Cape Ann Whale Watch

06/22/2026

What a day to be a passenger aboard the Hurricane II! Absolutely glass calm seas, stunning colors and wildlife galore!

Today was our annual East Veterans Elementary School field trip with the sweetest kindergarteners you can imagine. The crew loves this trip! Many of the children walk gingerly down to the boat, quite nervous about going on a BIG boat out to see the whales. The squeals and giggles when a child first encounters our wildlife echoes through the boat and is contagious.

What a treat nature had in store for us! We first spotted a Mola mola (ocean sunfish) on our way to the feeding grounds. The poor creature had quite a few raw spots on its body. Fun facts about these oddballs of the sea: In 17th century Japan, you could pay your taxes by offering a Mola mola, they can lay as many as 300 million eggs at one time and they slurp in jellyfish through their mouth that is fused OPEN all the time. Not a mile further, we came across a LEATHERBACK turtle munching on a jellyfish! According to our deckhand Joff, they can dive over 4000 ft regularly; rivaling Navy submarines and s***m whales. They are the largest and fastest aquatic reptile and have been around for more than 150 million years!

Of course, on center stage were our humpback whales. We watched as A+'s calf frolicked in the seas (and I believe at times was annoying Pele). In addition, Wyoming launched himself completely out of the sea and then joined in the pec slapping. We had Cygnus and Pitcher passing by, as well as Spell, Sprinkles and 3.14!

Unfortunately, the weather forecast is keeping us at the dock tomorrow, but Wednesday looks great. Give us a call to book your reservation. 1-800-877-5110

**All images were captured using telescopic lens 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.**

06/19/2026

Our Gulf of Maine humpbacks arrive here each spring to their feeding grounds in search of food. The Gulf of Maine extends from the Bay of Fundy to Cape Cod. There are many different feeding grounds along the way that they can go to. So, each day we go in search of the whales and never really know where we can find them. Two days ago, we had to travel 30 miles to find the very same whales we saw this morning only 14 miles from home (YAY)! Going on a whale watch is truly is a marine safari-you never know what or who you might see. That’s what makes whale watching so exciting. This morning it was all about the new calves! We saw Measles new calf doing some breaching and some tail breaching and A-plus new calf doing some fluke flailing! The seas were a bit choppy so excuse if the videos are a bit shaky. That’s what life on a boat is like. There were at least a dozen humpback in the area including:
Measles and her calf
Music, Cygnus (who I have not seen since 2015) and Dash-dot
Pele and A-plus and her calf.
We do name our Gulf of Maine humpbacks based on the black and white patterns of their flukes (tails). I have included fluke shots of A-plus and Music’s flukes. Can you see why these whales got the names we chose for them?
Such a great morning! 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.**

06/19/2026

In honor of the World Cup, I felt I would highlight our own Pelé, the humpback.
If you’re unfamiliar with Pelé, the soccer player, he was born in Brazil in 1940 and grew up in poverty. To pass the time, Pelé’s dad taught him ‘football’ by using a manmade soccer ball created by stuffing a sock with newspaper. Pele started his professional career at the age of 16 and helped Brazil win their first World Cup in 1958. He was known for his incredible skills, including his famous bicycle kick. He was an influential sports player and was known to unite people with his game.
“Our” Pelé is a vocal, acrobatic humpback whale I call “The Ladies’ Man.” I’ve never seen him alone; he is always accompanied by two or more female humpbacks. In addition, whenever we do observe Pele and his association, you can be sure you are going to hear trumpet blows and witness occasional surface activity.
On Wednesday, we observed Pelé in the most active association we have seen. Instead of the whales being in synchronicity, Pele would swim at them, trumpet blowing, pec slapping, lob tailing and breaching. Whatever was being communicated, his rowdiness united the passengers on the boat, and he became the fan favorite of the day!

**All images were captured using telescopic lens 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.**

06/18/2026

A waggle sequence!

In past years, if we spotted a 'waggle' we squealed with excitement for several reasons: (1) it is absolutely so much fun to watch (2) the strength of the peduncle to flop the enormous fluke back and forth (which weighs about the same as a family car!) is astounding, (3) we have no idea why the whale does this behavior and (4) because we assume its CLAMP! Clamp was the first whale for many of us that did this behavior and we cherish our encounters with her. However, this season I have witnessed 3 different individuals doing this 'waggle'! Because we are witnessing this behavior more frequently, I have added a code to our behavioral data sheet.

Is this another behavior that is being taught culturally throughout the population? What purpose does it serve? How do they teach each other? The questions are endless and the answers are few and far between and the best part is that Google and AI cannot provide a true answer. In a world where we have information overload, it's enticing to witness something that we simply do not have the answer to; it piques curiosity, wonder and stimulates imagination.

I encourage you to join us this season. Will you see the waggle? Who knows but I can tell you this, nature never disappoints! Call us today: 1-800-877-5110

**All images were captured using telescopic lens 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.**

06/18/2026

06/18/2026

We had a beautiful day for a boat ride to Cape Cod and encountered many groups of humpback whales. Some were in pairs, others in larger groups. We didn’t observe any active feeding today but were treated with all kinds of surface activities from the whales. Schism seemed to be doing a bit of tail activity we have dubbed “the waggle”. I first saw this behavior with one of our CAWW favorites named Clamp a couple of years ago. She would lift her tail high in the air and waggle it back and forth. Since then, I have noticed a couple of whales doing it too. Today it was Schism! We had mom/calf pairs and the calves were active doing flipper slapping and just being calves. Our last encounter was a group of 3 humpbacks-Pele and 2 others. Pele has always been a social whale-I don’t think I have ever seen him alone! Watch and listen as the three of them “communicate” with each other with some forceful trumpet blows. NH
Some of the whales observed today were:
Schism
Buzzard,
Bowline
Interruption
Firefly & calf
Milkweed & calf
Pele
Toboggan

**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.**

06/16/2026

Get your new tumblers!

06/16/2026

Our trip today was an example of extremes. We started off our first encounter with a humpback reported to be the largest in our Gulf of Maine-population-YES Spoon is here! We ended our trip with one of the smallest-Measles’s tiny calf. Let’s talk about Spoon. She has been around since the start of our studies on humpback whales, way back in the 1970’s. Noted for being an avid napper, today she was strutting her stuff and doing lots of flipper slapping and a few tail breaches (I bet she took a long nap after such an active morning). Whales show sexual dimorphism which means there is basically a size difference between males and females. In the toothed whales the males are larger than the females. In the baleen whales, like the humpback, females are larger than the males. Our mature females are usually around 45-50 feet long. Spoon has been measured to be over 60 feet in length!! Pectoral flippers are about 1/3 of the whale’s body length. Can you calculate just how enormous Spoon’s flippers are? YIKES! We spotted those pecs from miles away!
We ended our trip watching one of the smallest of our humpback population-Measles’s tiny calf who came to check us out while Mom was below doing some feeding. The calf is approximately 4 months old. I just love my 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.**

06/16/2026

It was so exciting to hear the squeals from the students on field trips on the boat today! Some of these children have never been on a boat, much less seen a whale! Their excitement reminds me of how fortunate we are to have access to this incredible ecosystem.
Some of the whales we encountered today were:
Milkweed and calf
Firefly and calf
Tear
Arcus
Dashdot
Toboggan
Schism
Hippocampus

**All images were captured using telescopic lens 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.**

06/15/2026

Weekend Update:
Our sightings continue to take our breath away. The whales are in an abundance (as well as the sand lance that they love!). However, like fish, our whales move around A LOT and we never know exactly where each trip will take us.
For me, the most exciting news from the weekend, was that I introduced our passengers to TWO more new calves! I literally squealed on the mic when I saw Dome with her newest calf. We can never be sure if a whale is pregnant, however, I wagered last summer that she was. She seemed to be eating for two and was SOOOO wide. In addition, we met Measles' little peanut yesterday. The seas started to build with the shifting wind, and her calf had the wiggles. It is the season of the calves.

You should come watch the whales with us! 1-800-877-5110

**All images were captured using telescopic lens 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.**