Winter is approaching..

Oh the weather out there is cloudy, the christmas music is playing on the radio, and I would like to go out for a boat ride. I guess that is not possible since the Whale Boat is all weather proofed and sealed up with plastic on the upper decks. The marina is filled up with boats and all buttened up for the first of the snow storms that are yet to come. I am hoping the snow will be delayed until January..

Hey Captain Adam when are you going to take your charter boat out for the season? Or is that the new tender for "Nick's Chance"?

The Boat Yard is filling up

Thursday was the last day that someone from "First Chance" to be stationed in the area. We had the last of the Cruise ship buses make an arrival to the marina. The last 7 as we referred to it. We roughly figured out that we had over 250 buses come thru the lot in 2 months. Next year we will have 20 extra days of cruise ship visits in the area.
We wil be posting different items on the blog site over the winter and spring months...waiting for the next opening day of the whale season.

Right Whale Pictures

These are group of images of a Right Whale that was sighted on one of the whale trips in August. There are not many Right Whale sightings, these days, so it is a rare viewing.

A very wet day.

We have one more weekend to go.. the weather was terrible today. We had to cancel the whale boat again due to the weather. The Scenic boat did try to go out but had to return due to the sea conditions. The waves and swells were getting over 6 feet.

The cruise ships are still unloading passengers daily. So we are getting a lot of private charters off them. We just need for the weather to be a bit nicer for the next couple of weeks. And then we are going to have to winterized the boats for the year.

Final Fling of Season?

It looks like that Mother Nature is going to give us a hard time in getting out to see the whales for one last time before Columbus Day. The sea conditions look like it is going to be a bit on the windy side. But we are going to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Funny reply of the week. Someone asked us if we gave senior discounts on whale tickets. And one of our quick witted associates said that we don't believe in age discrimination thus we didn't have a senior discount.

It has been very busy in the Kennebunk area we are still getting a lot of cruise ship buses out of Portland, Maine. Yesterday it was the Queen Victoria out of South Hampton, England on a 24 day tour.

Cruise Ship Buses

Well the marina parking lot is filling up....with cruise ship buses. Some of the the people are going out on the Scenic Lobster Tour which is very nice.

I believe there were 11 buses at this point in time when we took the rooftop picture. Each bus holds 45 to 50 people. So the marina parking czar/bus wrangler helped unload approximately 600 people to hit all the shops and restaurants in the area.

It's part of the Stimulus Package Program.... I am jesting, of course.

Pirate Day?

I just found out that it is International Talk like a Pirate Day on September 19th! Who would have guessed.

Check out this website it is pretty funny. http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

The whale boat is winding down, we are just doing weekends, hopefully until Mid -October. We just need some hearty souls to venture out with us. The leaf peepers don't want to leave their buses.

The scenic boat is doing well we had two groups go out and that was 88 people on board. The weather was nice and everyone had a good time.

Labor Day Weekend

It seems that just a few days ago it was Memorial Day and we were just starting up the Whale Watching season. Now we have just finished the Labor Day Weekend and while we are still going out to see the whales we have cut back the trips to the weekends only. We will still be busy doing the fall charters, as well as the regular trips so, both September and October will be fairly busy for us.

I have gotten a few pictures that were e-mailed to us from some of our patrons that were on the Whale Boat in August and I thought I would share them with everyone! I do have permission to do so.

This breaching Humpback Whale was photographed by Katie aged 12 from New Jersey on August 8, 2009! I believe Katie got the shot that all of us look for on a Whale cruise!

This next one was taken by Peter Figlia, the picture was sent to us by Sandy King, she was very proud of the pictures that her brother-in-law took that day. It shows a Humpback whale bubble feeding. In fact, on the day it was two whales bubble feeding together, you can see the second whale starting to come thru the surface on the left.

If I remember correctly, these two whales breached together later in the cruise!

I am also passing on the following link to see other whale pictures from a passenger on Nick's Chance. She shot so many that she posted them on Shutterfly for all to see. If you want prints just follow the instructions on Shutterfly. Here is the link: http://whales81809.shutterfly.com/

So if you want to go out and see the whales this fall give us a call at 207.967.5507. We are located in Kennebunk, Maine lower village next to the Kennebunk River.

Video of a Humpback bubble feeding.

The mates were going thru the camera on the boat and found that we had some video of a bubble feeding humpback whale. So we are going to post it so you can see what we have been seeing on the boat this summer.

We also had an interesting question posed this week by a whale watcher. The question was if you followed the latitude (N 43"20'45.22) on leaving the Kennebunk River where would you end up on the other side of the Atlantic. The answer is, La Coruna, in Northern Spain. We broke out the big marine maps once we got back to port to check it out. The range that people were guess was southern France to Portugal.

And the funny question of the week given to us by Ian, was "Why is the river running in reverse? The answer was that the kennebunk river is a tidal river and the tide was coming back in. We have a 9 to 10 foot tide change every 6 hours from high tide to low tide.

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.

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.