GGC-20120718-2698, Flash

This whale provides me with a little claim to fame as I named it! During July and August of 2012 this whale was active in our waters and showing lots of tail. Each time it dives, it flashes a lot of white and I started calling it Flash. Our boat captains started calling it that and it spread through radio chatter to other captains. It now shows up in the Juneau Flukes catalog with my name, Flash!

I first met Flash on June 22, 2010 in North Pass with this photo, but lost the whale until July 12, 2012. With a tail this white, not seeing the whale surely means it wasn't here. One of the aspects of these humpback whale behavior that I'm slowly learning is that, while they may have some fidelity to Juneau waters, they do go other places. Since my water time is constrained to Juneau, I don't get to see them in other waters to learn where they might go.

Here Flash dives with Bullethole on July 13, 2012 on a normal, yucky, day in North Pass. Note how much white mottling is on the leading edge of the whale's flukes.

On a bit nicer July 24, 2012 Flash makes a dive in front of a spouting whale in Hand Troller's Cove with Admiralty Island visible in the distance.

So far my only sighting for 2013 has been on May 25 in Saginaw Channel. Here Flash is diving next to a group of Steller's Sea Lions.