The day the Miss Cape Ann is launched into the water has finally come! Last week, Tuesday to be exact, she touched water for the first time this season.  We started at 9 am at the Cape Ann Marina and after overcoming a few obstacles, a sparrows nest on the stern light and a few minor repairs, she finally got back to the dock by late afternoon.  We couldn’t help but take pictures of the Miss Cape Ann getting driven across land on the travel lift by Marina staff.  She looked huge! Our first whale watching trip of the season is tomorrow Wednesday May 15th @ 9am, boarding @ 8:30. Hoping for great weather and great whale sightings!

“Like” our facebook page to stay up to date day to day with sightings and other exciting news @www.facebook.com/captbillswhalewatch

Another season has come and gone of whale watching for Capt. Bill’s Whale Watch… and we’re happy to say we finished off strong with the last two trips of the season!

Friday’s whale watch trip brought us up to Jeffreys Ledge where we saw quite a few whales.  We spotted 4-5 humpbacks, including Lacework, and 6-8 Fin whales.

Comments from the trip:

“Friendly crew.  You provide what you promise!”- Jean M., Quebec

“Absolutely amazing. Check off bucket list; glad to have the opportunity to see these magnificent animals in person. Thanks!” Steve S., VA

Saturday’s whale watch trip brought us to Jeffrey’s Ledge as well, where we started out with a trio of humpbacks, one of them being Stonewall.  We then continued on to find two more pairs, Italy & Lacework and Trimmer & Sundown.  Great Trips!

Comments from the trip:

“Great ending to a great season! Thanks for everything. We’ll see you in May”- Mandy H., NH

“It was a rush of excitement and I’d love to see more!” Matt M., MA

Thank you to all of our customers who joined us for a great whale watching season! We would also like to note/brag about our 100% sightings record for 2012! Yay Capt. Bill’s! See you all in the Spring!

Although we have only gotten out on the water a few times in the past few weeks because of weather, we have recently been able to see a whale from land!  A dead fin whale washed up along the rocks in Rockport MA a few days ago.  What a sight! (and smell).  It has been confirmed that this is in fact the same deceased whale that was found on Oct. 7th washed up on George’s Island in Boston Harbor.  The whale itself is about 50 feet long and is decaying pretty bad.  The big question is, What is Rockport going to do about the carcass?  According to the law, the responsibility of the disposal is up to the community where it was beached, which is estimated up to $30,000! The cause of death is still unknown, pictures are below… and they are graphic.

In other news, we have been informed that one of our known humpbacks, Tornado, (who is also one of the Whale Center of New England’s adopt-a-whales) has a new calf that was found entangled yesterday. It was discovered by another Gloucester whale watch boat who followed it for as long as they could. As of late yesterday the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies  had not found them yet to start a disentanglement effort, which was set to resume today.  Good luck Tornado’s calf! For more on fishing gear vs whales, check out this article

Todays whale watch was a successful one indeed! The miss Cape Ann traveled down to the northwest corner of Stellwagen bank and had a 4 species day! We spotted a pod of 15-20 harbor porpoises, 3 or 4 fin whales, a few minke whales, and 2 humpbacks. One of the humpbacks was identified as Jabiru.

Some of the comments from today’s trip:

“Wonderful trip, great to see Jabiru! Thanks for fulfilling a long-held dream.” – Val P., UK

“I thought it was very informative + fun. Would come back.” Patti A., MI

“Great knowledge imparted- great crew. Awesome!” Debi J., IN

OCTOBER SCHEDULE

SUN-FRI @ 10AM

SATURDAYS @ 1PM

RESERVATIONS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

1-800-33-WHALE

Well we couldn’t have asked for better weather for Labor Day weekend here in Gloucester! Lots of sights to see this weekend… including all the majestic fishing schooners in town for the festival, the Boat Parade of Lights, and the Labor day fireworks display! Very fun weekend in Gloucester indeed!

FALL WHALE WATCHING SCHEDULE
MON-FRI @ 11AM
WEEKENDS @ 9AM & 2PM
Plenty of whales still out there! Join us ASAP!

What a weekend for amazing & active whales!

8/17/12- PERFECT whale watching day! On this bright and calm summer day, combined both trips saw 13-16 humpback whales.  Humpbacks identified were Cantilever, Ember, Rapier, Columbia, Draco, Doric, Sirius, Sloop & Calf, Fulcrum, Nile, Pixar, Longboard, and Scylla & Calf. As for activity, the morning trip saw close to boat looks and logging (resting) right next to the boat.  The afternoon trip saw Breaching! Breaching! and more Breaching! by Longboard. What a show!

