Archives for August 2021

Tuesday afternoon we left the marina in Belmar about 50 people on the boat which is not much for both the holds 150 people. We headed north towards the feeding grounds for the humpback whales of the coast of Monmouth County New Jersey where the whales are feeding we got some great photos everyone had a nice time here are some of the photos from today’s whale watching trip.

Here is a passenger report:

Went out with Jersey Shore Whale Watch. Headed out from Belmar and went north. Found one humpback whale around Long Branch that was feeding below the surface. The whale was in a pattern of 2 shallow dives followed by a deep dive. That gave us plenty of time to get tail shots. The whale was moving pretty quickly but Captain John did a great job of always getting us closer to the whale.without getting too close. The water was very calm. Thought it would have been so much rougher ahead to the storm tomorrow. We looked for other whales and dolphins but couldn’t find any. But we did spend a lot of time with this whale. So great to go out on the ocean to get refreshed and re-centered.

We did another great trip very small crowd on the boat today it was perfect.

Jumping fish, Sharks and Whales, Oh My!

What an awesome day with Jersey Shore Whale Watch today! We left the heat of land for cool ocean breezes and headed south towards where we saw the humpback yesterday. History does repeat itself and we found our whale just little bit north of where he was yesterday. Today we found him just off of Normandy Beach. But we had an exciting adventure on our way there when we spotted a Hammerhead shark swimming at the surface! Usually they surface for just a few seconds but this shark was swimming at the surface for quite a while. This enabled everyone on the boat to get plenty of photos and videos of this very rare sighting. You can just imagine how exited all the kids were! “Today was the most fantastic day ever!” said one of our junior passengers. And this was before we even found our whale! The humpback
we saw today was number 172, the same whale we saw yesterday. He was very close to shore today and gave us some great tail shots. Everyone was thrilled!! Another awesome day on the ocean with Jersey Shore Whale! Come on out and join the fun!! Book your trip today!

Trish DeVoe, Naturalist, Jersey Shore Whale Watch

Double Header Thursday!

We left the scorching hot dock for the cool refreshing ocean on our search for humpback whales. We headed south out of the river passing Belmar, Spring Lake, Point Pleasant, Bay Head and Mantoloking. We were close to shore the entire time so everyone got to enjoy the scenic views of all these beautiful beach towns. The cool ocean air never felt more refreshing than it did today! We were just off of Lavallette when we spotted our first humpback whale. While all the passengers were ooohing and ahhhhing the first whale, a second whale emerged at the back of the boat. We had two humpbacks!! One of the whales gave us some great tail shots and our naturalist, Danielle, was able to identify it as whale number 172 who was first spotted in our area two years ago. Passengers on both sides of the boat were able to get great views of these whales. You could hear the kids screaming with delight every time the whales surfaced. Everyone was so excited to actually see humpback whales in the wild! It was a very happy day out on the ocean. Everyone was buying our Jersey Shore Whale Watch t-shirts to take home as a reminder of the great time they had with us today! They left with memories to last a lifetime and stories to tell their friends when they go back to school. We see more and more humpbacks as we enter into the fall season so it’s not too late for you to join us. There is no better place to be on a hot summer day than out on the cool ocean watching humpback whales! We have an upper and lower deck and an air conditioned cabin. You can bring your own snacks and drinks including adult beverages or you can purchase drinks and snacks from our galley. Our trips are family friendly fun for the entire family! Don’t wait any longer, book your trip with us today! We promise you a great time and guarantee you’ll see a whale or you come back for free. It’s a win-win!

Trisha DeVoe, Naturalist, Jersey Shore Whale Watch

We saw a humpback whale off the coast of Long Branch today, stayed with him about 45 minutes. It was a successful trip.

Sorry we didn’t see a whale today, we certainly tried, everyone did see dolphins on the trip. You qualify for a free return trip, on a date of your choice. You need to take the free trip this year. Weather permitting, we have daily trips until Labor Day Monday, then 3 to 4 days a week, until mid November, so you have plenty of time to go out to see whales and dolphins. The best news is, the trip will be free. The tickets are not transferable, please don’t ask us to do such a thing. You can’t substitute people, it wouldn’t be fair for the Captain and crew that are providing this free trip for you. Just email us a date or two that works for you, and we will get you out there for your free trip. It’s as simple as that. Please, invite your friends to purchase tickets. We are the only whale watching company, in New Jersey, that guarantees you’ll see a whale. Thanks. Bill McKim

It’s been an interesting few days we’ve spider wells but they’ve been elusive hard to follow don’t like hanging out with the boat some of them takeoff through I was able to photograph the minke I saw the Humpback whale spotted by our naturalist off about 1 mile east of us in Bayhead nj beach. The highlight of the day was this rare hammerhead shark I don’t know seem full-size to me I’ll have to find out from Danielle if she thinks it’s full-size it was beautiful swim right up next to the boat everyone got to see it it was an interesting day I wouldn’t put it in the top 25% of our whale watching trip‘s but the hammerhead shark certainly made it a unique day we’ve never seen a hammerhead shark I’m one of our trips.

