Today’s trip aboard the Cetacea was just fantastic! We made our way out under sunny skies on calm seas to the area with previous reports of feeding whales. As we approached the southwest corner, we spotted multiple blows in the distance and spent a few minutes deicing on which whale to begin with. Captain Dave spotted a lunge feeding fin whale, and we stopped to see if we could keep up with it. Before long, however we noticed two lunge humpbacks becoming quite active at the surface, and moved closer to check them out.
 |
| Shuffleboard and Hancock lunge |
We started with some great looks at our familiar friend, Hancock, as she fed just at the surface. She would come up just as the water would turn the familiar shade of lime green from the enormous bubble nets she created. As we waited for her to resurface, we could see and hear the schools of fish skipping at the very top of the water column. We also noticed a second humpback moving in to Hancock’s feeding area, and were absolutely shocked when the two of them erupted upward together in a huge display of open mouth feeding (see photo above).
 |
| Fish fly |
 |
| Shuffleboard feeding |
Luckily Hancock had just dove off the same side of the boat, so most passengers had a front row view! Shuffleboard (the second whale) then sounded a pair or trumpet blows, and Hancock swam off. It was interesting to see the dynamic between the two- Hancock moved quite far from the area, while Shuffleboard began circling around her new spot.
 |
| Shuffleboard lunge |
Over and over Shuffleboard gave us amazing displays of her power. Each surfacing seemed to be faster and more powerful than the last, until we finally ran out of time and began to make our way back to Boston. It was a day we won’t forget for a long time!
— Laura
0 comments:
Post a Comment