Trip Report 8/9/2026 – A Humpback Whale, Dolphins All Day & Our Best Dolphin Show of the Year!
What a day on the Jersey Shore!
Sunday, August 9, 2026 was one of those summer days that reminded us exactly why we love being on the water aboard the Jersey Girl. We ran three separate trips from Belmar, New Jersey, and every single trip encountered marine mammals.
From bottlenose dolphins along the northern Jersey Shore in the morning, to a lunge-feeding humpback whale near Sandy Hook in the afternoon, and finally an absolutely spectacular dolphin show off Belmar and Spring Lake at sunset, there was something special happening from morning until night.
And the dolphins saved their best performance for last.
Morning Trip – Dolphins Along the Jersey Shore
Our first trip of the day departed Belmar Marina and headed north along the beautiful New Jersey coastline.
We worked our way up toward the Long Branch area, enjoying a beautiful summer morning on the Atlantic Ocean. It didn’t take long before we found what we were looking for.
Bottlenose dolphins!
We encountered two different groups of dolphins during the morning trip. They gave everyone aboard a great opportunity to see one of the Jersey Shore’s most exciting marine mammals in their natural environment.
One of the things we love about these trips is that you never really know where the wildlife is going to appear. Dolphins can be anywhere along our coastline, and that’s why we’re constantly scanning the water from the moment we leave the Shark River Inlet until the moment we return.
The morning wasn’t over yet.
As we headed back south toward Belmar, we encountered more dolphin activity near the Manasquan area, making for a fantastic ride home.
For many passengers, seeing dolphins swimming freely in the Atlantic Ocean is something completely different from anything they’ve experienced before. There are no tanks, no scheduled feeding times and no trained behaviors. These are completely wild dolphins going about their lives along the New Jersey coast.
And that was only trip number one.
Afternoon Whale Watch – Lunge Feeding Near Sandy Hook!
Our afternoon whale-watching trip aboard the Jersey Girl headed north, and this time we had a much larger marine mammal in our sights.
We traveled toward Sandy Hook, an area that has produced some excellent whale activity for us this summer.
Then we found our whale.
Not only did we find a humpback whale, but this whale was actively LUNGE FEEDING!
Lunge feeding is one of the most impressive behaviors you can witness from a humpback whale. The whale accelerates toward a concentration of baitfish and surges through the water with its enormous mouth open, taking in a tremendous amount of water and fish.
Seeing a humpback whale is exciting.
Seeing one actively feeding takes the experience to another level.
Everyone aboard had the opportunity to watch this whale feeding in the waters off Sandy Hook. It’s incredible to think that wildlife encounters like this are taking place right here along the New Jersey coast.
You don’t have to fly to Alaska, Hawaii or another country to see humpback whales.
They’re right here in New Jersey.
Our passengers boarded the Jersey Girl at Belmar Marina, and a few hours later they were watching a wild humpback whale feeding in the Atlantic Ocean.
That’s Jersey Shore whale watching.
Sunset Trip – The Best Dolphin Sighting of Our Year!
After two successful trips, we still had our evening trip to go.
And this one became something we’ll be talking about for a long time.
The evening started with beautiful summer conditions as we headed out from Belmar aboard the Jersey Girl for our sunset dolphin and coastline cruise.
Eventually, we encountered a group of bottlenose dolphins off the Belmar and Spring Lake coastline.
But these dolphins weren’t simply traveling past us.
They were EXTRA.
The dolphins became incredibly active around the Jersey Girl, breaching, jumping, splashing, socializing and playing right alongside the boat.
At times it seemed like there was activity everywhere you looked.
One dolphin would break the surface, another would leap nearby, and then another group would appear alongside the Jersey Girl.
Passengers were moving from one side of the boat to the other trying to take it all in.
Phones came out. Cameras came out. People were laughing, cheering and pointing.
Every time we thought the show might be slowing down, the dolphins seemed to start up again.
It was easily one of the most exciting dolphin encounters we’ve had this year — and very possibly our best dolphin sighting of the entire 2026 season so far.
These are the moments that make being on the ocean so special.
Nobody tells the dolphins what to do.
Nobody knows whether they’ll swim quietly past the boat or suddenly decide to put on a show.
On Sunday night, they decided to put on a show.
And what a show it was.
Wild Dolphins, a Summer Sunset and the Jersey Girl
As if the dolphins weren’t enough, Mother Nature added another spectacular element to the evening.
The sun began dropping toward the horizon as we made our way back toward Belmar.
The sky transformed into beautiful summer colors while the Jersey Shore coastline stretched out beside us.
After approximately 2½ hours on the water, we headed back toward Shark River and Belmar Marina with a gorgeous sunset behind us.
It was one of those evenings when nobody was in much of a hurry for the trip to end.
Wild dolphins had been breaching and socializing alongside the Jersey Girl.
The ocean was beautiful.
The weather was comfortable.
And now we had a spectacular Jersey Shore sunset to finish the evening.
For people visiting the shore on vacation, it was a chance to experience New Jersey from an entirely different perspective.
For our local passengers, it was a reminder of just how incredible the ocean in our own backyard can be.
Three Trips – Marine Mammals on Every One
Think about the entire day.
We started in the morning with bottlenose dolphins as we traveled north along the Jersey Shore and encountered more dolphin activity on our return.
We went back out for our afternoon whale watch and found a humpback whale actively lunge feeding near Sandy Hook.
Then we departed again in the evening and encountered an exceptionally active group of bottlenose dolphins off Belmar and Spring Lake, with dolphins breaching and socializing around the Jersey Girl before a beautiful sunset ride back to Belmar Marina.
Three trips. Three successful marine mammal encounters. One incredible August day on the Jersey Shore.
Days like August 9 are exactly why we always tell people that every trip is different.
We never know exactly what we’re going to find.
That’s the adventure.
Whale Watching in New Jersey Is Happening NOW
If you’ve been thinking about going whale watching or dolphin watching in New Jersey, now is the time to get out on the water.
August is here, summer is moving quickly, and some of the most exciting wildlife activity of our season is happening right now.
The Jersey Girl departs from Belmar Marina in Belmar, New Jersey, conveniently located on the central Jersey Shore near Spring Lake, Bradley Beach, Avon-by-the-Sea, Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Deal, Long Branch, Sea Girt and Manasquan.
We’re also an easy Jersey Shore day trip for visitors coming from throughout New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia and the surrounding region.
Our season doesn’t end with Labor Day, either.
We continue operating into the fall, when the changing seasons can bring some fantastic opportunities for whales, dolphins, seabirds and other marine wildlife.
Come Experience the Jersey Shore From the Ocean
There’s a completely different Jersey Shore waiting for you beyond the beach.
You can spend the morning watching dolphins.
You might spend the afternoon watching a humpback whale explode through a school of baitfish.
And sometimes you can finish the evening watching dolphins leap beside the Jersey Girl while the sun sets over New Jersey.
August 9 gave us all three.
For the passengers who were aboard our sunset trip, especially, this was one of those experiences that’s difficult to describe until you’ve actually seen it.
A photograph can capture a dolphin in midair.
A video can capture a breach.
But neither quite captures what it’s like when an entire group of wild bottlenose dolphins suddenly becomes incredibly active around the boat and everyone aboard realizes they’re witnessing something special.
That’s why we keep going back out.
Every trip is different.
Every day is different.
And you never know when the ocean is going to give you the best dolphin show of the year.
Thank you to everyone who joined us aboard the Jersey Girl on Sunday, August 9.
What an absolutely fantastic summer day on the Jersey Shore.
We’ll see you on the water!
Jersey Shore Whale Watch – Belmar Beach, New Jersey
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