We were surrounded on all sides, immobile.
Seven or eight of the gentle giants began circling us, inching closer and closer as if they were shy school kids, not sure if they should come up and say, “hi!”
The naturalist on the megaphone literally can’t even. There is definitely no chill on our boat. I’m freaking out and I’m not 100% sure I grasp the importance of what is going on around me.
But that doesn’t matter. All that matters, is this: whale watching in Boston is amazing.
Do you see that dark speck in the middle of the picture? That is a North Atlantic Right Whale, one of the extremely endangered species of whales that migrate up and down the east coast of the United States.
But I digress. Let’s go back to the beginning…back before we all lost it, giddy with excitement…
I landed in Boston for a long-overdue solo trip and was looking forward to being on the coast again. I grew up in Southern California and have a firm belief in the power of the ocean. It heals me on a level that can’t be explained. So when I was trying to figure out what to do immediately upon my arrival in Boston, it was a no-brainer to head out to sea.
I love whale watching and have fond memories from elementary school trips, birthdays, and adventures off the coast of California.
I was eager to learn about the whales and their habitat on the other side of the country, and desperately hoped that our group would be lucky enough to spot at least one.
I landed in dreary, wet, and rainy Boston, stored my backpacks and headed off to the New England Aquarium and the Boston Harbor Cruises booth. I checked in and counted down the minutes until we could board our vessel, hopping from one foot to the other trying to keep the blood circulating down to my toes. It was cold, but my heart was warm and nothing was going to stop me from an amazing experience out on the water.
Well, maybe the snow would be a problem. That’s right. It was the middle of April, I was out on the water with a whale watching expedition and it began to snow. Thankfully, the whales and other marine life aren’t affected and the cruise set off on what would up being a three-hour tour (a three-hour tour…Gilligan’s Island, anyone?).
Our tour began with some instruction about the boat, safety features, and what to do in the event of an emergency. We then were educated about the different types of whales that frequent the area we were heading to: the Stellwagen Bank, a National Marine Sanctuary just north of Cape Cod. We learned about current conservation efforts and educational programs that were offered, which you can read more about on the BHC and Aquarium websites linked above, as there’s no way I can do them any kind of justice.
After our informative introduction, about half of us headed out onto the decks. Yes, the weather wasn’t ideal: it was rainy, cold, and windy as we sped along…but I was still surprised at how many people chose to stay inside the cabin the entire time we were out on the water. Why pay to go out on the water if you’re just going to stay inside and play on your phone? Oh well. I guess we all have our own styles.
We couldn’t have been more than 10 miles out of the Massachusetts Bay before our attention was called to the port side of the boat. The few brave souls who dared to venture out into the snowy weather scanned the gray horizon for little black specks, our cameras at the ready. The voice coming from the microphone was excited, proclaiming that a North Atlantic Right Whale was crossing right in front of us.
The captain killed the boat’s engines and we just bobbed around for a minute.
(Just in case you didn’t know, boats are required to shut off their engines as soon as a whale comes within a certain distance…so we ended up floating without engines for about an hour total!)
And then another whale could be seen in the distance! And another!
No less than 5 North Atlantic Right Whales were surrounding us, along with a handful of others. They crossed in front of our boat, dove below us, and waved with their flukes at us as they swam away. Seeing an extremely endangered animal up close, no matter what the species may be, is such a surreal experience. But having 5 within sight? Awe-inspiring.
I couldn’t feel my fingers as they gripped my GoPro. My teeth were chattering like crazy and my feet were so cold, they hurt. But I didn’t care. I knew that we were in the presence of something special.
Whale watching in Boston is one of the coolest activities you can do. You should definitely make this a must-do on your next visit to Boston!
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