Close Encounter

Nice footage of a close encounter with one of the Humpback whales. Video taped by Nicole, our resident Marine biologist on Nick's Chance.

Another exciting day with Humpbacks!

This mornings trip had yet another amazing trip with fantastic sightings! The over all trip composed of Humpbacks, Finbacks, Minke Whales, and seals! We headed south in hopes of finding some more active Humpback whales. And again, we found them! And again, there were numerous whales all around us! We first came across a pair of Humpback whales that were cooperatively bubble feeding! We were able to watch our for the greenish water of bubbles come to the surface and a few seconds later, 2 large Humpback whale mouths were bursting through the water wide open, catching fish and possibly even a bird in their mouth! We were told that the whales always spit out the birds that are a little too brave to get a left over fish, they don't taste any good. One of the whales was identified as Raccoon! This whale was first sighted in 1985 and has not been seen since 1995! A very exciting sighting today! The other whale has yet to be identified yet. As we were watching these 2 whales feed, we noticed that all of a sudden there were at least 3 other Humpback whales near us! A friend from yesterdays trip, Flask was sighted once again being active and tail-lobbing. Whales were feeding all around us that at one time, we couldn't move at all because we were surrounded by Humpbacks so close to our boat! What a sight it is to see such a beautiful large animal right next to the boat. As we had to leave the area to head back to shore, we came across 3 Finbacks! With such amazing sightings of Humpbacks and to then have 3 Finback swimming right along side the boat, it was definitely a spectacular trip! Some of our passengers, including 2 young twin boys were witnessing such sights on their first whale watch! Everyone on the boat couldn't believe what they were seeing, mother nature at her finest.

A few of our passengers were repeat passengers from years ago. As whale watching is not a guarantee, we love to hear from people about their amazing experiences aboard our boat and the fact that they come every year! Hopefully more family memories will be made this summer aboard our boat!

As you've read, we have been having some great sightings! If you would like to embark on our whale watch, please call (207) 967-5507 for a reservation or check out our website if you have any questions: firstchancewhalewatch.com.

Whales galore!

On Thursday afternoon, we set out south where a lot of Humpback whale action was taken place. And to our luck, we found them! There all around us! We decided to take a look at a whale closest to us. This whale was acting rather sleepy and was later identified as Tigris. After a few looks, a fellow crew member spotted some more active Humpbacks in the distance. We decided to let Tigris nap and enjoy his evening while we made our way to others.

We came across a Humpback Whale feeding! This whale sure did put on quite a show! This whale was creating large bubble nets that tramp in the fish before he would lunge out of the water, mouth open, to swallow up an entire ball of bait. The birds were going crazy as well. They would fly to the water where the bubbles were emerging to eat the fish that were bring brought to the surface by the whale. To our greatest luck, we even saw this whale breach completely out of the water!! This is such a beautiful "Discovery" sight that is very rarely seen. The photo below is a photo of the splash after the whale hit the water, largest belly flop I've seen!
While we were watching this whale show amazing feeding behaviors, we saw some MORE whales in the distance acting even MORE active! There were 2 Humpbacks in the distance that were breaching and tail lobbing, so again we decided to leave another Humpback to enjoy its evening meal, and we set off to check out some more active Humpbacks.

As we were steaming towards these 2 very active whales, they continuously kept jumping out of the water and creating all kinds of splashes! This trip was already a spectacular trip, what else could we experience?! One of the whales was identified as Flask, one of the crew members favorite Humpback. We were able to see this large male whale throw its entire lower body out of the water, time and again. He also showed us his large pectoral fins, that are approximately 1/3 the size of their body.

After all the excitement from the different amazing behaviors that were witnessed by our passengers, it was sadly time to head back to port. Not only did we get to see nature at it's finest, we were even able to see mother nature at her finest... a beautiful sunset on the trip home.

Call for more information about our Whale Watch trips

(207) 967-5507

or check out our website

http://firstchancewhalewatch.com

Is it whale season?

The weather kept the boats tied to the dock today. It was very foggy and the rain was off and on during the morning preparations. So the Captain decide to call the trip off.

The title for this blog is one of the questions that we get from time to time. And here are a few other ones that have stuck out in our years of being on the water.

