Capt. Bill & Sons Whale Watch

As a kid I can remember going out on the big whale watch boats to see the majestic whales in their natural habitat. I am lucky to live in New England and in Massachusetts where according to The World Wildlife Fund Massachusetts ranks as one of the top 10 whale watching spots in the world.
Whales feed off the coasts of Boston, the North Shore area and Cape Cod and the Islands from April to October. The whales migrate to our waters following the food. They feed on mackerel, herring, krill and other schooling fish that breed in these nutrient-rich waters.  The feeding grounds for these huge creatures is about 25 miles off the Massachusetts coast on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge. Stellwagen Bank is a marine protected area at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay. Jeffreys Ledge extends from the coast of Rockport to Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Many kinds of whales can be seen in these waters and they include humpback whales, which range in length from 35 feet to 55 feet and weigh nearly 37 tons. Also common are finback whales, ranging from 45 feet to 70 feet and weighing 40 tons. Minke, right and pilot whales are also spotted in Massachusetts waters. As soon as the cold weather settles in, however, whales travel to warmer waters to mate and give birth.

We joined Captain Bill and Sons on their 100ft Miss Cape Ann. The boat was specially designed for the purpose of whale watching. Captain Bill got his start chartering deep sea fishing and found that whales were often an exciting distraction for his customers. He decided that whale watchers were the way forward for him. He teamed up with Whale Center of New England to make your trip both educational and fun.

That is exactly what our trip was. Our captain for the day was Capt. Dave and as we made our way to Stellwagen Bank from Gloucester Harbor the massive rolling waves gave a few passengers a bit of motion sickness. As seasoned boaters ourselves we enjoyed the premier location out on the bow sprit. The fresh sea air and the rolling roar of the Miss Cape Ann churning towards our destination made for an enjoyable voyage.

As we approached the Stellwagen Bank you could tell that our Captain, the deck hands and whale watch guides had begun their hunt for the tell tale signs of whales. That indicator was the spray of water from the whales blowhole. It took us a far amount of time before luck would smile on us and in the distance we saw it. Captain Dave put the boat in motion and rocketed closer to the whales location.

The whales however weren't interested in putting on a show for us and were busy diving in the 100ft of water for food. Every 4-5 minutes our large friend which the guides identified as Pixar a humpback whale born in 2001 would surface and take a few breaths before disappearing again into the deep. Each time his position would change and Capt. Dave would race the boat towards his new position. It was a great big game of cat and mouse.

 

After spending time with Pixar we moved on to another whale.  This one spent more time on the surface then the other and provided us with an opportunity to get a little closer. Like Pixar this particular whales dives lasted for 4-5 minutes before surfacing again. We spent about 15-20 minutes watching this whale eat a portion of the roughly 1 million calories of fish which constitutes a day's food according to the guide from the Whale Center of New England.

 

 

After the second whale dove the third time we noticed another whale near by being followed by another whale watch boat. Like ours Thor whale was diving repeatedly. After one last vie of ours on the surface we began our hour long ride back to Gloucester Harbor and the dock. We arrived back at about 1:20 which only gave them 40 minutes to get the whole boat cleaned and easy for the 2:00 tour to Stellwagen Bank

  

 

 

While we did get to see three different whales I wish we had been able to get closer and had the opportunity to have seen more. Had it not been for my high speed DSLR camera and mytelephoto lens I'm not sur how much I would have seen.