Whale Watching

One of the highlights of Boston was a guided sunset whale-watching tour. A catamaran travels 25 miles east of the city to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary which is an underwater plateau of relatively shallow water that supports a rich aquatic ecosystem. It is one of the best places in the world to see whales. We missed an opportunity to go whale watching at St. John's NL a few years ago due to poor weather conditions but the conditions in Boston were perfect. We travelled through fairly dense fog on the way to the sanctuary where the water was much deeper and the air temperatures were warmer than the ocean. But when we arrived at the sanctuary the fog cleared. The setting sun on the water made it challenging to photograph the whales but we saw many humpbacks. 

We saw a very strange-looking Mola mola or ocean sunfish. It is one of the heaviest fish in the world weighing between 500 to 2000 pounds. 

The lumpy, bumpy Mola mola

The sun dropped below the horizon on the return trip to Boston and the sunset was spectacular. The guides aboard the vessel, which is affiliated with Boston's New England Aquarium, were very knowledgeable. They talked about the efforts being made to mitigate the effects of rising sea levels and warming temperatures. The guides update a blog weekly and summarize the sightings of each tour. They recognize and have named individual whales. Here is their summary of our trip on August 5, 2023.

The surprise fog was a bit unwelcome today...

For the afternoon, we started a bit farther to the south where we found Reaper and enjoyed several high flukes before A-Plus, her calf, and Startrail became visible. The calf enjoyed our company and rolled and swam toward the boat, so close that I couldn’t see from my vantage point on the top deck! We kept seeing whales dive just at the edge of the line of vision in the fog, and the flukes all looked different from each other, so we realized that we had way more whales in the area than we initially thought. Bolide, Sprinkles, and Woodwind zipped around while a Mola mola, gray seal, and shark (possibly a porbeagle) were spotted intermittently. Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption made waves while Joy and Mayo snoozed to the west of the crowd.

Laura L. and Jane

I was thoroughly chilled by the time we returned to the Boston pier even though I heeded the advice to wear a jacket and warmer clothes. Several people boarded in summer clothes appropriate for the city's summer temperatures, but not for the ocean. I was sticky with salt spray but thoroughly relaxed and walked the 40-minute distance to the hotel alone after dark. The streets were busy and safe. 

My daughter was busy at the Boston Comicon and we only spent one day touring together. But I am very happy with my own company and thoroughly enjoyed my wanderings around the city and waterfront. I picked up a meal at Trader Joe's every day and skipped restaurants other than occasional street food. I walked further than I thought possible on my aging joints. It was definitely my kind of vacation!