Music Video - get outside and move

The Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) at the New Bedford Whaling Historical Park joined Captain John for a whale watching trip last summer. Theyincorporated video clips taken from their whale watch into their amazing music video "get outside and move."

Check out this video on You Tube and see just how creative and talented these young adults are. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Nice job YAP! Keep up the amazing work!

April 22, 2011

12:00 Whale Watch - Tammy

Today we had a beautiful, calm day offshore with partly sunny skies and light winds. We headed straight for Race Point, the very tip of Cape Cod. This very productive area is often a great place for whale watching and has been a hot spot for North Atlantic Right Whale sightings over the past few weeks.

As we approached Race Point we saw that there were dozens of Right whales spread out all along the beach! Many of these animals were skim feeding across the surface of the water. Although we could not get any closer than 500 yards to these very endangered whales, everyone onboard was amazed at the number of feeding whales around us and how close these animals get to the shore! We estimated about 41 Right whales between Race Point and Wood End, with more animals that we did not get to south of Wood End.

Also mixed in with the Right whales were Atlantic white-sided dolphins aka “lags”. We also got a couple of quick looks at a pair of Harbor porpoises swimming past our boat, as well as a single small Minke whale, the smallest of the baleen whales.

As we were approaching Race Point, we noticed a fishing boat that looked like it was dangerously close to shore. As we got a closer look, this boat was actually on the beach! Now that’s something you don’t see every day!

As we were happily watching the Right whales feed from a distance, we saw several Harbor Seals just resting in the water. A few minutes later we had a playful grey seal approach our boat! This grey seal swam across our bow several times and was curiously looking at everyone onboard. After a few minutes the seal swam off, but it’s always a treat to see a close approach by any animal and this seal was so cute!

Overall, we had an amazing day offshore with sighting of 6 different species! However, the Right whales were the stars of the show. With so few Right Whales left in the world, it is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a North Atlantic Right Whale, and to see so many animals in one area is incredible!

April 2, 2011

9 am Whale Watch - Joanne

We had bright skies and increasing winds as we left the harbor. Once offshore, it was 'feather white' with the increasing winds, breaking white caps and sea foam. We spotted a blow on Stellwagen Bank and approached a humpback whale, as we could see its long white pectoral fins glowing green through the plankton in the water, but it was quickly lost in the sea conditions.

We had another blow on the southwest corner, as we approached, the distinct "funny water" pattern indicated a right whale was going to surface. The whale passed south of us, taking several breaths as it skimmed just below the surface. We continued south towards Race Point, finding a small pod of harbor porpoises in the 'rip' at Race Point.

Race Point is the area where Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bays meet or 'race' together, and there is a 'rip' of churning water that is highly productive. We saw several blows in Cape Cod Bay and came upon a pair of right whales surface south of us off Herring Cove Beach. The pair was skim feeding right at the surface, going back and forth like lawnmowers. Due to the federal law that prohibits vessels from approaching right whales within 500 yards, we kept our distance and headed back to Plymouth.

April 20, 2011

12 noon Whale Watch - Krill

There was dense fog in Plymouth Harbor at the start of our trip. We were hoping that the fog would clear as we headed to the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank. Unfortunately, the fog was here to stay and this would make it difficult for us to locate whales any distance from the boat.

As we got onto the bank, we started to pick up large numbers of Northern gannets. These are the largest seabirds that we see in our area this time of the year. As we reduced our speed and started to survey the area, a minke whale surface right off our starboard bow. This is the first minke whale that I have seen this season so it was exciting not only for our passengers but also for me!

On the southern end of the bank, we also picked up a group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Each time we saw the dolphins, they were traveling in small groups of 2 to 4 individuals. So my best guess is that there were probably 60 to 80 individuals offshore.

Mixed within this group of dolphins were a smaller number of harbor porpoise. These porpoise are the smallest of all the whales and are easy to miss especially if there is any chop offshore. But our passengers got lots of great looks at a few harbor porpoise that surfaced close to the boat.

Also popping up next to the vessel was a very curious grey seal. This seal seemed a bit surprised to see a large boat drifting in the fog. As we watched the seal off the port side of the vessel (or as he/she watched us!) we marveled at how this marine mammal can withstand such cold waters and rough conditions.

As our time was running low, we decided to head a bit more south. To our delight, we picked up a North Atlantic right whale, the most endangered of all the great whales. This animal was skim feeding at the water's surface. Although we couldn't approach this animal, we only had a few distant looks. But given the critically endangered status of this species, it was still a sighting of a lifetime for all onboard.

While in the area of the right whale, we decided to do a plankton tow. Crew members Ron and Rich took right over and collected an amazing sample. In this sample were thousands of copepods, the favorite food of the right whale. Our passengers were amazed just how small these nutrient-rich zooplankton are.

On the way home, we picked up some neat bird sightings including a quick glimpse of a flock of razorbills and common eiders. As we headed back to Plymouth, the fog was finally clearing (of course!) but our spirits were high for we had a wonderful whale watch that included whales, seals and seabirds.

April 18, 2011 - Whale Watch

12 noon Whale Watch - Krill

We had a fabulous day of whale watching today. The seas were not as high as expected although there was a roll offshore from all the wind that we have been experiencing lately. Still our spirits were high as we headed out of Plymouth Harbor towards the Southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank.

As soon as we approached the corner, we saw many blows in the distance. We were amazed to find over 14 humpback whales feeding deep on the corner. And in this same area, we had over 100 Atlantic white-sided dolphins and 8 or so harbor porpoise.

We were able to identify only a handful of humpbacks when we were offshore since many of the whales were not lifting their tails out of the water. But when we got back to shore, we sent many of our unknowns to scientists and biologists working at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies and they were able to identify the majority of the individuals we had seen offshore. Thanks Jooke and Jenn for all your help!

Here are the humpbacks that we saw today:

Anchors 2009 calf (not named yet), Anvil, Crystal, Firefly, Falcon, Gumdrop, Hazard, Mayo, Palette, Spirit, Sword, Weave, Whiplash, Unknown 14 from 2010.

We also had great views of adult Northern gannets who were feeding (plunge-diving) right in the middle of the whale aggregation. And for the first time this season, we saw lots of sooty shearwaters and this was a treat since this species is a southern hemisphere breeder.

But the most fun was when Hazard gave our boat a close approach. Our passengers enjoyed up close views of this amazing and endangered humpback whale. What a treat to spend some quality time with these massive, yet gently giants.

And as we slowly were moving out of the area, a grey seal popped up right off the Port side of the boat. We quickly realized that we had scarred this seal as it was trying to devour its lunch, a fish! As the seal gazed at us in amazement, the fish tried to swim away. But the grey seal was too hungry to let this meal slip away and quickly recovered its prize.

All in all a wonderful day offshore with great friends.

Hope you can join us offshore soon!