I was out on the American Princess Cruises Whale and Dolphin Cruises as a spotter, and photographer for Gotham Whale and the AP. Conditions - light winds at 5kts-10kts, seas 3ft-5ft ground swell, 80 degrees, hazy, bright sunshine with some cloud cover. A beautiful day to be out on the water.

We charged out of Breezy Point and traversed the ocean until we came upon a small pod of Dolphins which lead us to a very big pod of dolphins, 250+ estimated. The Dolphins were feeding and playing, nothing spectacular but still nice to see. A small group of Dolphins were getting rowdy, calves and moms in the mix causing a commotion splashing and playing. The reason why, they were interacting with a whale we knew was in the area but could not find. The whale we meetup with is known as #NYC0086 in the New York City Humpback Whale Catalog curated by Gotham Whale. I am almost positive our first interaction with #NYC0086 was on July 29^th, 2018.

#NYC0086 was somewhat elusive staying down between blows for 10+ minutes every surface. 86 is a big whale, its footprints on the surface were impressive, somewhat giving away its location and travel line. They Bunker were snapping on the surface all around, but the schools were not thick and deep. Looking at the finder, there was no bunker schools on the bottom. Knowing that, I don’t think NYC0086 was subsurface feeding for the 10 minutes+ dives. I think the whale just ate and was digesting or napping or just taking a break.

All on board got a great day out on the AP with 1 whale #NYC0086 and 250+ Dolphins seen.

You have to get out on the American Princess to see this action for yourself. It is amazing! They have been doing whale watches since the start of the whale’s returning to NYC. The AP pushes off in Brooklyn now, Sheepshead Bay. Get on the AP and see what’s out there.