#capeanne

To experience some of the whale culture that the North Shore has to offer, there’s no better place to travel than Gloucester, Massachusetts. Gloucester is home to the Cape Ann Whale Watch team, a team of marine scientists that devote their lives to studying these sea creatures and work towards making this area a place for whales and other marine life to flourish. Going on this whale watch was a great experience that helped me further my knowledge about whales in the North Shore area and gain a closer sense of connection to these whales.

 The tour took us out to Stellwagen Bank, a national marine preserve, on the highly acclaimed “most elegant whale watching vessel in Massachusetts”, the Hurricane II named after its immense size of 115 feet and its efficient speed. The reserve lies 12 miles off the coast of Gloucester and is said to be one of the "Top 5 Whale Watching Destinations in the World" by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The tour guide informed us that Stellwagen Bank contains a wide variety of whale species that migrate to Gloucester in order to feed on a variety of natural resources that the region provides. The tour is filled with many different sights of Humpback Whales, Northern Right Whales, Minke Whales, Sperm Whales and others.

 The tour lasted about four hours, taking us about an hour to get out to the watching grounds. Four hours may seem like a long time, but when the weather’s great and you’re having a good time you almost wish it would last longer. Within the hour spent voyaging out to the sighting grounds, the crew kept us awake and involved by traveling around the deck displaying different types of whale teeth. The tour guide explained to us that bigger whales just use their teeth to grab and contain their prey in their mouth, whereas smaller whales actually use their teeth to tear and cut apart their prey.

 When we got to the feeding grounds, we were not disappointed. Families of humpback whales came up close to the side of our boat and surfaced countless times displaying their magnificent bodies and acrobats. Soaring through the air and slapping the water with such magnitude, it was no wonder the crew warned us that we may get a bit wet. Being able to see these creatures up close and in person was definitely worth it. We learned many interesting facts, such as the length of the whales and how big humpback whales are compared to other whale species.