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.

--
Roger Long

With the cans floating in the water and the Just Married sign on the transom
?? Might be against the mammal act.

================================================== ===============
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
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.

--
Roger Long

* Roger Long wrote, On 3/7/2007 7:02 PM:
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.


Watching whales up close from a small boat is rather stressful. I've
done it a few time, but if you want a really good view, get a mooring
at P-town, and pay the pros.

However, with a bit a luck and nerve, and a telephoto lens, you can
get shots like these, three years ago:
http://www.sv-loki.com/Whales/whales.html

Last year (forth and fifth pics) we went through several small groups.
Unfortunately I only had a small pocket camera with me:
http://www.sv-loki.com/Summer_06/summer_06.html

Perhaps you could make the trip down to P-town. You'll pass through
several prime whale spots, and if you don't find any you can take the
tour. Cape E is a long day from Cape Ann, and then its another day
over to P-town.

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

said:

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

Haven't done it by sailboat, but a few years ago took one of the whale
watching cruises out of Provincetown, and noted that the boats run by
that
company communicate by VHG to tell one another of the locations of
sightings.

VHG? Some kind of new radio frequency?

Wilbur Hubbard

Hey Jeff ,, he can go on down to Walmart and see a whole pod of em. I'd
start with the beauty aids department. Usually a couple of Sperm whales
swimming about in that department.

Then, move to toys. The young whales like to gather over there.

For a real treat, head to the gun rack. You are garanteed to see a few big
males thrashing about.

As Roger heads out, he must stop at cd's, movies, and electronics.

Roger will see whales of every ethnic group in cd's.

Now is the time to check out sewing material. The whales here are very
docile, you can pet them.

Ok ... time to head past photo, toward the check out line.

Wow... look at those whales. And they are carrying large amounts of
plastic!

On the way to the car, keep a sharp eye for the elusive lazy blue eyed
mosters. They can be spotted smoking in very old
cars with the engine on.


There ya go. Anytime of year is a good time for whale watching at the
Walmart.

================================================== ========
"Jeff" wrote in message
. ..
* Roger Long wrote, On 3/7/2007 7:02 PM:
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.


Watching whales up close from a small boat is rather stressful. I've done
it a few time, but if you want a really good view, get a mooring at
P-town, and pay the pros.

However, with a bit a luck and nerve, and a telephoto lens, you can get
shots like these, three years ago:
http://www.sv-loki.com/Whales/whales.html

Last year (forth and fifth pics) we went through several small groups.
Unfortunately I only had a small pocket camera with me:
http://www.sv-loki.com/Summer_06/summer_06.html

Perhaps you could make the trip down to P-town. You'll pass through
several prime whale spots, and if you don't find any you can take the
tour. Cape E is a long day from Cape Ann, and then its another day over
to P-town.

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 7 Mar 2007 19:53:55 -0500, "Wilbur Hubbard"
said:

company communicate by VHG to tell one another of the locations of
sightings.

VHG? Some kind of new radio frequency?

Take a look down at your keyboard and see what letter is right next to
the
G. Then see if your small brain can add 2 and 2.

I looked and I saw an "H" right next to the "G". So you're saying they
kept in touch by VHH? My question remains, is that some new radio
frequency?

Wilbur Hubbard

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.

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.


I haven't done it myself, but the Boston Sailing Center has a "Whale Watch"
itinerary on their website, so presumably other sailboats have. The whale
watching leg traverses Stellwagen Bank between P-Town to Gloucester. Looks
like a long day of sailing. I don't know if it is publicly accessible, but the
itinerary is he
http://bostonsailingcenter.com/cruis...itinwhale.html

--
Chuck Cox
SynchroSystems - embedded computer design - http://synchro.com

my email is politician-proof, just remove the PORK

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.

Being a left coast sailor, I know nothing of the New England whales,
but the ones that frolic in Monterey Bay are quite approachable in a
sailboat. Although your boat might lack the speed to keep up with
them, it is more than offset by the ability to actually hear them when
they blow - an awesome experience! Of course, I'd also like to
believe that the whales prefer nice quiet sailboats rather than noisy
throbbing diesels...

Finding them to begin with can be the hardest part. Their spouts are
easy to spot at a distance when the sea is flat, but then there's no
wind to sail up to them. It's more difficult from the deck of a small
boat in a swell. Sending someone up the mast would probably work, but
who would want to risk it while offshore? The best plan might be to
follow the whale-watching boats, as they are far easier to spot on the
horizon. Once they stop flying along and just seem to be sitting
there, you can be pretty sure they've spotted something.

If you devote a day to this adventure, your guests would certainly get
a taste of offshore life, but you should realize that your quest for
whales might well proof fruitless. Indeed, our closest encounter with
a pair of blue whales was wholly unexpected: Enoying a long upwind
tack, looking aft, I saw them surface less than a quarter mile away.
Then, after 40 seconds or so, they surfaced again, but closer this
time. They were following us! As the minutes went by they got
progressively closer, until one of them surfaced about 50 feet
astearn. It was as big as the boat! It took a breath and dove, and
then, for the next minute everyone was looking everywhere at once.
Where'd it go? Would it hit the boat? Without a noisy motor, did it
even know we were there? And what about the other whale; where was
that one? The frantic searching gradually subsided as the eventless
minutes ticked by. Our two friendly whales had sounded and were gone.

-- John

In article ,
Dave wrote:
On Wed, 7 Mar 2007 19:53:55 -0500, "Wilbur Hubbard"
said:

company communicate by VHG to tell one another of the locations of
sightings.

VHG? Some kind of new radio frequency?

Take a look down at your keyboard and see what letter is right next to the
G. Then see if your small brain can add 2 and 2.

H, T, Y, B, V, and that's just on a QWERTY keyboard!


--
Capt. JG @@
www.sailnow.com