Is it whale season? Yes, there are always whales out there but the Humpbacks do migrate to the the Caribbean in the winter the finbacks, sei, minke and blue whales just go further out into the Atlantic.

Is there a weight limit on getting on the boat? This was a phone call and we said no. But were afraid to ask why was the question was even asked.

Can you see whales in the rain? The answer is yes. The whales are already wet anyway.

Do we get to swim with the whales? The answer is no! It is against the law to swim with the whales. It is called harassing the marine mammals and it is a federal law. If you want to swim with the whales you have leave the United States and go to the Bahamas in fact whales like to get close to pregnant women that are diving. Or that is the rumour.

How far is the horizon? The horizon is about 16 to 20 miles on a clear day. One lady asked me how far the horzon was after you travel 10 miles and I told her it was the same, 16 to 20 miles. She looked at me very confused, I don't think she ever understood the concept.

How high are we above sea level? I tell people (politely) to look over the boat's freeboard and judge for themselves. (Approximately 6 to 7 feet)

Is that the Whale Boat? As they point to a 85 foot boat that has Whale Watching in big letter printed on the second level on both sides. The answer is yes it is. And once the follow up question was do we leave the dock? I was almost tempted to say "No, we just watch video's of whales." But, I didn't.

Where did the water go? In Kennebunk, Maine we have 10 to 12 foot tidal changes every 6 hours. So as we load the boat at low tide I tell people that ramp will not be as steep on the return in case they are worried. Thought, I sometimes tell people that we forgot to pay the water bill.

Can you make the boat stop moving! This person had no concept of waves/swells or the ocean. And his girlfriend was very embarrassed that he asked the question. He was serious and wanted us to turn around as soon as we cleared the river into the ocean. I told it was to late and to get comfortable.

These are a few of the strange questions that are asked. If someone asks us a new one in the future we will you know.

Does the video camera work?

Well we got a small cheap video camera that fits into a small pocket. Since the salt water of the ocean can ruin an expensive camera with one wave over the bow we decide to give this a try. I think we will have to improve our filming & editing skills but it has great potential. The capture gives it an old 8mm look from my grandfather's days.

The subject's were Tim who is the mate and Captain John on "Kylie's Chance".

It will be interesting to see what the crew will video in the future, maybe they will get something that will go viral (video) so the whole world will watch.

Got Whales?

Well, the week has been flying by. The Humpbacks are in the area and the weather has been fairly calm. So once again we have been going out as much as possible. One of the mates missed the breaching humpbacks, it was her day off. That happens to a few of us... missing the breaching whales. It got to be a joke with a few of us about missing all the great action. We have been thinking of having a sticker make that says "Got Whales" and put it on the back of the boat. Perhaps that would induce the humpbacks to breach more.

Once we had someone ask us what we fed the whales to get them to come to the boat. We told them "herring favored animal crackers". We were kidding, we don't have enought food to fed the whales they can eat a couple of tons of fish daily. But it is interesting to listen to some of the weird questions that we get from time to time. We will share some of the more curious ones as they happen.

It turned out nice in the long run.

Hello Lobsteers!
Well after raining all night and a morning of fog, the weather broke and the Scenic Lobster Tour was able to go out with a large group of people. There was over 60 people enjoying the beautiful Maine coast.
The whale boat didn't have enough people to go out in the afternoon, since the morning trip was cancelled due to weather.
The crew got a small video camera to take on the boats to document what they see and be able to put it on the Blog for you to check out. Soon we will post a short clip of what the Scenic Lobster Tour is like. We are hoping to get video of whales breaching and spy-hopping. So stay tuned for future video updates.

Remember that there is a "Cruising to the Oldies" on Sunday, July 19 at 6pm. Tickets are $25pp and reservations are required the trip will be 3 hours long. Call 207.967.5507 for more info

The Ocean is the ocean....

The reason I stated the ocean is the ocean is because of the boat cruise on Saturday. The weather was beautiful on the way out but the winds picked up and the ride back was on the bumpy side. So people got wet and many got sea sick. We have to work with Mother Nature and sometimes the direct way back is not always the best way. So we have to zig-zag like sail boat to reduce the amount of abrupt motion if we tacked straight on.

