Wednesday, August 19 Whale Watching Report 🐋
What a day aboard the Jersey Girl.
We ran two successful trips today, with more than 60 passengers on the morning trip and about the same number again for our regular afternoon whale watch.
The morning trip headed out with Captain Bill — another Bill, not me — Naturalist Megan and the crew, and they found a minke whale off Manasquan. For many people onboard, it was their very first whale sighting, and the reaction was exactly what you would expect.
Then came the afternoon trip.
It was almost a replay of Tuesday, with two humpback whales up near Sandy Hook.
Sometimes I have to remind the crew not to get jaded when we see the same whales several days in a row. For us, we may recognize them and think, “There they are again.”
But for probably 95% of the passengers onboard, this is the first whale they have ever seen in their lives.
To them, that first blow, that first back breaking the surface, or that first tail going down is not “the same whale as yesterday.”
It is something they may remember forever.
That is an important thing for all of us who do this every day to remember.
Everyone had a great time today, and the weather was beautiful.
We are still scheduled to run Thursday at 12 noon, and hopefully we can sneak that trip in around the weather.
Friday is looking like a beautiful whale-watching day.
The weekend forecast is still changing, and after doing this for enough years, I have learned not to get too excited about a forecast several days out. We run the trip unless conditions actually make it unsafe.
Many times, if weather is developing to the north, we can head south. If it is to the south, we can head north.
You get the idea.
So far this summer, we have not had to turn around once after leaving the dock, and we have only legitimately canceled a handful of trips because of weather.
That is the advantage of having a large boat, an experienced crew and plenty of coastline to explore.
Every trip is different.
And today gave us a perfect example:
A minke whale in the morning. Two humpbacks in the afternoon.
You never know what is going to surface off the Jersey Shore.
