WHALE WATCHING CRUISES
Several southern Maine towns offer fin-filled days on whale watch cruises, including Kennebunkport, home of First Chance, a 70' DMR vessel built in Kennebunkport by local craftsmen. Two decks and a spacious bow area provide excellent viewing opportunities, and the cruising speed in excess of 20 knots gets you to the feeding grounds in an hour or so. The Odyssey, a 65' fiberglass boat with upper and lower decks, does all-day whale watches out of Portland Harbor.
WHERE WHALES ARE FOUND IN SOUTHERN MAINE
The feeding area is an underground plateau called Jeffrey's Ledge, located about 20 miles from the Maine coast. The water on this underground plateau is 150 to 200 feet deep, and the surrounding water is 400 to 500 feet deep. The ledge provides a rich food source for whales, which feed primarily on herring.
MY WHALE WATCHING ADVENTURE
I boarded the First Chance out of Kennebunkport with my cohort, Kim Knox, About.com Guide for New England for Visitors (also see our joint moose safari story). During the hour or so cruise to the whales' feeding grounds, passengers sat out on the decks in the sun or sat inside the enclosed cabin enjoying a snack or taking a break from the wind. As we drew close to our destination, a school of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, estimated to number in the 50s, cavorted in the water beside us.
When we reached Jeffrey's Ledge, the boat started circling around the area as we scoured the horizon looking for the telltale columns of white created when a whale expounds air through its blow hole. These columns, sometimes as high as 20' tall, can be spotted as far as two miles away.
From his vantage point on the top deck, a young naturalist with the Cetacean Research Unit narrated the cruise with information about the habits and behaviors of whales. "Starboard! Three o'clock!" he boomed into the microphone, and everybody ran to the right side of the boat for a glimpse of the Humpback whale breaching within 100' of us. "Port! Nine o'clock!" he boomed again, and we all rushed to the left side in time to see two minke whales slicing through the water, repeatedly breaking the surface. These whales put on a show for us for the next hour, sending us rushing from one side of the boat to the other as the naturalist shared his knowledge of whales with us. Whenever one of the giant mammals lobtailed (breached enough to show his tail), a collective sigh escaped from the whale watchers at the magnificent sight.
As we approached Kennebunkport on our return trip, we cruised past the Bush compound, where ex-President Bush still spends his summers, up the mouth of the river, past elegant Bed and Breakfast inns, sandy beaches, and rock jetties. Hungry, tired, and wind-blown, we remained exhilarated by the excitement of seeing one of nature's most fascinating creatures, up close and personal.
IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL WHALES
Most species of whales have marks that can be used to tell individuals apart. Humpback whales' unique marking on the underside of their tails makes them one of the easiest to identify. This marking is a vivid pattern of black and white, different on every animal, and can range from all-white to all-black, and everything in between.
The Whale Center of New England, out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest cetacean research groups in the world. The WCNE uses individual identification markings on whales to study behavior of individual whales, develops educational materials, and is involved in the conservation of marine animals.
ADOPT A WHALE
You can support the research of the WCNE by adopting a whale. For $33 you will receive an 8" x 10" black and white photo of your whale, the whale's biography, a Whale Adoption Certificate, periodic sighting updates, the Whale Watcher's Companion booklet, and a one-year subscription to FLUKEPRINTS. For $40 you'll receive all of these plus a 30-minute audio tape of humpback whale vocalizations and three 5"x7" color whale photos. Take a look at the WCNE's online whale photo album for spectacular whale photos, and take a minute to listen to the haunting and mystical underwater sounds of whales.
Note: Had we not spotted whales, the owners of First Chance would have offered free tickets to all passengers for a future trip. First Chance can be reached at 1-800-767-BOAT.