A day in search of whales

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We headed out about 7:20 am headed toward Brier Island. We were on a mission to see whales. We were NOT disappointed. The trip would require a total of 7 hours (260 miles) of driving, a couple ferry rides over the water that circulated around/through the Bay of Fundy and a boat ride out into the Bay. When we arrived at the first ferry, the tide was rushing quite a bit. As you can see in the video,

the ferry had to steer quite a course in order to counteract the current and make it to the dock. He made it, by the way, like a pro!

We got to the island early in order to see the area. The day was said to be overcast, but calm. When we arrived, there were some clouds in the sky, but the sun was shining and the waters appeared to be calm. We walked around the end of the island and took a few photos. We had time enough for a cold beer and a nice sit on a patio that overlooked the harbor.

We were told to be at the dock by 1:00, but headed out there around 12:30. The guy that would captain our boat, along with the husband of one of the crew, were waiting on the dock. We had a nice conversation with them about many different topics. It was a nice way to await the arrival of the Mega Nova from its earlier voyage. They were a little late in arriving back to the dock, apparently because they were having too much of a good time out there! That was encouraging!

We finally boarded the boat and headed out about 1:35 (only about 5 minutes later than scheduled). On the ride out we saw several schools of Atlantic white-sided dolphin.

It wasn't long after we started to spot the humpback whales as they surfaced. Our first encounter was with a mamma and her baby. We stayed with them for quite a while. The baby continued to surface, while the mother stayed below. At times, they were both very close to the boat.

After a while, we started to see more activity in the water as whales, off in the distance, were starting to breach. Slapping of whale fins and entire bodies jumping from the water caused quite a stir on the boat.

. The captain steered the boat to the general vicinity of the activity. The crew is required to maintain about 100m from the whales in order not to disturb or harm them. At one point, the captain had to turn off the engines as one of the whales decided to swim quite close and check us out.

After about 3-1/2 hours in the bay, the captain headed back to the dock. We, too, were late in our arrival. :-) I hope the people on the 5:30 cruise were just as thrilled as the previous 2 voyages.

We arrived safely back in Middle LaHave at about 9:30pm. The day was a major success and something I will never forget.

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Photos

water level at ferry dock
The tide was coming in as we crossed over to Long Island. The total tide in this area is probably between 25-30 feet.

Brier Island patio
Sitting and having a beer, enjoying the scenery.

Brier Island
Sitting and having a beer, enjoying the scenery.

Peter's Island
Peter's Island lighthouse sits on the small island southeast of Westport.

Brier Island
Monument to Captain Joshua Slocum. The first man to sail around the world alone. April 24, 1895 to June 27, 1898. He was born on North Mountain, February 20, 1844. Lived at Westport until he went to sea in 1860. The captain and the Spray were lost at sea in November 1909.

Brier Island
After a short little walk over the hill from the view of Peter's Island, this is what was on the other side.

Brier Island
Seaweed visible from the outgoing tide.

Brier Island LH
This lighthouse sat on the end of the island as we entered the Bay of Fundy.

Comments

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[Cyn]

Whales
OMGosh! what an awesome experience, you could even hear them blow. Did they tell you why they slap? That was just awesome!