How long is a 'typical' whale watching trip?
It seems as though most companies offer trips ranging from 4 to 5 hours. Some trips may end unusually early due to poor weather conditions or they may run late if the sightings are really good. Also, if an entangled whale is found that may also cause delays because most of the time a vessel will stand by the entangled whale until a rescue team makes it out there or until another vessel can take over the watch.

How close does the boat normally get to the whale?
I don't think that it's really a matter of how close the boats get to the whales. It's mostly a question of how close do the whales get to the boats. There are whale watching guidelines (click here to view them) in place to prevent vessels from getting to close to the whales, but the whales are wild animals and if they feel like it making a close approach to the vessels than they do. Sometimes the whales will come so close that the captain has to shut down the motors until the whale is seen far enough away from the boat to make a safe departure. Other times the whales will continue diving before you can get a decent look at them. So, it's really entirely up to the whales on how close  they come to the boat. Keep in mind a good, respectful whale watch company will not put any whale in danger by trying to approach to closely.

What is a 'typical' whale watch like?
Every trip is really different so there really isn't a 'typical' whale watch. One day you might see 4 different species and then the next day there may be no whales to be seen. One day might be bright and sunny with calm seas the next day may be overcast with rough seas. That's why I can't say it enough, if your first trip isn't a success don't assume that all trips are like that because it's simply not the case! 

Do you always see whales?
There are trips from time to time that will produce no sightings. This is very rare and when it happens a good company will offer you a raincheck to try your luck again or they will give you your money back. Some companies will even give you a raincheck when the sightings that they do have aren't that great! 

What would you say your best trip was?
I've had so many unforgettable trips that it's almost impossible to pick one. A few that immediately to come to mind would be when I saw a Blue Whale. The first Blue Whale seen in this area for almost a decade. Or when I saw my first Right Whale in 2003. This species is so critically endangered (estimated only 300+) that seeing just one alone is seeing a good part of their population! There was a trip in 2004 where we saw 2 young Humpback Whales (Hat-Trick and Cirri) feeding together. They made several really close approaches to the boat which was an amazing sight! Then there was the trip with an adult male Humpback known as Hornbill who breached about 10 times in July of 2005.

With that said, I think that my most memorable trip was in May of 2005 when we stood by an entangled Humpback Whale. The entanglement was life threatening so this whale surely would've died if it hadn't been found that day. It had line wrapped around it's body and tail which had it hog-tied. The line was so heavy that it couldn't even lift it's tail out of the water to dive. We stayed with this whale for about an hour and a half waiting for another whale watch vessel to take over until the rescue team arrived. While we stayed with this whale it swam a few circles around the boat almost as if it was asking for some help. It definitely made me feel very helpless knowing that there was nothing I could to help. Fortunately, the rescue team made it out there later in the afternoon and was able to cut it free.

How many other whale watching companies have you been out with?
My first whale watch was with the Granite State Whale Watch out of Rye, NH and that's where I've gone ever since. They have a great sightings record, they're the closest to my home, and the entire staff is very nice!

You've seen almost everything now, why do you keep going?
While I have seen all of the species commonly seen in the Gulf of Maine, I continue going because I find it to be fun and very relaxing. I love the ocean and I love being able to enjoy the wildlife. Even on the days with little or no whale activity (which doesn't happen a lot) I just sit back and enjoy the boat ride on the ocean and watch the seabirds. Besides, every trip truly is different so there's still much more that I want to see! There are some whale behaviors that I haven't seen yet and there are some very rare species that sometimes come to explore this area (there was a Sperm Whale several years ago, a Blue Whale a few years ago, Orcas (killer whales) sometimes come close (there was one in 2005), and last season there were some Bottlenose Dolphins and Rissos Dolphins. You just never know what's out there waiting to be found!
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How often do you get to see a whale breaching (or displaying any other activity)?
Breaching in general is pretty rare to see. I've been whale watching since 2001 and I've only seen 3 whales breaching, all were Humpbacks. The first breach that I saw was an adult female named Tulip and unfortunately for us, when she breached there was another whale watching vessel partially blocking our view. The second whale to breach was either a whale known as Mogul or Victim. The pair were traveling together so it's hard to say for sure which one it was. This time the whale breached right in front of the boat so we had a perfect view of it. The third whale is an adult male known as Hornbill. This was an amazing breaching display as he breached about 10 times. As I said before breaching in general is pretty rare so Hornbill's display was an extremely rare occurrence and I consider myself to be very lucky to have witnessed it! I've only seen 2 whales tail breaching, the first was an unidentified Humpback and the 2nd was a whale known as Hat-Trick (one of my favorites!).

Some other stats that may be of interest:
- I've only seen Humpback Whales bubble feeding once, Ace and Apostrophe back in 2003).
- I've seen whales logging (sleeping) on 2 ocasssions. The first was a trio of Humpbacks (Quote, Sickle, and Chromosome) in 2003 and the other was a Fin Whale in 2005.
- I've yet to see a Humpback Whale flipper slapping or spyhopping.
- I've yet to see any other species breaching (yes, other whales do breach!).

What is your favorite whale to see?
My personally favorite is the Humpback Whale because in personal experience they tend to be the most cooperative and the most fun to watch. They seem to spend more time at the surface and they are slower swimmers than the other species so they're easier to keep up with. They also show you more of themselves as they are famous for raising their flukes up and out of the water when they dive and of course for their acrobatic abilities (breaching). They are also sometimes seen flipper slapping and open mouth feeding. They just put on more of a show than the other species! 

Since Humpback Whales are individually identified do you have a favorite?
I have a hard time picking just one Humpback Whale to call my favorite, but if I had to pick one I think I'd pick Pinball. Pinball is an adult female and she was the very first Humpback that I saw in person, on my very first whale watch to top it off! I had the chance to see Pinball again in 2003 and this time she was not alone. She had a calf with her! Both Pinball and her calf spent a lot of time at the surface near the boat as the calf was learning how to open mouth feed. It was quite the experience! Pinball returned to Jeffrey's Ledge in 2005 with another calf. She's definitely doing her part in trying to get the Humpback Whale population back! 

Hat-Trick is becoming another favorite of mine. I've seen Hat-Trick three times now, once in 2004 and twice on the same weekend in 2005. All of the trips we saw this whale it (we don't if Hat-Trick is male or female yet) was very cooperative. Spending a lot of time at the surface and also open mouth feeding. This whale has been a real pleasure to watch and I'm hoping to see it again in 2006!
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What kind of camera(s) / lenses do you use?
When I began whale watching in 2001, I was using a Sony Mavica CD1000 which I continued using through the 2002 and 2003 seasons. This camera has only 2.1 megapixels so needless to say I upgraded when I became really serious about whale watching and photography. So, during the winter of 2004 I purchased a Canon Digital Rebel 300D which is a 6.1 megapixel camera and a Canon 75-300mm IS lens. I was absolutely amazed at the quality of pictures that this camera can take. It was definitely a great choice and I'm very glad that I went with it! 

How many pictures do you take on average?
The total number of pictures I take per trip depends on the number of whales we see and the weather conditions. I don't really like using my camera in really damp or rainy weather so on trips like this I don't take as many as I could. On bright, dry, and sunny days I take loads of pictures of not only the whales, but also birds. On a bad trip with little sightings or bad weather I may only take about 30 pictures, but on trips with a lot of sightings and great weather I sometimes take over 300.

Can I use your photos for a school project?
I have no problems at all with anyone using my photos for personal use such as school projects, desktop wallpaper, etc. If you are interesting in using any photos or video clips for any other purpose (publishing or for your website, etc.) I ask that you  please contact me prior to doing so. I'm pretty generous when it comes to things like this, but I do like to know where and why they will be used.
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