On Wed, 7 Mar 2007 19:02:11 -0500, "Roger Long"
wrote:

I'm thinking a fun thing to do this summer might be to take the boat out to
Stellwagen Bank or other whale spots. It would give my crew and guests a
taste of offshore life and be an interesting quest.

Has anybody done this in a sailboat? I'm wondering things like whether
public sighting reports are available, probability of seeing anything, etc.

We cruised the rhumb line from Portsmouth, NH to Provincetown two
years ago in our trawler, and saw so many whales in one day that we
lost count. Scan the horizon with good binocs and look for spouting
and sounding. Both are visible from several miles away. Also, as
you get closer to PT watch to see where the professional whale
watching boats are congregated. Other clues are clusters of birds and
signs of deep water upwelling.

For a sure thing take one of the big whale watching boats from Bar
Harbor. They know exactly where to go, and have very knowledgable and
informative guides.