But first, our 11am trip was filled with mom’s and calves – our first sighting was of Tornado and her 2016 calf. This young calf started off our trip with a few tail breaches, while mom Tornado spent time below the surface. 

After some nice looks of this pair, we then decided to move to another pair we were observing in the distance. Our second mom/calf pair was Mars, a female veteran to the area, and her 2016 calf. Mars is known for her distinctive fluke – which unfortunately was deformed from a past entanglement in fishing gear.

On our 3pm trip, we headed out to a similar area, this time to find a lone humpback. As I often tell passengers, sometimes one humpback is all you need for a spectacular trip, and this whale didn’t disappoint! As we spotted some distance splashes from a humpback breaching, we arrived closer to find Boomerang’s 2012 calf, who treated us to a complete hour-plus of breaching activity! 

Today tops one of trips with the most breaching I’ve had in the past few years – which included multiple full spinning-head breaches, half breaches, chin slaps, lobtailing, belly-up lobtailing, tail breaches, and even a few flipper slaps! 

It was quite a splashy way for guests to enjoy the wonderful wildlife Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary has to offer!

— Laura Howes