Today we took a 3 hour lobster boat trip to watch whales in the Bay of Fundy. The bay is an important summer feeding ground for several types of whales. Usually the calves are born here, moving south with the mother during the winter.
Our host was the Petite Whale Watch company, who operates a converted lobster boat, taking two to three trips a day when weather allows. They are located at the southern end of Digby Neck, a peninsula that starts just outside Digby NS south to the same latitude as the northern coast of Maine.
The neck consists of the peninsula and two islands, accessible by ferry. Our trip started at the lowest point in the peninsula at the Petite Cafe and Whale Watch.
The sky's were overcast,with a heavy fog rolling in, along with some rain. We were worried they would cancel the trip because of the weather.
We met the captain, Craig, and he assured us we would be able to go. We left the dock in a pea soup fog, but as we moved out into the bay the sky's remained overcast, but the fog lifted. There was a light breeze, temperature was in the 50's. Besides the crew of two there were about 20 passengers.
All the whales we saw today were Humpback, two of which were with their calves. The locals have given all the whales names, and have them tagged to track them.
The early sightings were okay, but then one of the whales decided to get up close and personal. He (?) approached the boat and then spent the next 45 minutes proceeding to size us up. It swam under the boat' rubbing its back on the keel, coming up on the port side with it's side, head and fin out of the water. It then proceeded to dive several times, bringing the tail out of the water whereupon it turned upside down, swimming on its back.
It seemed to be as interested in us as we were in it. The children on the boat were excited, even the captain was impressed, said these acrobatics rarely happen. To further the "show" White Sided Dolphins entertained us by leaping several feet out of the water.
It was well worth being cold and wet for the afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment