a windy and bouncy day. We had reports of whales and dolphins in the area. Shortly after passing Montauk Light we found our first group of about 60 bottlenose dolphins, stayed with them for a while. We headed further…

Another stellar trip with 5 humpback whales!!   This incredible season continues! We didn’t have to travel far from Montauk Lighthouse to find our first humpback.  This was Scylla’s 2016 calf again. The propeller scars and damaged dorsal are hard to look at, but the resilience of this animal is a testament to its will to survive. This 6 year old whale is just almost 40 feet (12.2m) long, and was feeding on the bottom periodically and after a while came to the surface and first, we saw a massive “tail-throw,” followed by multiple bouts of pectoral flipper-slapping, and rolling over, sometimes right next to us on the starboard side (our engines were out of gear, of course) and right under our bow.  Just amazing. A small private boat was nearby and appropriately remained motionless as this whale swam and…

Our successful trips continue: 2 humpback whales!   We headed out on a gorgeous day with unlimited visibility and clear skies. We weren’t far out at all when we encountered our first humpback.  This was a small one, perhaps no more than 30′ (9.14 meters) long. A minke whale was spotted briefly also. This young whale never fluked when diving and spent much time logging at the surface. We headed to find more and encountered a whale with propeller scars on its left fluke we’d seen last year, MTK.2021.08.15-04 (AKA NYC 0228). Since last year the prop scar closest to the trailing edge were broken through and we could see through it and could see water flowing through it.  This whale also had what appear to be fresh entanglement scars on its tail stock. This whale is a resilient survivor…

Another Sunday on the sea with whales!! Sunday was a calm day with little wind and small waves and gray skies.  We headed out to where we’d seen whales on our last trips and found the whales again about a few nautical miles further west. On the way we encountered a shark (undetermined species) and a loggerhead sea turtle.  We found humpbacks and fin whales.  While we stayed with the 12 or so humpbacks as they open-mouth and cooperatively kick fed on sand eels, we were never able to spend time near the fin whales (maybe next trip?).  These were adult humpbacks, some with calves, and some of the same whales humpback we’ve seen over the past month were there, as were new ones.  We passed by 2 juvenile humpbacks feeding on bunker on the way in, not far from…