Ocean conditions were near perfect, 0-2ft with calm winds and an ocean temp of upper 70’s. Had a good crowd on the boat, everyone was in high spirits.
We charged out of Breezy Inlet on a Whale and Dolphin adventure and quickly met up with a humpback. It was sleeping at the surface, taking its time moving around- must have had a very big breakfast. The whale woke up a few times to maneuver and took a few deep dives. While this whale was down on a dive we saw another blow off close to the beach. We waited for the first whale to surface before we could leave and go see the other whale. The first whale came up away from the boat and we motored away to whale number two.
Get to the second whale and it looks familiar, I know it’s been here in NYC before, now I just need to see its fluke. The whale was moving fast, and it was all over the place! First it's on the right, then on the left and back to the right, you could hardly keep up! The bunker schools were everywhere and on the surface in tight schools. The whale was surface feeding but not lunge feeding. Hey, if I were a fat lazy whale I would surface feed also, why burn calories on a lunge feeding when you don’t have to!
Whale Two dives and shows us its fluke. It’s #NYC0058, aka “unofficially nicknamed Pete Townshend.” Why Pete Townshend from the band THE WHO, you ask? On the right side of the fluke there is an image in its pattern and it looks like a man smashing a guitar on the ground. Pete has been known for smashing guitars, that's why the name.
#NYCOO58 and the other UNID Humpback were out there swimming around, no lunge feedings this day but the whales were surface and below surface feeding. There were 3 other whales out there, we saw their blows but they were resting so we let them be.
The day was over for the whales, but the Dolphin part of the adventure is getting started. I need to say this year the dolphins here on the western NY Bight have been just incredible! SO MANY juveniles and calves in the dolphin pods; it's great to see and they love to play. There was a pod right in the surf off Riis Beach swimming so close to shore that beach goers in the water were 20-40 feet away from the dolphins. While that was going on there were other dolphins buzzing the boat feet away jumping and playing. The people in the boat were going nuts, it's funny and cool to see all at the same time.
We enjoyed their company but it's time to go back. We start moving towards the inlet and I see some dolphin heading to the front of the boat, I run up to see if they were riding the pressure wave of the bow. Nope, they were setting up for something more fun, riding the boat wake and I knew it! So, I ran to the back and there they were riding the boat wake. They were not jumping through the wake like I expected but were just riding the wave under the water not on top. I did get a few photos of the dolphins surfing the waves but nothing spectacular.
This was the end of a great day out on the American Princess Cruises. I will say this every time- “YOU NEED TO GET OUT AND SEE THIS FOR YOURSELF.” NYC Whale and dolphin watching at its best.