People, remember, that when you go out on the Ocean to view sea life in the nature habitant, be advised that this is not arm chair viewing , be prepared to expect the unexpected. This is not the Disney Channel. The Ocean is a place that you have to admire it's grandeur, and constantly be in tune with the elements.

We have been seeing a lot of Finback whales, some are being quite active. They are hanging out by the shipping lanes inbound to to Portland, Maine. The weather is suppose to be getting better and staying around for awhile. So please join us.

So while looking at whales you can see some of the big ships heading into Casco Bay to unload their cargo.

The image is of Boon Island which is about 9 nautical miles off of York Harbor. A beacon to remind you to be careful in the area. Since there are at least 35 sunked ships surrounding the area. The last one being a Liberty Ship from World War Two. We pass by this island from time to time to look at the 200 seals living on the small piece land as well as many birds.

As a side note there will be a cruising to the oldies trip on Sunday, July 19th, 2009. There will be a DJ on board, with beer, wine and soda's available. Departure time will be at 6pm. The trip will be 3 hours the cost is $25 dollars per person, cash only. Call if you have any questions 207.967.5507

Finback Fever!!!

After a few days of rain, like that is new! We were able to go out twice on this beautiful day.

There were plenty of finbacks seen an amazing close up of a juvenile, you could see the entire body. The PM trip had a lot of feeding finbacks and speeding swimming with tons of bird activity. Over all we saw eight finback whales.

Got Whales? We do.... come on down to First Chance Whale Watch in Kennebunk, Maine. Call us at 207.967.5507. Watch a whale blow a rainbow. You thought the little green irish guys did that..the things you learn on the water.

Rain, rain go away

Well it is raining again! Drat! But I am putting a nice picture of a sunset so the weather gods will get the idea.

But yesterday it was a calm day with lots of Finback whales. One even rolled on its belly as it looked below for food.

Everyone needs to do a sun dance. So we can go out everyday. Does anyone have suggestions out there that would make the rain stop?

Let us know.

Finally a nice day..

The skies were blue and the whales came out to play. We had Dolphins, breaching , speed swimming Sei whales and finbacks all around. There was a close encounter with a finback whale with his mouth full of fish! It came right by the bow!!

The Scenic Lobster tour boat was busy taking people out to see the Lobsters and Walkers Point. On the first morning tour, Captain John, pointed out the yacht with the lashed helicopter on the stern.

Also the skies cleared on the July 4th so the fireworks cruise was a success, it was beautiful on the water.

You never know what you will see... so come on down.

First Chance Whale Watch, Kennebunk, Maine

www.firstchancewhalewatch.com

Fireworks... Mother Nature's version

Well, Happy 4th of July everyone! At the moment (2pm) Mother Nature is providing a thunderstorm as her celebration to the 4th. Hopefully the thunderstorm will work it's way thru and we will have clear skies tonight to see the man-made fireworks on the boat. If you want to go you will need reservations so call.....

Yesterday the fog was on the ocean so we got skunked looking for whales, but we tried. Let get a good sun dance going with a blue sky accessory.....we need it!

None the less, we were back out on the water this morning looking for whales and the sighting were good with a couple of Finbacks and a Sei whales along with a pod of dolphins.......yea!!!!! So come on down and go out with us.

Interesting sighting in Australia

I thought I would past this website on to everyone. It is devoted to a white humpback whale named Migaloo. Which has been in the area of Queensland in Australia. I found it interesting.

The site is at http://www.migaloowhale.org/

It appears that the name Migaloo means "white fella" in the native language of the Australian Aboriginal's.

I wonder if it is raining in Australia? If not, I am going to see Migaloo.

Fog, fog, fog......

Well, all we can say is FOG! This weather is getting depressing. All we saw was FOG and some more FOG yesterday! I better stop my brain is becoming FOGGY. Arrgh!!!!!!

Summer sun tribal ritual will have to happen soon! We will let you know the start time.......

It looks like this Lobster saw some sun .... no, wait, it took a sauna bath notice the red hue.

If you want to eat & drink your rainy days away, visit the Pilot House Restaurant. They have wicked good prices on Lobster Dinners. That is were I will be.