8/ 18/12- Great sightings and great weather we had for Saturday’s trip! Including more BREACHING from Pumba on the morning trip and more BREACHING from Scylla’s calf on the afternoon trip

We were lucky enough to have a BUNCH of our regular whale watch customers to join us for a fantastic weekend for whale watching! You all know who you are! Thanks for coming guys, I’m sure we will see you all soon!  Photo credit below goes to Mandy and Doreen.  Check out our facebook page to check out even more great pics from Elaine and Jenn!

Last week we had the pleasure of having the WICKED TUNA film crew join us for a whale watch. They wanted to get some action shots/footage of whales, which they got plenty of! Thanks for coming guys!

Want to come check out some of the most famous, majestic schooners left in the world? Then you should definitely come check out the Gloucester Schooner Festival.  The participating schooners include: Adventure, American Eagle, Bald Eagle, Adventurer, Ardelle, Brilliant, Estrela, Fame, Green Dragon, Irena, Lewis H. Story, Liberty Clipper, Sugar Babe, Summerwind, Spirit of Massachusetts, Thomas E Lannon, HMS Bounty and Tyrone.

Come for a whale watch with Capt. Bills this weekend and enjoy breathtaking view of all the schooners, some even underway for the race!

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
(subject to change) from CACC

Friday, August 31, 2012

All Day Arrival of Participating Vessels.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Cape Ann Museum visiting hours.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Essex Shipbuilding Museum visiting hours.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Maritime Gloucester visiting hours.

5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Mayor’s Reception for invited guests. Sponsored by the Schooner Adventure.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Maritime Gloucester Heritage Day Maritime Gloucester (formerly the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center), located at 23 Harbor Loop in downtown Gloucester, will host its annual Heritage Day celebration from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The Center’s exhibits and aquarium will be open free of charge throughout the day. Free to all.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Cape Ann Museum visiting hours.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Essex Shipbuilding Museum visiting hours.

7:30 pm
Boat “Parade of Lights”.

9:15 pm
Fireworks Display over Gloucester Harbor. (following Parade of Lights, time approximate)
(The Gloucester Fireworks Committee is in need of more donations for the Labor Day weekend fireworks. Donations may be made to The Gloucester Fund, 45 Middle St., Gloucester, MA 01930. Please notate “fireworks” on your donation.)

Sunday, September 2, 2012

8:30 am
Skippers Meeting for all Schooners sailing in Mayor’s Race at Solomon Jacobs Park, immediately adjacent to the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Harbor Loop.

11:00 am to1:30 pm
Shuttle Bus to Eastern Point Light, from Eastern Point Gate (Eastern Point Boulevard at Farrington Avenue) to watch the start of the Mayor’s Race. Free of Charge.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Essex Shipbuilding Museum visiting hours.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Maritime Gloucester visiting hours.

10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Parade of Sail as Schooners proceed from Inner Harbor, past the Fishermen’s Memorial on Stacy Boulevard, to the race starting area off Eastern Point.

10:30 am
Parade of Sail Breakfast at Beauport, Sleeper-McCann House. Come for the best view of the parade of sail. Coffee and light breakfast will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. $3 Historic New England members, $5 non-members. Reservations required. Call 978-283-0800.

1:00 pm
Start of Mayor’s Race for Esperanto Cup, Ned Cameron Trophy and Betty Ramsey Trophy off Eastern Point.

1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Cape Ann Museum visiting hours.

6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Reception and Awards Ceremony for contestants and invited guests.

Monday, September 3, 2012

“Rain Day” for recovery from postponements caused by inclement weather. ONLY IF REQUIRED.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Maritime Gloucester visiting hours.

If you missed the whale watch on 8/5/12, you may have missed one of the best whale watches of the season! The trip took us out to Stellwagen Bank and did get a little rough towards the afternoon. However, we were lucky enough to see 2 fin whales, white sided dolphins, and tons of humpbacks!  These whales were feeding right next to the boat and breaching EVERYWHERE!  We also got great up close looks at the Fin whale!

The humpbacks identified were Columbia, Ember, Etch-a-Sketch, Stingray, Shuffleboard, Fulcrum, Freckles, Scylla & calf, and Mogul.

A HUGE thank you to Mandy and Doreen for sending us their pics from Sunday!

You can even check out our YOU TUBE channel for video!!

Have you ever seen a whale breach? If you have, consider yourself very lucky.  It is a behavior only seen on about 10 % of our trips. Breaching is the term used for when a whale springs completely out of the water.

These photos were taken by Doreen on our July 29th trip.

Also, check out www.ovathebridge.com for videos of recent trips and current events in Gloucester.