Whale watch-best time to go?

Question

the last time i went on a whale watch, i only saw the dorsal fin of about maybe 3-5 whales...rip off i know. i want to know when the best time in the season to go is in Massachusetts. if you know , then please post

Answer 1

In Mass., your whale watch season runs from April or May through October, depending on which whale watch trips you're interested in.  You have a number of interesting cetaceans to see off your shores including fin whales (Balaenoptera physalis), humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae), minkes (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and northern Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis).

Unfortunately, the best time of day to go whale watching is the hours right after sunrise, and there aren't any commercial trips that are out at that time that I could find.  If you have a boat or have a friend who would take you out, go out the evening before, sleep aboard and get up at first light so you are up and dressed at sunup.

Sunup is a special time of day for many cetaceans.  Gray whales in the calving lagoons in Baja California, Mexico have a sunrise ritual you have to see to believe, and they do it precisely at sunrise even if it's cloudy and they can't see the sun.  It starts with a good look around, and you will see dozens if not hundreds of whales spy hopping all over the lagoon.  When the spyhopping ends, after 20 minutes to half an hour, you have the only period when you can jump into the water with them without driving them away.  Any other time of day, you do that and they'll be gone before you can look around, but during that period after sunrise, things are different with them.  

For one thing, this is the only time of day or night that they aren't mating or courting.  You still can't approach them, reach for them or point your face at them without being rude, but they somehow don't mind that you're in the water with them.  

Don't even think of going in with them without a life jacket on, even if you are a fantastic swimmer.  The reason is that you are going to have to keep your hands at your sides at all times, when they come near you, so you aren't going to be able to use them for swimming at all.  Even if you are wearing fins, wear a life jacket so you can put your full attention on them instead of on not drowning.

Anybody who has ever worked with cetaceans in captivity will tell you that they have incredible telepathic abilities, and the decision to keep my hands at my sides, no matter what, is the only way I've ever been able to get close enough to touch them in the water, even though the same whales will come up to me to be petted if I am in a boat.

The first time my late wife, Anne, and I got a ride from a gray whale, we were keeping our hands at our sides, and she wondered aloud what it would be like to be carried around like a newborn gray.  A mother gray surfaced from under us and began swimming forward, and the currents coming around her body held us high on her back.  We were able to keep our hands at our sides throughout the ride, thanks to our life jackets, and her three-month old calf, after approaching from either side, swam up between us, and all three of us went for a ride for several minutes.  We both wound up plastered firmly against opposite sides of the 20-foot long baby by the currents, but I didn't worry about Anne because I was pretty sure she couldn't move any more than I could.  After a few minutes, the mother stopped and we slid off her back and spent the next hour playing with her baby.  

Rather than go on a commercial trip and get a glimpse of whales being chased, go on your own trip and experience whales instead of glimpsing them.  Remember that you are never to approach within 100 yds. of any cetacean.  Not only is that the law, letting them come to you is the only way to get close to them without chasing them, and if you have the patience to do that, you'll get more than a look, you'll get an experience of them.

Answer 2

check out the site www.acsonline.org.  they have lots of information about all types of whales and the best times to go whale watching for certain species.  They also have many links to whale watching businesses that you can get in touch with and plan your outing! have fun!

Answer 3

Massachusetts, USA

What you will see: The finback, which is the second largest of the whale species in the world (the blue whale is the largest) is seen on a regular basis in the waters around Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

When to go: June through to September is the best time to go.

Who to go with: The Dolphin Fleet and Portuguese Princess Excursions are specialists in finding whales.

http://www.top-adventure-tours.com/whale...