Fall brings the unusual....

Tomorrow is September 1st and today was the first day that the whale boat was able to get out after the weekend storm. It was filled with the strange and unusual. It was just different on the water today, hard to explain, but it just was!

We saw a juvenile puffin, north Atlantic white sided dolphins, a sea turtle was reported but not verified, minkes and finbacks doing long dives.

One thing for sure we did not see this! But, perhaps next time.

Pictures from a different point of view

Captain Gary piloting the Whale Boat "Nick's Chance"


We have had the good fortune to have a series of pictures shot by a photographer from the Philadelphia area and his name is Julian Kornacki. He is a destinations wedding and portrait photographer. You can check out his website at http://www.juliankfoto.com/

We are showing a series of pictures that he took on a recent trip within the past 2 days.

Mr. Kornacki used a fisheye lense to take these pictures, kind of fitting since we were on the ocean looking for whales. He was trying to get a series of photos showing the life on the boat while enroute to the whale feeding grounds.

Waves crashing by the port side.

People relaxing in the sun while enroute.

The stern of the boat in the following shots. We are moving at about 14 knots.

People sitting on the bow looking for the great white whale.

Enjoying the day

Back at the dock! You can see the people unloading on the port side towards the rear of

"Nick's Chance."

I would like to thank Mr Julian Kornacki in sharing his pictures. Don't forget to check out his website at http://www.juliankfoto.com/.

If you have been on Nick's Chance or Kylie's Chance and have pictures to share please email them to us at firstchancewhalewatch@gmail.com. We will post them on the blogspot.

Thanks Julian!

He has promised to send us more in the coming days.

Hurricane Bill vs "Flipper"

Well the seas have been rough and all the boats have been tied up to the docks since Saturday, due to Hurricane Bill. We spent a few of those days doing general maintence on the Whale Boat and now that is done.

So, since a few of us has a few days off now, let's watch the orginal television show "Flipper" on Hulu.com. Just to stay in the mood of aquatic world.

Wonderful Photographs from a fellow Passenger!

We have the delightful opportunity to share everyone some photographs that a passenger took while out with us whale watching in August. Mr. Donald Winslow from Texas, is a great photographer and captured some amazing photographs. Also feel free to check out his own website, as he does photography for different events: http://www.donaldwinslow.com

Photograph of a Humpback whale diving. The bumps are the vertebra, giving the whale it's name

Humpback whale distinctive dorsal fin

Humpback whale bubble feeding

Scaring on the peduncle, possibly from lobster/fishing line

2 Humpback whales

If anyone else would like to share their memories and photographs with us, please feel free to email them to us at firstchancewhalewatch@gmail.com. Thank you again to all of those who have shared with us already!

Calm seas before the storm

Today was a beautifully calm day to be out on the ocean. Captain Gary said that it was the calm before the storm, before Hurricane Bill comes up the coast. As we headed out to the south, we came across a sleepy Humpback. When Humpbacks sleep, they swim just under the surface very slowly and only surfacing ever so slightly to breathe. We were able to identify this Humpback as Trident. This behavior is called logging, as the whale looks very much like a log in the water.

A Humpback named Trident

After observing this behavior for a bit, we decided to let the whale sleep and heard from some Tuna fishermen friends that there were some more active whales a few miles south of us. The visibility was very good today, as we were able to see at least 5 miles ahead of us, making it easy to spot whales further out. To our luck, we saw at least 3 Humpbacks in the distance with quite a few Finback whales off in the distance a few miles out past the Humpbacks. As we got closer, we realized that it was a female Humpback named Churn and a female named Basmati with her calf! It was quite the sight to see the little guy (or girl)! We were in relatively deep water, around 600 feet and most of the bait was around 400 feet of water, so the whales were taking fairly long dives.

Churn, Basmati, and her calf!

Basmati and Churn

Churn's fluke

After a while, we decided to go check out the Finback whales off into the distance. As we were steaming ahead, we could see at least 4 different blows swimming together speeding through the water. These Finbacks were swimming at fast speeds, chasing feed and traveling, all together in a row!

Finback Whale

These whales were amazingly traveling tightly together, right at the surface for numerous blows, and cruising through the water. It was a really neat sight to see. Our passengers were amazed at the size of these whales, being almost 80 feet long which is close to the length of our boat!

On our way in, the Captain decided to check out a Humpback first before heading into port. Again this whale was logging or sleeping when we approached it. As we watched it slowly swim through the water, it suddenly make a quick deep dive. Captain Gary, who has been the captain of the whale watching boat since 1998 knows these whales and their behaviors very well. Soon after the whale dove down quickly after napping, he causally mentioned: "Sometimes when they do that, they will breach." To our luck, it wasn't even 10 seconds after he said that, that the whale breached out of the water 100 feet from the boat!! What a sight!! And even better, so many of our passengers were able to capture the beauty of it with their cameras and video cameras because the Captain has "the touch." We were able to identify this whale as Hornbill. Needless to say, we were able to witness one of the most rare and beautiful sights that the ocean has to offer.


I would like to thank all of our passengers who came out with us today. I would especially like to say congratulations to Carol and Bill Hatch from Massachusetts. They decided to come out whale watching with us while on their honeymoon and what a beautiful day for that! And thank you to all of the passengers who asked such great questions and showed so much enthusiasm for these creatures. If you would like to come whale watching with us, please call to make a reservation (207) 967-5507.

