Species seen today: humpback whale, minke whales, white-beaked dolphins, harbour porpoises

This morning the sea was surprisingly calm. The wind had picked up since yesterday but not enough to create any waves until we were on our way back into the harbour. The calm seas helped us spotting and soon we found an area full of fish and full of feeding minkes! Any direction we looked we could see a minke whale. We saw a couple of them lunge feed and another few came really close to the boat. Then on our way back to the harbour we came across a small pod of dolphins that were very active and we stayed with them for a while before we ran out of time. In the afternoon the wind grew in strength, causing a choppy sea but all four species were seen. First a humpback whale rested near the surface before fluking but the number of boats slowly increased and we made our way further in the bay where a gannet helped us locate a feeding minke whale. Whilst waiting for the whale, a pod of dolphins swam towards our vessel to investigate our presence. The dolphins showed a range of behaviours with the greatest sight being a synchronised leap from a pair only 5 metres from the boat. Lastly, we journeyed towards the city and an acrobatic humpback caught our eye. The whale was repeatedly lobtailing, slapping its huge fluke against the surface. It then dove, only to return back at the surface where it performed pectoral fin slapping. Harbour porpoises were also seen on a few occasions, although they moved quickly and were a little difficult to watch in the growing swell.