Cape Ann Whale Watch

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Cape Ann Whale Watch We provide the best whale watching in New England as it's an awe-inspiring experience which every human being should have the opportunity to appreciate.
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Cape Ann Whale Watch in Gloucester, Massachusetts provides guaranteed whale sightings for every whale watching tour out to Stellwagen Bank, a national marine preserve about 12 miles off the coast of Gloucester deemed one of the "Top 5 Whale Watching Destinations in the World" by the World Wildlife Fund due to the wide variety of whale species whom migrate to the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts every year to feed on the abundant natural resources. We make it a very special event. For over 35 years, Cape Ann Whale Watch has been dazzling whale watching enthusiasts with sightseeing tours aboard the largest, fastest and most elegant whale watching vessel in Massachusetts, north of Boston, Massachusetts aptly named "The Hurricane II" due to its immense size and speed as it descends upon its destination. Cape Ann Whale Watch's patrons have the opportunity to spend a lot more time with the whales than with other whale watching companies in Gloucester MA since "The Hurricane II" gets to the whales' feeding grounds with much more expediency as well as traveling home faster, therefore more time is actually spent observing whales including but not limited to Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Northern Right Whales, Pilot Whales, Northern Right Whales, S***m Whales, Sei Whales, Blue Whales (The Largest Whales in the Seven Seas yet seldom seen around Gloucester MA), Fin Whales, Atlantic White Sided Dolphins, Harbor Porpoises and whole host of other fascinating marine creatures as we deliver the best whale watching excursion in Massachusetts. "The Hurricane II" boasts 115 ft length with over 400 ft of whale watching room from the railings of the upper and lower observation decks for optimum whale watching conditions. There is a heated, furnished indoor cabin with a full service galley serving hot meals, snacks and cold beverages as well as a fully stocked bar with local brews, popular b**r, w**e and mixed drinks. Cape Ann Whale Watch is truly the finest whale watching tour in the Boston MA area offering the highest level of quality, comfort and service at the cheapest, most affordable price suitable for any family entertainment budget whether on vacation or a day trip. We offer AAA discounts on the adult tickets. We also offer reduced rates for seniors, children and military families. We go where the whales go. Our vessels communicate with each other as to the location of whales so we will go anywhere to see them on the North Shore or South Shore of Massachusetts including off the coast of Boston, Massachusetts: Salem MA, Newburyport, Cape Cod, Hampton NH, Rowley, Rockport MA, Danvers, Peabody, Swampscott, Revere, Winthrop or wherever else the whales may roam.

10/10/2026

10/9/2026
When you go out for a whale watch you expect to see whales of course. We also get to see other wildlife as well. Yesterday we were treated with dolphins! Not one, but two different pods of two different species of dolphins! We had a huge pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins and a pod of common dolphins (which despite their name is not a very common sighting in our waters). We only see dolphins on about 10% of our trips so yesterday was quite a treat. When the fall comes, we get the return of our Northern Gannets-beautiful pelagic birds -meaning they spend most of their lives on the open ocean and only come to land to breed. We see them in the early spring and late fall. They are the largest sea birds in the North Atlantic. They soar above the water looking for dense schools of fish such as herring, mackerel and sand lance. When they spot their prey, they plunge- dive head first into the water. They have air sacs in their heads to cushion the impact. It’s always such a treat to see them actively feeding. Watch as you see the gannets soaring above the water as a pod of dolphins approach our boat. A beautiful sight to see! NH

10/8/26     What a crazy day-we had rain, then sunshine, more rain, then more sunshine again.  By the time we boarded th...
10/08/2026

10/8/26
What a crazy day-we had rain, then sunshine, more rain, then more sunshine again. By the time we boarded the passengers the rain stopped and the sun stayed with us for the rest of our trip. We saw lots of humpbacks this morning. Once again, some new ones that I haven’t seen before and have to do some homework to identify. But, the highlight of our trip today was Anvil’s new calf! Anvil is a whale that I have been watching for the last 23 years Over those 23 years I have seen her bring back many calves to our feeding grounds. Today was my first sighting of her this year and her calf was the highlight of the day. Both the crew and the passengers enjoyed every minute of this calf playing at the surface as her mom and her companion were feeding deep in the water column. This little one spent so much time at the surface doing what baby humpbacks do-learning how to be a humpback.
There was lots of flipper slapping, rolling over etc. Such a wonderful experience for all to see. Here are a few video clips and photos of what we saw. NH

