Just Keep Swimming

Today, our last day out on the water, and the first whale watch we've been on, we saw a whale.  It was about 4 and a half hours into a trip that was supposed to last 4 hours, after we had crossed into Canadian waters and we were about 20 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia.  We sailed and stopped at an offshore island, petit manan island, that housed a bunch of atlantic puffins, which are absolutely adorable.  We then made our way northeast to grounds that they've had previous success at.  First stop, nothing, there wasn't even any activity sensed on the ship's sonar detection, not even from schools of fish meaning there wasn't any whale food.  Next stop, nothing.  But as we made our way to the final stop, we began seeing more and more marine life.  There more sea birds within a 20 minute span than the entire trip combined (excluding the bird island), which is a really good sign of fish and plankton beneath the surface.  It was a little discouraging because the naturalist, Zack, would stand up and be like "LOOK!" and then proceed to name off some random seabird, when I would only expect one to be  that enthusiastic only for a whale sighting.  But soon enough someone spotted a fin, and then two fins.  And we got to see 2 Minke whales swim side by side.  I also got to witness their terminal dive, meaning they come up out of the water a lot more to gain momentum to dive deep for food, where they will stay for a few minutes.  Obviously it was too quick to snap a picture, but the image looked very similar to this.... 

....and then the rest of their body skimmed the surface of the water and then it disappeared underwater.  We continued to follow them for about 20 minutes after that, catching sight of their dorsal fins and the water spouting from their blowholes.   Sure it wasn't a breeching humpback whale, but it was all I could have hoped for and more.  It was amazing.  

I do believe this is one of the furthest trips the company has made.  It was a 6 hour round trip when they are usually 4 and a half or 5 hours MAX, so safe to say the crew is very dedicated to giving the customers what they came for (hence the title just keep swimming/just gotta keep looking).  I'd like to call Bre and I the good luck charms because the whale watching boat has gone out most days this past week and have seen nothing.  They essentially said the ocean surface was dead.  So this sighting has kick started the season.  Also, Bre and I got to sit top deck with head naturalist Zack, in the employees only section, with the best view in the house.  We again got embarrassed on the P.A system in front of upwards of 150 passengers as opposed to the nature cruise where there were 20 people tops, but it was still cool.   Perfect end to a perfect trip.

Our mentor, Tanya, keeps trying to sucker us into staying longer, and I really wish we could, but all good things must come to an end/ we kind of need to graduate.   

~Lindsay 

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WE SAW A WHALE. A MINKE WHALE!!!! Perfect timing too because it was our last day and everyone was really doubtful because they haven’t seen any since today. Obviously the whales were waiting for us. It took six hours and we ventured into Canadian waters where I puked three times due to seasickness and my blood was starting to freeze but it was totally worth it. We also saw some puffins, which are super cute. They’re my new favorite bird. Apparently the juvenile puffins will leave in the middle of an August night and waddle into the water and live in the water for five years until stepping on land again until they’re fully mature. That’s the most intense coming of age story I’ve learned about so far. They also nest underground which is pretty cool.

Since we saw a minke whale, it’s probably a good idea to give you some background info. Minke whales are one of the smallest whales out there and they’re considered to be baleen whales, meaning they filter the water in order to feed. It’s harder to identify and track them through photo identification than it is humpbacks because when they dive they don’t show off their flukes (tails). Instead we have to pay more attention to their dorsal fin and possible scars and the coloration on their sides. They are extremely playful whales and love to do barrel rolls underneath the water, showing off their bellies. They have dark gray backs and a lighter underside and have around seventy ventral grooves underneath their mouth allowing room for expansion when they filter the water. The more you know~

~Bre