Today on the Aurora we headed out to the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We started out trying to get a look at Shuffleboard, who was taking very long dives.

Shuffleboard

Luckily, we saw a breach in the distance and headed over to two other humpback whales. Boomerang, an adult female, breached two more times as we approached her, and another adult humpback, Satula, was in the area as well.

Boomerang

Satula—his name means “Saddle” and refers to the unique shape left on his back after losing his dorsal fin

We got several close looks at both humpbacks, as well as two minkes, affording the passengers excellent opportunities to see the differences between not only different species of whales, but how individual humpbacks look distinct from each other as well.

-- Orla