Whale watching trip help

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large_diver

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My wife wants to take our kids on a whale watch this week. At this point she is considering the NE Aquariurm (leaves from spot adjacent to Aquarium downtown) vs. the Yankee Fleet (leaves from Gloucester).

Anyone have experience with both -- interested in comments on quality of boats, knowledge of the naturalists on board, and the boat drive time from the dock to the whale grounds and back.

Thanks.

-Chris
 
large_diver:
Anyone have experience with both -- interested in comments on quality of boats, knowledge of the naturalists on board, and the boat drive time from the dock to the whale grounds and back.

Four years ago I went out with the NEAq folks in July and the Yankee Fleet folks in August. Since then, I've been a Yankee Fleet person.

First reason for me is logistics. The Yankee Fleet folks are in Gloucester, so no driving in to the city. In addition, the parking is free. If you're looking for great food afterwards, just go across the street. You've got it all in one place.

As for the whale watch itself, it takes about 90 minutes to get to the spot, so three of your four hours is spent traveling with one hour (hopefully!) whale watching. Most people are excited on the way out, so there isn't much else going on. However, on the ride back, one of the CORE (Center for Oceanic Research and Education) naturalists hangs out in the galley with baleen, teeth, and such, plus she (and for me it's always been a she) will answer any questions fired at her.

The boat is clean, the food is good, and the crew is very friendly and helpful.

Last point, if you check the Yankee Fleet website, you can get trip reports to review what they've been seeing. Might be helpful to set your expectations.

Hope that helps.
 
large_diver:
My wife wants to take our kids on a whale watch this week. At this point she is considering the NE Aquariurm (leaves from spot adjacent to Aquarium downtown) vs. the Yankee Fleet (leaves from Gloucester).

Anyone have experience with both -- interested in comments on quality of boats, knowledge of the naturalists on board, and the boat drive time from the dock to the whale grounds and back.

Thanks.

-Chris

We have named the NEAQ boat the Vomit Voyager. (It is called Voyager). It is almost comical the number of people that are projectile vomiting over the side of the boat in any seas. We had a great experience - just stay high so as to avoid the organic ordanance.

Tip to those that don't often ride in boats in the ocean - NEVER sit inside the cabin - stay outside in fresh air and watch the horizon if you feel woozy. This will stabilize you.

--Matt
 
matt_unique:
We have named the NEAQ boat the Vomit Voyager. (It is called Voyager). It is almost comical the number of people that are projectile vomiting over the side of the boat in any seas.
There were 6 of us, not including the crew, that didn't get sick. And there was hardly any place to go where it didn't smell or there wasn't someone lying around and moaning from being sick. We just stayed up top, and didn't venture below until we docked. The worst part was that we all had to go to the bathroom, but none of us was going to move.
 
large_diver:
My wife wants to take our kids on a whale watch this week. At this point she is considering the NE Aquariurm (leaves from spot adjacent to Aquarium downtown) vs. the Yankee Fleet (leaves from Gloucester).

Anyone have experience with both -- interested in comments on quality of boats, knowledge of the naturalists on board, and the boat drive time from the dock to the whale grounds and back.

Thanks.

-Chris


The nice thing about leaving out of Gloucester is the proximity to Jeffrey's Ledge. There are a lot of whales out there and it starts only 7 miles off Cape Ann. If you have to chase them out to Stellwagen, that's about 15 miles off Gloucester harbor.

All in all, I think Glucester puts you closer to the whales than a Boston boat.
 
I was on the Massachusetts out of Boston Harbor a couple of weeks ago. We saw nary a whale, nor even any dolphins swimming along the boat. It was a nice boat ride, but that's all it was. Hope you have better luck on your "voyage."
 
I didn't see people sick on our NEAq trip but I hated the boat. Much too crowded. Impossible to move about when watching the whales. I'd do Gloucester, I did a trip there many years ago and it was much better.

Ralph
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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