Our last day at Boat Camp. We did some Ichthy sampling(see below), and alkaloid tracking in the morning. After lunch, we discussed whales, including indigenous hunts and new dangers. Then a debriefing.
I have been on 8 whale watches in my life. The first 7 turned out to be nice, non-rainey days on lovely, uneventful boat rides. Last Memorial Day, I found myself riding around Gloucester looking for yard sales when I noticed the whale watch sign near the Rt128 rotary. "What a rook", I thought as I turned into the parking lot. "I'm not falling for that 'educational' junk again", I decided as I parked the car and headed for the pier. "But, what the heck, it's a nice day for a boat ride." Within an hour we were watching 6 to 7 humpbacks breaching, blowing bubbles and coooperatively feeding, while at least 2 Minkes were sleekly moving through the water at a much safer distance. We also saw a mother and calf. The guy with the microphone (who identified himself as a whale specialist) said he knew the mother humpback from her flippers. There were whales both on port and starboard - breaching, feeding, and (I swear) watching us. There was so much to see that we were all at a loss as to what side to be or stay on.
We went out at 1:30; sometime during the afternoon, they asked if anyone needed to be back on shore. We were scheduled to be back by 3:30 and I assumed that they wanted to stay out an extra half hour or so. Back at the dock, I realized that we had stayed out an extra 2 1/2 hours. I have no idea where the time went, but was I a very happy camper - and finally, I was also a Whale Watcher!
Thank you Rob, Scott, the twins and everyone who helped make this a memorable and fun week.
Movies:
Rob in the midst of Sampling
A fraction of a whale watching extravaganza.
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