Avaste Ye, Matey!!!

Yo ho,

all ye scallywags and wenches

this psssst Satuurrrdy were beinnnn'

rrrattlin' on like a pirrrate day

"International Talk Like a Pirate Day"!

this bein' what in th' name o' Davey Jones
it werrre...

on th' occationnn o' th' next sunupp

we'uns be grrabb'n arrr gearrrr

and be h'ded don to th' docks a' Rrrye 'arborrr

Me an' me right goo' ole Capt'n

we be check'g urrr cummpus fo' th' headin'

fer we'uns ws headn' east

ou' towrrrds were th' sun be risin'

way out t th' ledges

we be goin' on tha' day!

Aaarrrr!

e 'uns warrs head'n on out to th'

Ledges of ol' Jeffrey

to be spyin' on us some of 'em
great sea creaturrrs..!!
Du'nt be no wimmperrrrin' ol' scurvey scallywagg

get ye keesterrr on up an' git yer seff n gearrr

fo' we be hoistin' the colorrrrs n'bttin'dwn th' hatches..

it be well pst time to set sail!

We be headn' fo' the great ship..

out t' sea fo' us to have

a great n grande adventuaarrr..

Aarrrr..

Ayyy, com' on long now

forrr me n' im Captn' we

o'n t see

th' great and grand sea beastie,

th' mothrrrr of all them thar' whales!
***

(headed to Rye Harbor)



Rye Harbor

down at the docks
our great and grand ship..




(just kiddin')
We took the granite state whale watching tour


(Me wondrrus ol' Capt'n!)
Setting out
we pass through the Isles of Sholes

Mmmm...wonder if

Chloe and Thibby would like to go???

(oops)

That day, we saw about

150 Atlantic White Sided Dolphins, 14 Fin Whales, and 2 Humpback whales..

We went some twenty five miles out to an area

they call Jeffrey's Ledge..

We were told this was a wonderful natural feeding area for the whales

who seem to return time after time,

year after year..

and this is the big feeding time!

Even though the day was promising to be nice, sunny and warm

we had been advised to dress in layers and dress warmly.

Out to sea the temperature would fall some ten to fifteen degrees.

We followed the advice and were very proud that we had!

Fin Whale

So you will have a better idea

what you are seeing..

Fin Whales

Fin Whale
Length: 65 -75 feet

Weight: up to 80 tons

Lifespan: estimated between 50 and 100 years

The Fin Whale is breath taking to encounter.

It is the second largest animal ever to roam the earth.

It is the only asymmetrically colored animal in the world.

Its right lower jaw is colored white,

while the left is black.

Thoughts are that this coloring confuses schools of fish,

making it easier for the whale to feed.

It uses its powerful tail flutes

against sharks and other whales.

They have smashed early whaling ships to splinters.

Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale

Length: 36-45 ft.

Weight: Up to 45 tons

Lifespan: approx. 50 years

Population: 20,000 worldwide

Humpbacks are known for their friendly nature.

Their round bodies require them to lift their tails out of the water

when they take a deeper dive, making them a wonder to behold!

Other exciting behavior include

breaching, flipper slapping, spy hopping and open mouth feeding.

It is known as the singing whale. Its songs lasting from 3 to 36 minutes.

The humpback is the most widely studied large whale species.

The underside of each humpbacks tail flukes are individually patterned..

researchers have therefore identified and cataloged a large portion of the humpback whale population.

Humpback and Fin Whales are Baleen Whales..

they use their baleen like strainers

and feed on smaller animals such as creel and crustaceans

Atlantic White sided Dolphin

Length: 7 - 9 ft.

Weight: 400 - 600 pounds

Speed: up to 30 miles an hour

Lifespan: 50 years

They will travel in pods of two and up to two thousand.

They are a wondrous sight to see !!

Whale breath!

Still pictures were very hard to get..

a few were obtained then

I switched to video..

the first turned out somewhat choppy

(the camera didn't quite have its sea legs)

We made Many short videos

and watched many more whales..

but, in order to share our trip with you I

tried picking out the best of the bunch..

remember when a whale dives it goes

under water and its hard to tell just where it

will come up next..

many times we were told..

"It may be going under us..so..hold on!"

By law you are only allowed to get but so close

to a whale..

so when one was sighted

and we were "that" close they

would slow down

or stop..

If the whale came toward us. they would turn

off the motors and we would drift and watch..

some came so close has to blow its vapor

(whale breath)

into our faces!!

When looking for whales you need to watch

for the spouting of vapor.....

and some of the better video is toward the end.

I hoped you enjoyed the little parts

of the whale watch that I was

able to share..

now, we need to see the seal

and

the ever elusive

Moose.

***

Speaking of moose...

the other week end while I was headed back

to New Hampshire from Virginia

Michael and a group from work were headed north...

oh, an hour or so north of Portsmouth

when lo and behold

Benny became excited..

He had spotted a moose!!!

So turning around,

these great adventurers

went back in search

of the

MOOSE !

No, there had been no

Moose crossing signs..

but, like the deer

maybe moose can't read..

or just don't care.

Just where was that Moose?

???

Oh, before long they found him...

Yep

there he was in all his glory!!!

Was it a moose???

nope...

aaawww..

it was a Llama..

Oh, well...

maybe they should have put

up a Llama crossing sign...

Don't worry Benny,

we will all remain vigalent

and

we "WILL" see that ever elusive moose !!!

***