10/7/26     A beautiful fall day on the ocean today-the air was crisp and the wildlife was plentiful. There were lots of...
10/07/2026

10/7/26
A beautiful fall day on the ocean today-the air was crisp and the wildlife was plentiful. There were lots of humpbacks in the area! We stopped on 6 different individuals but there were still more in the area. Here we are towards the end of our season and we are still seeing some individual whales for the first time this year-among them were Handstand and Tanzania. Other sightings were Dross, Touchdown and Crinkle for humpbacks. We had a pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins swimming around the boat and one of the smallest Mola molas I have ever seen. It has been such an awesome season. Our boat alone has sighted over 200 individual humpbacks plus at least 27 mom/calf pairs. If you recall last season, mom/calf pairs were few and far to be seen. We have a whiteboard in the wheelhouse where we keep a list of all of our humpback sightings for the season. This is the first year ever that we ran out of room to add new whales!!
Before my life as a whale nerd, I had a career in academia. My motto has always been that you should learn something new every day. I thought I’d share with you what I learned today. It is not whale related but interesting anyway. On the water we encounter lots of different vessels- fishing boats, lobster boats, tug boats, sailing vessels and HUGE vessels. Today we saw a strange looking vessel I was not familiar with. I took a photo and did some research (I am a whale person not a boat person). I learned that there were two types of carrier vessels-a cargo carrier and a bulk carrier. Cargo carriers transport “finished products”-things that are packaged in boxes, barrels-things that are contained. Bulk carriers transport large volume of unpackaged goods such as coal, grain or iron ore. Who knew? This huge bulk carrier we saw today was such a great sighting. Now you too, have learned something new-good job! NH
**All images were captured using telescopic lens and in compliance with Whale Watching Guidelines. In addition, Cape Ann Whale Watch contributes its data to the Center for Coastal Studies, who curates the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale catalog.**

10/5/26     The seas were “swell” today and a bit choppy, fun for some passengers, but not for all.  Sorry about that.  ...
10/05/2026

10/5/26
The seas were “swell” today and a bit choppy, fun for some passengers, but not for all. Sorry about that. Nevertheless, we had a great trip! There were humpbacks, finbacks, and minke whales, a small blue shark, and some seals. It’s been a while since I have seen finback whales this season and there had to be at least five in the area. Finback whales are the second largest animals on our planet and I am always so excited when I see them. They are known as the greyhounds of the sea because they travel so fast! We spent some time with a pair of finbacks doing some quick dive times and staying close to our boat. I am in awe of the researchers who study these baleen whales. With humpback whales we can identify individuals by the unique black and white patterns on the underside of their tails. No two humpbacks have the same pattern-they are as individual as our fingerprints. With finback whales, researcher ID them by any scars, injuries on their dorsal fins and the wash of color seen just behind their blowhole-called the chevron. Yikes, that’s tough to do!! Finback whales are one of the few animals that display asymmetrical pigmentation. On the right side of their bodies, they show a white coloration on their jaws and baleen. On the left side the jaw and baleen are dark. Can anyone suggest why this might be an advantage?
The humpbacks we saw today were Missile and a yet to be identified whale with such a pretty fluke, and a few others we never got a chance to see. We only have a few more weeks t=until our season ends. Come join us for a wonderful adventure. NH
**All images were captured using telescopic lens and in compliance with Whale Watching Guidelines. In addition, Cape Ann Whale Watch contributes its data to the Center for Coastal Studies, who curates the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale catalog.**

10/05/2026
10/04/2026

Thank you to our passenger who captured this epic video of Fan!!!

10/1/26     After being tied to the dock for well over a week due to the Nor’easter we had, it was great to get back on ...
10/01/2026

10/1/26
After being tied to the dock for well over a week due to the Nor’easter we had, it was great to get back on the water again. It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago the ocean was raging with 15-20 foot seas-and today it was flat calm. Gotta love Mother Nature! We saw lots of evidence of the storm- seeing huge patches of seaweed and other marine debris floating on the surface.
Our first encounter was with a humpback mom/calf pair. It’s been a great year for new calves but we haven’t seen one in quite a few weeks. It was Noir-a humpback I have never seen before and her new calf. We watched as the two of them were doing some slow traveling. The calf has a very distinctive tail fluke and I look forward to following this young one throughout its lifetime.
Our next encounter was interesting for sure. We had a “gathering” of dolphins. Dolphins are toothed whales that travel in pods. Pods are usually considered to be family groups. This gathering was a mixture of 2 different species of dolphins-common dolphins and Atlantic white sided dolphins. Definitely not a family group! To top it off these dolphins were associating with a young juvenile humpback whale. It was such fun to watch the interaction between these 3 different species. It appeared that the dolphins were following and trying to interact with the humpback whale. The whale would take some evasive actions by turning in different directions as if to avoid them. The dolphins just kept on with their antics. I wish I could speak whale to understand just what was going on!!
We had a quick look at a huge finback whale and a couple of minke whales. All in all, a great fall day on the ocean. NH
**All images were captured using telescopic lens and in compliance with Whale Watching Guidelines. In addition, Cape Ann Whale Watch contributes its data to the Center for Coastal Studies, who curates the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale catalog.**

We survived the first fall nor’easter of 2026! Thank you for all the calls and emails from our loyal customers hoping we...
09/28/2026

We survived the first fall nor’easter of 2026! Thank you for all the calls and emails from our loyal customers hoping we made it through the storm unscathed. You’ll be happy to know we made it out just fine! The Hurricane II is riding high and ready to finish out the season with some great fall whale watching! Our only casualty was our porta potty tipping over, which Capt. Jim forgot to tie down! That’ll be taken care of tomorrow by the Throne Depot 🙂 The best portable toilet company around!

After being tied to the dock for over a week, the wind will diminish by Tuesday with the seas slowly dying down as well. We plan to resume our trips on Wednesday the 30th! Starting October 1, we start our full fall schedule, Monday-Friday @ 10am & Saturdays/Sundays @ 830am & 130pm. Our final trip of our 2026 season will be Sunday November 1st!

Fall whale watching has been phenomenal the last few years and we are hoping that success continues this year as well!

Lastly, keep your eyes open for our end of season 50% off sale in our “whalephernalia” gift shop! 🐳🐳

It's been nearly a week since we last spent time on the ocean. To pass the time, I have been looking over notes and phot...
09/27/2026

It's been nearly a week since we last spent time on the ocean. To pass the time, I have been looking over notes and photographs from this season. My goodness, how fortunate we have been to spend precious moments with these incredible animals. This population of humpbacks has such an incredible community of individuals. Being witness to their interactions with one another is a priceless gift and an opportunity that I cherish.

Enjoy these shots of synchronized pec slaps between two whales, while others reveal their curiosity by exploring the local seaweed.

**All images were captured using telescopic lens in compliance with Whale Watching guidelines, specifically approaching from the side, not from the front or directly behind, to avoid startling the animals. In addition, Cape Ann Whale Watch contributes its data to the Center for Coastal Studies, who curates the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale catalog. **
#𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗅𝖾𝗐𝖺𝗍𝖼𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀

09/23/2026

NOW HIRING: GALLEY CREW FOR THE 2027 SEASON! 🐋

Cape Ann Whale Watch | Gloucester, MA

Cape Ann Whale Watch is looking ahead to 2027 and looking for a fun, friendly, reliable person to join our crew as a Galley Crew Member aboard the Hurricane II!

You’ll be serving up food & drinks, chatting with guests, keeping the galley running smoothly, and getting to spend your days out on the water watching whales! 🐳

And here’s the fun part…

Not sure if boat life is for you? Come find out! ⚓️

We’re inviting potential crew members to join us on a few trips this month to meet the team, experience the galley, see what the job is really like, and decide if it’s the right fit before you commit!

✨ We’re looking for someone who is:
• Friendly & outgoing
• Dependable & hardworking
• A team player
• Comfortable in a fast-paced environment
• Great with people
• Comfortable on the water & has their sea legs! (not the right fit if you get motion sickness)

No galley experience? No problem, we’ll train the right person!

Ready to give it a try? 🐋
Send us an email to learn more and come aboard! [email protected] or ask for Jim @ 978-283-5110

Address

415 Main Street
Gloucester, MA
01930

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 7pm
Tuesday 7am - 7pm
Wednesday 7am - 7pm
Thursday 7am - 7pm
Friday 7am - 7pm
Saturday 7am - 7pm
Sunday 7am - 7pm

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