It's a wonderful whale world

These past days have been unbelievable. The whale sightings have been off the chart. We have been having breaching whales left and right or port and starboard off "Nick's Chance". The bubble feeding has been amazing. At one time we just stopped the boat and were surrounded by 12 to 20 Humpback whales. Also the Fin back whales have been very active, one group had a posse of white sided dolphins following them. I do have pictures and video of a lot of this so be patience and we get them up on the site as soon as possible. Nicole has her work cut out for her in trying to identified all these whales.

So come on out and join us. We have been filling up the boats so reservations are important.

We are at 4 Western Ave, Lower Kennebunk, Maine, 04043
Call us at 207.967.5507

Whales EVERY WHERE!

The past couples days have been fantastic! We have seen Humpbacks, Finbacks, Atlantic White Sided Dolphins, Sharks, and tons of birds! We have seen Humpbacks bubble feed, flipper slap, breach, and other distinguishing characteristics of Humpbacks. We have seen Finbacks lunge feed through the water, dolphins jumping out of the water, and sharks lurking at the surface for their next catch. We have sighted the following Humpbacks: Valley, Tripod, Chromosome, Satula, and others yet to be identified yet. On Friday we also saw a Finback Whale named Latter, who is an old friend that has not been sighted in a few years. Latter got its name due to the boat propeller marks alongside the right side of its body. It's great to see old friends and new out on Jeffreys Ledge! Needless to say it has been quite the experience for some of our passengers, as well as our crew.

Saturdays trip was one to remember. One of the crew members said today, that "if the crew members are ecstatic and freaking out about all the whales, you know it's an above and beyond whale watching trip!" There were so many Humpback whales bubble feeding cooperatively and Finback whales feeding together, there were too many to count! We were lucky enough to witness numerous Humpbacks surfacing from below a bubble net, with their mouth wide open, feeding! When we looked over the side of the boat, we even saw Mackerel scales as evidence of all the feeding happening right below our boat! Not only were there tons of whales, there were also tons of Blue Fin Tuna as well! We witnessed a feeding frenzy of numerous species and what a sight it was! Below are some photographs.

A view of the lower jaw, with the pleats expanded to hold all the water and fish!

If you would like to witness some of these whales in their natural habitat, now is the time to come aboard Nick's Chance! Call (207) 967-5507 to make reservations and check out our website www.firstchancewhalewatch.com for detailed information about our trips!

Can't wait to see you out on the water with us!
And thanks to all of our wonderful passengers this week!

Is Summer finally here?

The Captain of the Whale boat said that it was a glorious day to be on the water. He was telling that the whales were everywhere today. When Captain Gary says that you need to come on down and check the whales out yourself. The whole week has been great. the weather has been cooperating with us and the boats have been full of very happy people watching frolicking whales. The Scenic Lobster Boat has been going out with large goups of people to enjoy the Maine coast line. Some of them are just going out to get break from the heat of the day.

Also we got the first tour buses of the season.

So is summer finally here? It looks like it.

Wow, what a day!!!!

This was the best day that we had on the water for awhile. The exciting moment was when we had not one but two whales breach at the same time. It was a pretty big SPLASH! Unfortunely the camera was not facing that direction at the time but two of the passengers got some good pictures and they promised to e-mail them to us at some point in week. As soon as I get them they will be posting on the blog.

The sun was out and the skies were blue. As we returned some people got an extra thrill seeing former president George Bush (41) taking his boat out of the breakers into the ocean to go fishing. As usual the former president waved to everyone, as he was about 25 feet away from us.

Will post the pictures as soon as we get them. Call for an appointment to see the whales! 207.967.5507

Humpbacks and Finbacks!

Well summer is finally here with nice warm weather along with the whales! Over the past few days we have seen numerous Humpbacks, Finbacks, and dolphins! Even though we have to keep in mind that these are wild animals living in a very large body of water, we have had some amazing shows. We've seen a lot of bubble feeding Humpbacks, lunging Finback whales, acrobatic Atlantic White Sided Dolphins, and the beautiful sun! Below are some photos from the past few days. There will be more to come as some passengers email us some of their own photographs.

Atlantic White Sided Dolphins jumping out of the water!

A female Humpback named Quote born in 1984.
A Humpback whale named Satula.

I would like to thank everyone who sends us photographs in advanced! I would also like to thank all of the passengers who have made it an annual event to come aboard Nick's Chance every summer. We truly enjoy seeing familiar faces every summer! Thanks!

Just a reminder that if you would like to come aboard the
Whale Watch or Scenic Cruise
to please call
(207) 967-5507
to make a reservation or for more information!

The weather has been nice

The weather has been nice and we have been going out as much as possible. The temperature is going to be in the 70's for the next few days so hopefully the whales will be out there to greet you. The video is of a humpback looking for food and making a dive to capture what he has seen. Come and take a cruise and see what is happening in the water you never know what you will see.

Also the Pilot House Restaurant recently sponsored the Intercruise guides. Intercruise is a large company that gives land tours to people on cruise ships. Kennebunk will be visited by a large group of cruise ship tourist in the comming weeks. So it will be busy at the ticket booth for September.

Speaking of the Pilot House Restaurant every Saturday there is a live band under the tent from 4pm to 8pm. Check it out when you are in the area.