Newburyport Whale Watch

08/29/2025

We had very special guests on board yesterday morning and we’re still smiling about it! 💙 Ocean Alliance Education Coordinator, Alyssa Wile, joined us with D-Tags, CATS tags, and the SnotBot! Passengers and crew were thrilled to learn how researchers safely tag whales and how SnotBot collects blow samples. Huge thanks to Alyssa and Ocean Alliance for making the trip extra memorable, we’re hoping to welcome Alyssa back before the end of our season, so keep an eye out! 🐋

Now for the wildlife: in addition to humpback whales, we spotted harbor seals and a very young porbeagle shark. A distant storm and bright rainbows made a stunning backdrop for our sightings!

Humpbacks recently seen:
Clamp, Fan, Gunslinger, Owl, Ravine, Repeat, Spoon, Valley, Victim.

Heads up: due to sea conditions we’ll be tied to the dock tomorrow, but we’ll be back out on Saturday. As always, every trip is different, these posts are highlights and wildlife is wonderfully unpredictable. See you soon on the water! 🌊

-Kristin

*NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

08/27/2025

🐋Aug 19-26 trip updates 🐋

We are so excited to be back on the water after Hurricane Erin stirred up the seas for a couple of days. We have seen associations form and break, whales feeding, resting, and diving. We have spent time with Valley, Satula, Owl, Fan, Spoon, Patches, Clamp, Grommet, and Repeat!

The weather and sea conditions continue to look great for the rest of the week. This is our final week of running 7 days a week, so there is no better time to get out on the water. Book now at Newburyportwhalewatch.com

*NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

08/23/2025

Hurricane Erin has been coming in hot, bringing high seas and keeping us tied to the dock since Wednesday afternoon. We’re hoping conditions improve so we can get back out on the water Monday!

In the meantime, here’s a little sneak peek from our Wednesday afternoon trip (stay tuned for more photos from both Tuesday & Wednesday 🐋).

✨ Also, a reminder that this Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM, we’ll be joined by Ocean Alliance on board! They’ll be sharing fascinating insights into whale tagging, the SnotBot, and more.

🎟️ Don’t miss this special trip, book your tickets here: https://www.newburyportwhalewatch.com

*NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

08/21/2025

Head to sea with Ocean Alliance Education Coordinator Alyssa Wile for a special whale watch on Wednesday, August 27th (8:30 AM–12:30 PM) onboard the Newburyport Whale Watch!

Learn firsthand about our groundbreaking drone and tagging research while spotting whales off the MA coast. Don’t miss this unique chance to see whales in action and learn from a talented educator who works in the field!

https://www.newburyportwhalewatch.com/

Newburyport Whale Watch

08/19/2025

✨We have exciting news✨ Ocean Alliance is joining Newburyport Whale Watch for a trip! Come learn about the SnotBot, tagging whales, and more. This is going to be an extra special trip, book your tickets sooner rather than later!

https://www.newburyportwhalewatch.com

08/19/2025

⚠️ Graphic Content Warning: Some photos from recent trips show an injured whale. While these moments can be difficult to see, they are an important reminder of the challenges these animals face in the wild.

August continues to amaze us! We’ve enjoyed beautiful weather and unforgettable sightings of humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and even sharks.

On recent trips, we’ve encountered anywhere from three to over a dozen humpbacks in a single outing, many of which are new arrivals for this season. Some exciting newcomers include Jabiru (naturalist kaylee’s favorite!), Grommet, and Patches.

One of the most special moments has been seeing Valley with her daughter Pitcher. It’s uncommon to see mothers traveling with their offspring after that first year, making this sighting extra special for all on board.

Looking ahead, the weather doesn’t look too promising this week with Hurricane Erin offshore, so we’ll see what conditions allow us to do.

Every trip is truly a reminder of how magical (and unpredictable) this season has been!

With wildlife, we never know what we’ll see from trip to trip, sometimes it’s a single whale, other times a dozen. That unpredictability is what makes every experience so magical! 💙

-Kristin

*NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

08/14/2025

Today marked our last Kids Whale Watch of the summer aboard the Captain’s Lady II before the kids head back to school and what a way to wrap up the season!