So today was not easy we had three whales at three different times and they were all hard to photograph.. we first head south towards Seaside Park where we saw a Minke whales three times and then he disappeared! He then decided to head a few miles off shore withe the beautiful weather and calm seas. We found a humpback whale who appeared twice and the disappeared. We then headed south saw another whale mostly a minke whale that appeared right in front of the boat but with a charter fishing boat coming in the other direction the whale was scared off! So it was an interesting day gorgeous weather ver warm at the dock but beautiful on the ocean. Join us soon on https://jerseyshorewhalewatchingtour.com Jersey Shore Whale Watch we will be running these trips till mid November.

Whale report for August 12, 2021

Another successful trip in the books today. We left the scorching hot land for cool relief out on the ocean.

When it’s as hot as it was today, there truly is no better place to be! We headed north and did not have to travel very far until we found our whale- well, two whales, actually. One of the whales was a minke whale and the other was a humpback whale. We first spotted them right of the coast of Ocean Grove but these whales were pretty active and moved around quite a bit. But our skilled captain had no problem keeping up with them and making sure everyone on both sides of the boat got plenty of viewing time. We saw giant schools of Atlantic Menhadden, or bunker fish, that the whales like to feed on. We could see them frantically swimming and jumping at the surface trying to escape being the whale’s dinner. The four months that the whales spend at their feeding ground is the only time they will eat in a 12 month period, so it’s very important for them to eat as much as they can. Humpback whales do not eat during their migration to their feeding grounds or on their migration back to their breeding and calving grounds. They will rely on their blubber stores until they return to the feeding grounds the following year. Atlantic Menhadden is not just a favored food of the humpback whales, but it is also fished commercially. It really isn’t a good eating fish (unless you’re a whale) but it’s an oily fish high in omega 3 fatty acids making it perfect for use in fish oil capsules.

The Clean Water Act has resulted in much less pollution in our oceans which has resulted in an abundance of fish and other marine life. It is believed that the abundance of Atlantic Menhadden in this area is one of the reasons why we are seeing more and more humpback whales right here off the Jersey Shore. You no longer have to travel hours by car or by plane to see humpback whales, you can see them right here along our coast! If you haven’t been on one of our trips yet, don’t wait any longer. We are hitting peak season and our sightings just keep getting better and better. And with this intense summer heat, the ocean is really the place to be!

Everyone enjoyed the cool ocean air and even getting sprayed from a wave here and there. We also have an air conditioned cabin, rest rooms, and snack bar. There’s still a little time left before the kids are back in school so why not take them out on a whale watching cruise and give them something exciting to tell their friends and teachers about! Whale watching is a fun activity the whole family can enjoy and it will leave you with memories to last a lifetime. Don’t miss out- book your trip today!
Trish DeVoe, Naturalist, Jersey Shore Whale Watch

We left the Belmar marina around 1:30 PM with a nice crowd about 60 people the boat has two levels two bathrooms the kitchen plenty a room for people to spread out air condition inside which was used for three as it was 100° in the parking lot. We headed north towards Asbury park our naturalist Danielle spotted a humpback whale about a mile off the beach we stayed with that well for about 3040 minutes and then headed north towards Seabright where we spotted some dolphins that money on the return back towards Belmar we found hundreds of dolphins playing in the ocean jumping the waves of the boat as we were heading back towards Belmar this was happening around the area of Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. We were all fascinated by watching the bottlenose dolphins, jumping the waves of the boat here are a few photos from today. Join us soon on New Jersey’s number 1 whale watching tour Jersey shore whale watching tour https://jerseyshorewhalewatchingtour.com

On Monday we couldn’t find any humpback whales but we did find an active Minke Whale  something we don’t often see. The minke stayed close to the boat and put on a show for us, covering all sides of the boat making the job a little easier for our captain.

About Minke Whales, we don’t see them often the are elusive and fast swimmers, they can swim faster than our whale watching boats!

Size: Adults to 29 to 33 feet long and up to 10 tons; females slightly larger than males. At birth a minke whale is approximately 9 feet.

Body: the easiest way to identify a minke whale from other baleen whales is by their tradition to lift their pointed snout and head out of the water when they surface.

The body is small and seek, with a sharply pointed head and flat rostrum. Flippers are pointed. Flukes broad.

Color: Black or steel-gray. All of their baleen is white. White bands are found on both flippers.They are beautiful

Dorsal fin: Prominent and hooked or curved like a sickle. Located two-thirds back on the body.

Blow: Low, bushy and difficult to see. Will reach 4 to 8 feet.

