Archives for October 2022

Well it had to happen and today it did, no whale.. So everyone got a nice sunny fall afternoon on a calm ocean and a free return trip. Today was one of our rare misses this year. The 2022 season has been the best season yet, but not today. We still have a few more weeks to go and our new boat will becoming online shortly. We hope to have trips thru the first week of December. As long as the whales are here we will take you out to see them!

After a foggy morning, I decided to take advantage of a warm fall afternoon yesterday, and I’m glad I did. It was clear until heading to the Ocean Ave Bridge and it got quite foggy again. Reports were that it was patchy fog, so off we went headed south where whales have been for the last few weeks. We came across a large group of dolphins, who were fun to watch. Then a bit later, a spout was spotted. She was much bigger than what we usually see, and as we were watching her, a tiny spout was spotted! It was a mama and her calf! She was teaching her baby to feed 😍 They must be passing thru the area during migration. 2 new whales to the shore review And photos by Patty E.

Perfect weather on the flat calm ocean Saturday for whale watching trip Belmar Marina , We were able to stay local as the whale was in Spring Lake, just 2 miles from Belmar beach  a great afternoon trip.

Yesterday’s Whale watching trip was so much fun! Started out from Belmar and headed south. There were reports of whales in the area earlier. Got to Spring Lake and found our whale! He had a pattern of 3-4 spots followed by a deep dive and showing his tail. This allowed for so many great pictures. He also swam so that both sides of the boat got to see him. He seemed to be heading towards a big bait ball and then headed in the opposite direction. A few moments later, a huge lunge feed! That was awesome. We had been on the whale and saw his tail and flukes many times so we decided to look for dolphins because we had seen them in the distance earlier. Unfortunately could not find them so we headed back and as we went through Spring Lake, there was the whale again. As we we’re headed back, the whale decided to lunge feed again near one of the small boats that was fishing inside of a bait ball. Oh my, glad J wasn’t in that boat. A perfect day with calm waters, beautiful sky and lots of very happy people because they saw a beautiful humpback whale!

Here are Linda’s photos

Here is Sandy’s trip report from Saturday and her photos

What a great afternoon to go whale watching with Jersey Shore Whale Watch and the Golden Eagle! The water was so calm. We headed south out of the inlet and found a whale not too far from the Spring Lake beach. This whale established a pattern right away which made it great for watching and getting pictures of. It would surface 3 or 4 times and then take a deep dive arching it’s back and showing it’s tail. We stayed with this whale for a little while and then headed south a little further to see if we could find the dolphins that were spotted while we watched the whale. No luck with the dolphins so we circled back and found our whale again a little farther out this time. As we watched it we were also able to enjoy the beautiful sunset. I had just put my phone down after taking a sunset pic and was watching a bait ball when the whale lunge fed right through it. I was so surprised that it took a second to register and start taking pictures. I caught the end of the lunge feed with the beautiful sky in the background. That’s what makes whale watching so fun. The whale can be ‘predictable’ for a long time and then suddenly do something extraordinary. Unfortunately it was time to head back, but we finished the trip with a gorgeous sunset by the marina and Shark River. I met a couple celebrating their 39th Anniversary and another couple where the man surprised his wife/girlfriend with the trip for her birthday. Everyone seemed to have a great time!

The weather was beautiful the ocean was calm we were in 550 feet of water where the whales can really disappear any come up when then need air!

Here are some of the photos from the trip

Friday 10/21/2022 Offshore Trip Species Report

What was supposed to be a trip out to the Triple Wrecks (~65 miles) turned into a trip to the tip of the Hudson Canyon! (87 miles!).

20 short-beaked common dolphins
20 offshore bottlenose dolphins
2 fin whales
1 ocean sunfish
Northern gannets
Lots of gulls
1 great blue heron
1 merlin

 

Here is a link to a full birding report from the trip: https://ebird.org/tripreport/81285?fbclid=IwAR1o0_rXrkUOma-qIE5tT62E6N8KZf1LUplGs9ZRX7sGzO0V6zpnQwtSzT4

Linda wrote the following trip report, Thank You Linda

 

Went on the 12 hour whale watching trip the other day. We started off pre sunrise and we’re able to look for meteors we are at the peak of the meteors from Hailey’s comet. Some people saw several while others saw none. Next event was sunrise and that did not disappoint. Sunrise over the ocean is beautiful met dolphins along the way and they played around the boat for awhile. Fun! Next on to the triple wrench area but it was strange. Few boats around while 2 years ago the area was covered with boats. Searched and searched for whales but nothing. Decision was to go to the beginning of the Canyon. At the tip it is 500 feet deep and it goes much deeper! Two fin whales were sighted but they were far area other things seen were a Great Blue Heron, jelly fish, turtle and more dolphins.
Of interest, one of the boats from Cape May went to the triple wreck area on the same day and saw humpback whales as well as a Right Whale! Saw area, just must have been a few miles apart. It was still a great trip with good people. Can not wait until the next one!

Passenger Sandy writes todays report, she takes great photos here is here report and photos:

We had to travel farther today to find a whale. We went as far as Seaside Heights. So glad the ocean was much calmer than yesterday.
On the way we saw some dolphins around Manasquan. They must have been feeding in a circle around a bait ball. There were so many bunker up and down the shore. The whale wasn’t as active as the one yesterday, but it did show it’s tail several times. We continued a little further south to see a second whale. It surfaced once close to the other side of the boat. On the way back we saw some more dolphins but they were too far away to get pics of.

Frequent Passenger Linda writes:

 

Another whale watching adventure! Didn’t have to go very far to say hello to our whale but he was difficult to really locate him at the beginning. Saw a spout near the Seastreak and then a second but then it took a while before we saw it again. It was worth the wait. Meanwhile we got to see some dolphins and that is always fun. So the whale after looking so small as he was wasn’t showing his tail and you couldn’t see too much all of a sudden breached. We saw a total of 9 breaches with several behind the boat. What a treat! This whale also did a prolonged epide of pectoral fin slapping. As we were getting ready to leave, the whale gave us one last breach. Such an exciting day. The water had a lot of swells and at times was a bit rough but it was worth it. A few people on the boat had never seen a whale. One person who was by me was so excited when she saw her first spout. She was ready to cry at that point. Imagine her response when she saw a breach!

Another great day whale watching in Monmouth County

We had about 50 people on the boat today a smaller crowd so everyone had great sight lines. Join us soon we have many trips scheduled including our 12 hour trip October 21st from Belmar.