The highlight of our trip? A juvenile GREAT WHITE SHARK! 🦈 This little one was likely only about 4 feet long, and a big thank you to MA Sharks for confirming the ID. White shark sightings have been plentiful this summer, and I’ve been dying to see one again. Believe it or not, I haven’t personally spotted one since 2021.

Fun twist…in 2023, I spent two months in South Africa hoping to work with white sharks… and saw zero. Why? Two well-known killer whales, Port and Starboard, predated on three white sharks there, and the rest disappeared from the area.

Speaking of orcas, have you seen the news lately? There was a rare sighting of a lone killer whale, Old Thom, traveling with Atlantic white-sided dolphins on Stellwagen Bank, spotted by a fishing boat!

The ocean never ceases to amaze me, you truly never know what you’re going to see out there! 🌊✨

-Kristin

08/13/2025

Happy hump(back) day everyone! (See what I did there?) 🐋
Thank you all for your patience for the long-awaited photos from the past week, 08/06–08/13!

We’ve been treated to some incredible moments lately including breaching whales, bubble clouds, flipper slapping, spyhopping… just to name a few! Along the way, we’ve encountered Atlantic white-sided dolphins, minke whales, fin whales, and humpbacks.

Some of the humpback individuals we’ve spent time with include Chromosome, Clamp, Owl, Patches, Pitcher, Pinball, Ravine, Satula, Sigma, Sedge, Spoon, Valley, and Yurt.

Unfortunately, we had to remain docked this afternoon due to rising sea conditions, but we’re looking forward to getting back out on the water as soon as it’s more comfortable.

Just a friendly reminder, these photos are trip highlights from across the week. Every trip is different because this is wildlife and we never know what we’ll see until we’re out there. Some days we may find multiple species, other days just one. That unpredictability is part of what makes every single trip so exciting!

-Kristin

*NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

08/13/2025

🌊 Happy Tuesday from your crew at Newburyport Whale Watch! 🌊

A huge thank you to everyone for your patience… our full photo updates from the past week will be posted early tomorrow morning!

Until then, enjoy this sneak peek of Spoon, a well-known humpback whale we spent time with this afternoon, showing off that gorgeous pectoral flipper! 🐋✨

It’s been an unforgettable week on the water, and we can’t wait to share all the incredible moments with you tomorrow!

*NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

08/05/2025

Trip Updates: July 30 – August 4
Thank you for your patience as we sorted through photos from a very busy stretch during Yankee Homecoming, we appreciate everyone who joined us during such a lively and exciting week in Newburyport!

Now, for what you’ve all been waiting for… wow, what an unforgettable few days! From breaching humpbacks to breaching basking sharks, and sightings of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, we’ve had no shortage of memorable moments. We’ve spent time with everything from curious juvenile humpbacks just five miles offshore to massive adults over 20 miles out along with finback and minke whales!

Some of the humpback whales recently identified include:
Chromosome, Clamp, Fan, Milkyway, Pinball, Ravine, Satula, Spoon, Valley, and more!

Just a friendly reminder that all the photos we post are trip highlights! Every outing is different and that’s the beauty of wildlife watching. Some days we encounter just one animal, other days we’re surrounded by many. The unpredictability is what makes each trip so special!

-Kristin 🐋🦈

*NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

07/31/2025

Whale Sightings July 28th-30th

Happy Yankee Homecoming! Yankee Homecoming is a week long event held in Newburyport since 1958 and it seems like the whales have been celebrating too. We have had sightings of numerous humpback whales, finback whales (a mom calf pair too!), minke whales, dolphins, and basking sharks this week. With glassy calm water and a cool ocean breeze, being out on the water has been extra amazing this week. We will be tied up to the dock today and tomorrow (7/31 and 8/1) due to sea conditions, but we look forward to getting back out on the water on Saturday!

Humpbacks sighted:
Pinball
Valley
Milkyway
Spoon
Satula

NOTE: All photos are taken with a telephoto lens and are cropped by our naturalists. Newburyport Whale Watch is proudly a member of Whale Sense and vessel operations were in adherence with the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic whale watching guidelines and the whale was not intentionally approached within 100 feet.

07/31/2025