At the end of one summer we found ourselves in Cape Cod enjoying the tranquility and the close access to the shoreline. One of our planned adventures included whale watching out of Provincetown. Humpbacks, fin, minkes, and North Atlantic right whales populate the waters off the North Atlantic coast.
We chose to board The Dolphin Fleet — not only because it's one of the most popular whale- watching companies, but because a portion of the proceeds goes to The Center for Coastal Studies — a nonprofit research, rescue, and education organization based in Provincetown.
A scientist or naturalist accompanies each whale-watch trip. This person helps spot the whales, explain the behaviors, and most importantly collects data on whale behavior, environmental conditions, and sightings that will be shared with other research institutions.
We chose to sit in the bow on one of the fleet's comfortable boats. On our way out, we learned about the Stellwagen Bank National Marine sanctuary — one of the world's richest marine habitats. This sanctuary plays a major role in the marine life in this area and is one of the reasons the whales return each year.
It took about an hour to reach the sanctuary where the whales were last known to be hanging out. It didn't take long before we spotted a couple of whales. A humpback can be spotted easily if you look for the spout — a large spray of water released from its blowhole. This spectacle occurs when a humpback comes to the surface for air.
A few whales were in the area and we saw many spouts. Some were followed by a long fluke dive where the whale goes deep into the ocean and displays its unique tail fluke pattern as it does so.
Humpbacks are baleen whales, which are whales that use the rows of comb-like baleen plates in their mouths to filter small fish and plankton from the water. Usually this is not a solo effort. A few humpbacks will team up and create bubble nets that churn the waters to confuse the large school of fish that has been determined as their prey.
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