Whale Watching

Without a doubt, exceptional days are becoming standard on Viking/CRESLI whale watching trips this season! Once again, we found a large group of humpbacks, approximately twelve miles from Montauk. We first encountered a group of three humpbacks feeding on dense shoals of bait (likely sand eels) midway through the water column. We know this because the whales pooped frequently and often came up straining the engulfed water through their baleen at the surface. Things quickly got interesting as a mom and calf pair appeared and at least seven more humpbacks were encountered, many of which were in close proximity of the vessel, affording excellent views. One adult humpback approached the vessel no more than ten feet off the starboard bow in an exhilarating encounter for the passengers. As we continued a bit more south, a group of five humpbacks were…

What a day! The excitement was palpable as we headed toward an area where whales had been reported about twelve miles south of Montauk. Our transit was interrupted multiple times by several groups of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins consisting of at least 200 individuals collectively. These pods were very active, exhibiting multiple surface displays including fluke…

Another trip, another multispecies day  Well, we keep on finding them.  The visibility was exceptional and once we got within 5 nautical miles of  the whale grounds, we saw blows, breaches, and other activity easily.  The whales, dolphins, and pelagic birds were out there, just as they have been now for weeks.  Some feeding near the surface, others at depth, and others giving us views of breaches, flipper slapping, and associated groupings.  While we didn’t observe cooperative feeding, we did encounter  associated pairs, duos, trios, and quadruples, sometimes all at once around us.  The whales were so spread out that we weren’t able to get to all, but there’s always the next trip! The cooler sea surface temperatures and winds helped to cool us throughout our time out there. Heading home brought us back to warmer waters, and with the…

What a great day! We first headed out towards Montauk Shoals to search for a young whale that was seen earlier in the morning during a fishing trip. The juvenile humpback was spotted alongside a small group of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin. As we waited for the whale to surface following a shallow dive, we were treated to a massive and unexpected tail kick off our port side. We spent a little more time here watching dolphins surf in some of the larger waves beyond our vessel before continuing south in search of the adult humpbacks who have been spending time off Montauk this summer. As with many other trips this season, we found them and in great abundance. Eight initial humpbacks turned into twelve and then sixteen. Whales surrounded the vessel and many blows could be seen beyond. Not to…

Yesterday’s heat wave and the gridlock in the Hamptons may have put a damper on things on land, but our time at sea was INCREDIBLE! While we expected to transit an hour or so to reach the whales, our trip was ‘interrupted’ by sightings of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins and close-up views of a scalloped hammerhead shark! Things only got better from there as we reached the whales sooner than expected and were treated to 12-18 humpbacks diving around the vessel, including a young calf which continuously swam around the vessel intentionally popping up left and right of the bow to check us out. Then things really got interesting; a ‘picket-fence’ of blows appeared ahead of us belonging to at least two dozen whales, including two fin whales and 2-3 minke whales. As we traveled the short distance to check things…

Although the whales are still around, Mother Nature had other plans in store for yesterday’s trip. It was raining most of the morning and when we left the dock, but reports indicated a clearing shortly after our departure time. We headed towards the area where we have previously encountered large numbers of humpbacks and other…

Another spectacular day among whales. The visibility was unlimited and we saw whales from five nautical miles away. We saw picket fences of whale blows all across the horizon. When we got to the whales, we spent time with trios (mom, calf, escort), as well as many associated pairs. There were easily 30 humpback whales, and several minke whales around us. This report will be updated as soon as possible with further analysis of photos and data.  

The tales of dozens of whales continues. The day started out and ending with unlimited visibility, we could ask for better viewing conditions. We were able to see breaches and blows from 5 nautical miles away. Everywhere ahead of us had whales spouting. Most were humpback whales, but a few fin whales were clearly around,…

Our 2024 trip reports are starting to sound more like fairytales than whale watching summaries and that is especially true for our Wednesday, July 25 th trip. The east end experienced flooding rains in the morning and fog sopped in much of Montauk ahead of the trip. It was drizzling and/or extremely damp as we…

Whale watch on the Viking Star, one of the best local whale trips of the past 20+ years! Once again, we are running out of superlatives! Today’s trip, like so many others, began with a small pod of 15 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. We received a report of “20 whales” miles ahead, about where they were…