Parking: Paid parking is available at the pier.Accessibility: Can accommodate smaller manual wheelchairs.Tickets: $75/adult $65/senior (62+) $55/child (4-12) $3/child age 3 and under active military free with valid ID.Operating Season: May 16 - October 29, 2023.The village of Barnstable is on Cape Cod Bay on the north side of the Cape.) ( Hyannis is on Nantucket Sound on the south side of the Cape. *Note: Despite the company's name, these excursions leave from Barnstable Harbor - not Hyannis Harbor! It's a good-sized vessel measuring in at 130 feet in total length, with comfy interior cabins, a well-stocked galley, and outdoor decks for up-close viewing. Whale Watcher is a state-of-the-art, high-speed, water-jet driven ship that's designed and built especially for whale watching. Ready for Boarding at the Pier in Barnstable, MA Whale watch cruises leave from two places on Cape Cod: No matter where you're staying on Cape Cod, there's a whale watching cruise reasonably nearby. Go Back to Page Contents Menu Where to Go Whale Watching on Cape Cod They still swim, feed and play, even when it's raining! A little more water coming from the sky doesn't bother them a bit. Will you see whales when it's raining? Sure! Remember. Pack a hooded rain slicker (more about that, below), and you'll be all set to head out on deck to see the whales up close. The cruise boats have lots of indoor space for getting out of the weather. Rain showers in the forecast? That's not a big deal. Don't despair, though, if Mother Nature isn't totally cooperative while you're here. Of course, we all hope for blue skies and sunshine for our whale watching days. They'll give you the straight scoop.īelieve me, they don't want a bunch of barfy passengers onboard any more than you want to be one of those barfy passengers! -) Weather Conditions Those are the best days to be on the water! Are you skeptical about the forecast? Call the whale watch cruise provider, and ask for their advice. Look for a day when light wind is in the forecast and seas (a/k/a "swells") are predicted to be 2 feet or less. Keep an eye on the marine weather forecast! Offshore Water ConditionsĪre you a fan of rockin' and rollin' boat rides in big seas? I doubt it! So, how can you gauge the offshore water conditions before you get out there? When you're trying to pick a perfect day for whale watching, keep these two things in mind: (1) offshore water conditions and (2) the weather. Some days on the ocean are better than others. Eliza used the name for the whole archipelago, but in 1847, mapmaker Henry Kellett assigned the name to Orcas Island during his reorganization of the British Admiralty charts.Go Back to Page Contents Menu Best Weather for Whale Watching Orcas was a shortened version of Horcasitas, after Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, the Viceroy of Mexico who sent an exploration expedition under Francisco de Eliza to the Pacific Northwest in 1791. The name of Orcas Island, on the other hand, came when Spanish explorers entered the area in 1792 and named the San Juan Islands after various Spanish and Mexican dignitaries. In Latin, orca translates “large-bellied pot or jar”, but orc- also refers to a whale. The ‘orca’ whale is part of the Latin scientific classification Orcinus orca, which translates as “belonging to Orcus” – Orcus was a Roman god of the netherworld, and this genus name is likely a reference to the hunting prowess of the killer whale. It is easy to confuse the name of the whale (orca, lower case “o”) with the name of Orcas Island, but it is a good distinction to know. Don’t forget to bring this and this if you get seasick like me.We’ve tried out a few, and so far these are our favorite. If you’re bringing a lot of camera gear.This means you will want to bring your longest lens preferably on a cropped body ( this is the lens we use).If you stop the boat, and the whale comes to you that’s fine, but you can’t pursue the whale any closer. Boats are required by federal law to stay at least 100 yards away from humpback whales in Hawaii and Alaska waters, 200 yards from killer whales in Washington State inland waters, and 500 yards away from North Atlantic right whales anywhere in the U.S.The temperature out on the water can get considerably colder. Half the time I couldn’t tell if it was a wave or a fin. When the waves are high, it’s so hard to see any movement.Sometimes it’s nice because it calms the ocean and you can see more. From what we hear, chances of sightings are much higher in the early morning.It’s also good to take an all day tour versus one that’s a few hours so that you can travel farther out and have more opportunities to cross paths with them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |