In May 1982, I was a ninth-grade student at Riverside Junior High School in Riverside, Rhode Island. My 9th grade science teacher, Paul Capaldo, led annual whale watching trips for his students with good grades and an interest in learning about whales and the ocean. So, on a cloudy May morning, about 30 of my classmates and I went out to see on a 100-foot boat from Captain John's Tours from Plymouth, Massachusetts for a day of whale watching and fun.
On the way out to sea we passed the Mayflower II, the replica of the original ship that brought the Puritans to America in 1620. About an hour out to sea, we saw our first whale, a Humpback whale. When the boat's captain yelled that there was a whale nearby, we ran to the other side of the boat to take pictures of the whale as it made a deep dive and showed off its tail.
The Humpback Whale has a distinctive dorsal fin, a high, long arch, and a huge tail. It is one of the only whales that throws its tail above the water before going for deep dives. The Humpback's tail has distinctive colorations and markings that makes it easy for scientists to identify individual Humpbacks in the wild when they are studying them.
A while later, we saw a female Finback Whale (another baleen whale) and her calf. The calf was very curious of our boat and bravely came up close to check us out, but Mommy was not far behind making sure that her baby did not get too close. That was the highlight of our trip, and we talked about it for days afterwards.
In the fall of 1986, my mother and I went on another whale watching tour with Captain John's, but being fall the whales were heading to warmer climes, and we only saw one Humpback Whale in the distance and several Pilot Whales. Pilot Whales are the toothed whales who mysteriously beach themselves on the Atlantic Coast. This behavior continues to baffle scientists today. Pilot Whales are not known to breech, but we were lucky to see one breech right next to our boat. Our captain was so excited and was screaming "Did you see that!? Oh my God!!" The breeching happened so fast, I didn't have a chance to get my camera off my chest to take a picture of it.
There are many whale watching tours in Plymouth and its neighboring towns on Cape Cod. If you live near the Pacific Ocean, there are many popular whale watching trips to see the Gray Whales off of the Pacific Coast into Canada. So, check the Internet and other travel information for tours and information. Bring Dramamine because the seas can be choppy and seasickness happens.
Seeing the beauty of whales in their natural environment is an experience not to be missed and will give you and your family many memories for years to come.