Dive: It appears 2 to 4 minutes at the surface, 30 to 60 seconds apart. Then dives between 2 to 8 minutes

Behavior: Minke is a fast moving whale. It will often approach a boat. It can be found alone or in groups of 2 to 3. May enter bays and harbors. We have only had a handful of minke sightings this year.

 

Are you off and get asked what’s the best month for whale watching in New Jersey I have to say right now seems to be the peak so far for 2021 season we are seeing whales every day anywhere from 1 to 5 wells a day so come on out and join us we see hundreds and hundreds of dolphins usally so it’s been pretty amazing get your tickets plan your day make family memories come out and enjoy the coast line in New Jersey we don’t go forward to the ocean you can always see land there’s two big bathrooms in the boat a kitchen you can bring food or drink if you want it’s easily handicap accessible we hope to see you soon https://jerseyshorewhalewatchingtour.com

Today was another great day of whale watching we weren’t 16 miles north of the cost of New Jersey to the area that we’ve been very successful up in Sandy Hook where it was just a couple miles off the beach to Wells possible mother and calf. Check out our super cute whale slapping video, listen to the sounds great day.

Join us soon we guarantee you’ll see a whale with us on JSWW HTTps://jerseyshorewhalewatchingtour.com no one else guarantees it you’ll see you’re well we don’t take any discount coupons we do promise you that you only have to pay us one so that we guarantee you’ll see well if you don’t see you’re well and your trip you come out again for free of course you have to come out for again for free during the same year so book your trip now.
August September October are fantastic months for whale watching a New Jersey we hope to see you soon

We had Capt Bob today, and a long ride up the coast line passing all the beautiful homes and beach clubs to arrive at the Whales right near Sandy Hook National Park. We passed the beautiful beaches of Avon-by-the-Sea, Bradley Beach,Ocean Grove,Asbury Park,Allenhurst,Deal Long Branch, up past all the. Private beach clubs in Sea Bright.
We arrived in just over an hour at our destination, Sandy Hook National Park. Using many spotters we were able to see the spout of a whale named Jerry and observed him from a safe distance. While we were watching Jerry we saw two spouts in the distance and then went towards them even though it was another mile further away from our eventual return to Belmar shark River Marina. We were rewarded with a great fin slapping display of a possible adult female and its young calf mimicking it’s mother’s? Moves here a an awesome video from today

Join us soon on jersey sure will watch will be the highlight of your summer it’s a fantastic trip it’s 3 to 3 1/2 hours you can bring your own food there are two bathrooms onboard the boat you can buy snacks if you like soft drinks and water if you want to bring the adult beverage or two you’re welcome to do that also coolers strollers handicap people in wheelchairs we can get everyone on board it’s a big boat any questions give us a call. 732.451.6003 Https://jerseyshorewhalewatchingtour.com

Whale party today!!

We had a wonderful trip today!! We had to travel a little farther north than usual to find our whales but it was well worth the trip! When we reached our destination we saw not one, not two, not even three, but FIVE whales in total!!

We spotted three whales at first and they were very curious about us. At one point they even caused our naturalist, Danielle, to jump when they startled her by suddenly surfacing right alongside the boat where she was standing releasing their massive blow of air. It was pretty amazing to witness! You could hear people ooohing and ahhhing all around the boat- everyone was delighted to see these majestic creatures up close and personal. We were closer than usual to NYC so we had great photo ops of the whales with the incredible NYC skyline in the background. A truly unique experience. Captain Allen was the hero of the day for taking us so far north to see the whales and giving us plenty of time to enjoy watching them. Everyone was so happy and applauded him for his efforts. These whales were spending a lot of time near the surface and were really fun to watch. We spotted another whale a little bit south of these three and before we left the area we had 4 whales right around the boat and the 5th one not too far away! It was a whale party with more guests arriving! I wonder how many more whales would have showed up if we stayed longer, but we reluctantly had to return to the dock. Today was probably the best day we had all season so far. But the pattern has been that the trips keep getting better and better and we keep spotting more and more whales! So that is great news for you if you have been thinking about coming out with us but haven’t booked your trip yet. We are the only whale watching tour that guarantees you will see a whale or you return for free! We are 100% committed to giving you the experience of seeing whales in the wild. There is literally nothing to lose and the experience of a lifetime to gain! Our boat is large enough for everyone to have plenty of room and the ability to move around the boat to different locations. We have an upper deck and an indoor air conditioned cabin. We sell drinks, light foods and snacks or you can bring your own food and drinks including beer or wine or whatever you like to have on a warm summer day. Bring your family, bring your friends, this is a fun, educational experience that people of all ages will enjoy. Don’t delay any longer! Book your trip with us today!
Trisha DeVoe, Naturalist, Jersey Shore Whale Watching