Archives for May 2023

LInda writes:

It’s been a few day since I was out on the water!

The start of the Memotial Day weekend and beginning of a staycation! Some frequent passengers as well as brand new passengers to Jersey Girl were all on board and ready for an adventure. Hopes were high as reports of whales in Belmar, Spring Lake, Manasquan and Avon were frequent the past 3 days. We searched, and I think most of the passengers were carefully watching for whales and dolphins. Found some dolphins but wanted to continue on to find the whales. Eventually headed north towards Long Branch and there was a humpback whale! Funny as the whale kept heading into shore. The whales are coming in close because plenty of baitfish are in close to shore.
In addition to this humpback whale, there was another whale in the distance, saw Osprey on their nest, osprey catch and fly off with fish, half moon, black crowned night heron and Canada geese with 2 babies. Unfortunately we also saw a balloon floating on the water which could easily be swallowed by a whale gulping down fish! There were a couple of birthday celebrations on board today. That is always special

Linda’s photos i forgot my memory card !

 

Check out the full story here Top 15 things to do at the Jersey Shore

We had a great group of New Jersey school, children grades, five and six about 60 kids with chaperones Tuesday. We are watching seven humpback whales with the class trip they they will never forget. We all really enjoyed it and remember we have the only working scientist that narrates we are watching in New Jersey go out with the best Jersey Shore Whale Watch. Phone 732.592.6400 group trips

Linda writes :

 

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/jerseyshorewhalewatchingtour/items/286591/availability/988071460/book/?full-items=yes

Late afternoon whale watching trip. People from NY and northernNJ seemed to be in the majority today. Weather was so nice and warm at the dock. We headed north since that is where the majority of whales have been located. Suddenly saw a huge splash that at first thought it could be a small boat going fast in the water. Only issue was that there was no boat! It had to be some form of a whale breach. But never saw any activity after that. Stopped to pick up some balloons which was good so thet could not cause harm to the marine mammals. Went to Sandy Hook were all the whales had been seen. Again at various times saw spouts but never more than that. Saw dolphins all around the boat at some points. Investigated more spouts but the whales just did not cooperate. By Long Branch we saw a large spout and this tIme we were able to see this humpback whale. He actually came close to us and the engines were in neutral. The passengers were able to get their pictures and they were thrilled to see the whale in its natural habitat. Because we tried so hard to make sure the passengers saw a whale we got back to the dock about an hour late and were able to see a smoky sunset. It was a fun day on the Jersey Girl.

We had a great whale watching trip, we guarantee you will see a whale on our trips. Remember we dont take coupon or any Groupon things. We promise you the safe and most affordable whale watching trip in New Jersey close to the beach, we know where the whales feed after years of doing this research we will not disappoint you.

As a proud member of Whale SENSE, we are committed to responsible whale watching practices. All photos were taken in compliance with established guidelines and regulations.We are the only educational whale watching tour narrative by working scientist in the area of whale research in New Jersey.Any questions call us at 732.592.6400 We love taking schools,camps and group tours at times that can fit your schedule.We are a full time whale watching company. Jersey Shore Whale Watch since 2016 showing you the oceans beauty. – Bill McKim Belmar NJ

Another beautiful day on the water!! Again, only a couple of passengers had ever seen a whale in its natural habitat. Had the feeling it was going to be a great day because we were still in the inlet and saw so much action! Two osprey we’re flying and fighting over a fish, saw the Black Crowned Night Herion, and saw the osprey on their nest. Excitement was in the air. Big crowd and quite a few children which just added to the anticipation. They all agreed that they were going to help all of us look for the whales. As we headed up towards Sandy Hook, found a humpback whale and he surprised us almost immediately with a lunge feed. He also threw his tail , put his pectoral fin up in the air, and followed later by another lunge feed. At the same time there was a dolphin breaching near the beach followed by other dolphins in close to the beach. Did you want to watch the dolphins or the whale? Many times dolphins and whales are in the same area because they feed on the same type of fish. Later, Danielle announced a second whale behind the boat to the east and our first whale was headed towards whale number 2. After awhile, it seems the whales had better things to do then entertain us and seemed to disappear. On the way home saw lots of dolphins along the beach. Everyone was saying what a great time they had and one family even asked when was the next trip. I asked some of the children what was the best part of the trip to which they replied, “ the whales” but they also enjoyed seeing the dolphins. They had a blast!

http://WWW.JERSEYSHOREWHALEWATCH.COMRight now the whale watching is fantastic in New Jersey there are 2 whales this morning right off the beach in Belmar New Jersey . Join us for an educational exciting whale watching experience The orignal whale watching tour from Belmar marina, phone 732.592.6400 or visit www.jerseyshorewhalewatch.com. We guarantee you will see a humpback whale or your next trip is free 90% success rate.

As the passengers boarded the Jersey Girl, it seemed as if almost no one had previously seen a whale in the ocean. Well that changed today ! We headed north out of the inlet with the plan to head to the Sandy Hook area. It was near perfect ocean conditions with a beautiful blue sky with scattered clouds. Saw a few dolphins as we headed north but we were serious about finding a whale. And kept on going north.Passed the Twin Lights and shortly afterwards, Danielle our naturalist, says there is a whale about 2 miles ahead. However, we never got there because right in front of us was a humpback whale just logging (resting) on the surface of the water. It would stay on the surface for awhile, then go under and come back up near by. The whale would become more active moving into the shore and back out. This whale had some unique marks and had been seen in the past couple of weeks in the Raritan and near by areas. Watched this whale and headed back south looking for other whales and dolphins. We found more dolphins and as we watched, it seemed that more and more dolphins were appearing. One dolphin swam right under the boat!

Only sad note was that we saw at least 4 balloons floating on the water surface. They could easily be swallowed by a whale . Please dispose of your helium balloons properly and never release them into the air because they may wind up in our ocean. There were 2 birthday celebrations on board today. Everyone had a great time and as one birthday celebrant said , “I will be back”! Beautiful day on the water!

Our new boat is the biggest and roomiest boat at the Belmar Marina, with amazing sight lines from all seats here are some photos of the seating areas

This is VIP seating Box A and Box B

 

This next photo is our lower level reserved seats. These are great seats for when maybe you are bringing a senior and want to make sure you have great seats regardless of what time you arrive at the marina these seats are reserved for you!

 

Some people ask about the staircase to the 2nd level , our staircase is the best its a simple staircase not a ladder like on most other boats

 

The general seating are is on the 2nd level and the first level and there is seating for everyone this boat is huge and there is plenty of indoor seating also and tables for a lunch