Whale Watching in St.Andrew's

Trip Odometer 0 km by land, lots by sea.
 

Low Tide from our balcony. Compare with yesterdays High Tide.

Yes or No?
The fog was thick. We walked down the street to the whale watching booth to ask if they would be going or not. They had cancelled the morning trip but ours was reserved for 1:30.

This is the wharf and all these buildings are whale watching tours. The one we went with is the gray one we are in front of.

At 1:00 the decision was made. YES! We would go.
We started out and I (Anna-Lee) went up to the deck. We were in a catamaran and it went really fast. My hair and clothes got wet in the fog and I felt WILD. I loved it!

We had to hang on to a rail or bars at all times. It was very hard to walk when the waves and tide got the boat going every direction!

Soon we stopped and saw harbour seals. Dad thinks there were about 30 of them. Some were swimming and others on rocks. They weigh about 300 pounds.There were some gray seals too. They weigh 800 pounds but the harbour seals stay away from them because they will eat the harbour seal pups.

It was VERY foggy so the camera had trouble picking up anything, but you can see many seals in this picture. The one in the front left has his tail up. On top of seeing them, we could also hear them breathing as they swam.

After that we saw porpoise just really fast and then they were gone. We went out into the main part of the Bay of Fundy and it was much windier and wavier. Our boat was going up and down with the waves, and side to side because of the tide. It was fun. None of us got sick. 

Even though we went far out, NO, we did not see any finback whales which is what they were looking for in that location.

But we saw lots of different kinds of birds on one island.

Then we went to a different area and YES! we saw Minke whales. They weigh 160,000 pounds!!!! I saw lots of them for a long time in many different areas. We also saw more porpoise but they aren't like dolphins and they don't jump much.

I met someone else today on board the boat. She was from Florida! It's neat meeting people from all over! 

After dinner we went to Indian Point just down the road and searched in tidal pools for stuff. I found a live green crab and lots of dead ones, a lobster leg, lots of shells, and a neat crab shell. Dad thinks the brids got there before us! I also saw a live clam attached to a rock. I've never seen a live clam open before.
 

Searching in the tidal pools at Indian Point.

 

Green Crab Anna-Lee and Dave found in the tidal pool at Indian Point.

My Perspective
I (Monica), also loved going on the whale watching trip. I couldn't get up on deck but stayed in the cabin area.  The windows were wide open and I had a great view. One of the seals came very close to where I was sitting. The captain of the boat was so nice. He made note of where I was sitting and tried to maneuver the boat so everything was on that side.

Dad got me out of my manual chair and I knelt on a bench by the window and stuck my head out! I saw lots of the Minke whales too.
 

Minke Whales Three O'Clock!!!

On the way back to shore the two marine guides on board brought in a bin of Bay of Fundy living specimens. I got to touch sea urchins, kelp, and more moon snails! 
 

Sea Urchin

 

Getting brave. Crabs are one thing Anna-Lee did not want to see on our trip and now she is handling them! Well, small ones anyway!

Even though it was a nice warm day on shore, it was very cold on the Bay. We were in coats and Anna-Lee even wore gloves. Yes, Mom was prepared. The Bay water itself is only 7 degrees C. One thing the guides explained was that the current moving one way and the tides another churn up all the plankton so that is why the Bay of Fundy is such a rich food environment for the sea life.

My meal tonight: clam chowder and seafood casserole! Mom is still working up psychologically to eat seafood for breakfast. They have lobster omelettes here.

Things are pretty easy going here out East.