Ventured out to Jeffrey's Bank about 10 1/2 miles from Gloucester aboard the Hurricane of The Cape Ann Whale Watch to get a peek at those mystical, spiritual humpbacks on a recent Saturday in August. Now, tourist towns can be pretty packed on hot, summer weekends, but I was pleasantly surprise on just how easy and smooth this foray was. First off, my wife kinda lost track of time and our planned early arrival became a rush to get there before the horn sounded and the boat pulled away from the dock. Calling CAWW on the road to tell them to hold the boat for us, we were met with a calm and reassuring response. I imagined the worst case scenario for parking but tooled into the lot with no problem, parking folks were helpful as were the crew in ticket booth (more than a booth a building with plenty of swag. Although the boat was pretty packed (reservations were needed - morning trip was sold out a week or more ahead of time), we found a spot on the rail in the bow. There's was a lot of seating along the cabin, inside the cabin and on the top deck, but we found our spot. It was a pretty sweet spot as later, after a jaunt out of the harbor through the sparkling North Atlantic we were rewarded with our first sight of the day. A beautiful humpback surfaced right next to us, surfaced, cleared it blowhole and gracefully dove. The crew later admitted it was pretty special. In the summer sun, the blow - hot air and mucus - set off a rainbow that was amazing. Magical. It was the first - and the best - of a half dozen close encounters of the afternoon. We saw a couple dozen blow farther out throughout the trip and saw one of the humpbacks breach from about 1/4 mile away. I got the rainbow encounter on film but I missed the breach. The crew's naturalist was pretty good, she knew not only whale biology and history but she was on a first name basis with most of the creatures we met that day. Literally.
Living on the ocean for much of my life, and now but a stone's throw from salt water, I don't know why I had never done this before. Admittedly it was super hot but the skies were clear and the seas were calm so we couldn't have picked a better day weather-wise. I just wish I could share my photos with you. That'd seal the deal. CAWW was a great introduction to these gentle giants.
Відповідь від хоста
Sep 2021
Dear newzmanpro,
Thank you so much for your kind words, it sounds like you had a pretty great day out on the water! We hope you are able to join us again soon!
Kind regards,
Capt. Jim
Owner