Our days on Upper Cape Cod: Part 3a

When we went to Alaska as a group back in 2010, we enjoyed several cruises in Alaskan waters and got to see lots of seals, birds and even a few whales. All those trips were for other purposes, however. One took us from Skagway to Juneau. Another was a dinner cruise. Then there was the fishing trip out of Homer. Others were to view glaciers up close and personal. None of these cruises actually got you out in the ocean but, rather, were in inland waterways--channels and bays still pretty well confined between two somewhat nearby pieces of land. (The trip out of Homer got closest to the open ocean, yet still got no further than the opening of Cook Inlet.)

Our whale watching excursion out of Cape Cod was a little different in that once we rounded the point of land forming a curled fist encompassing Provincetown, there would be nothing between us and Europe. And, we would be going out with the sole purpose of locating and observing whales.

Dolphin Fleet Whalewatch.  

The Dolphin Fleet operates at least 4 vessels out of the Provincetown Harbor. Dolphins VII, VIII, IX,and X were docked at the pier on Wednesday. Only VIII and IX were cruising on this day, however, as it's still early in the season. Thirteen of us planned on going out on the final trip of the day, the 1:30 PM cruise on Dolphin VIII. Previously Dolphin VIII had sailed at 9:45 AM with what looked like an eighth grade class and while we waited for it to return, Dolphin IX set sail with a crowd at 12:30 PM.

Dolphin VIII returns from its morning cruise. 

Shortly after 1 PM we were permitted to board and it soon became apparent that this would not be a crowded vessel and we would have plenty of opportunity to move about should we need to.

Part of The Alaskan Crew 

Provincetown has an interesting history of it's own. It, not Plymouth, was the first landing spot of the Pilgrims. An event usually overlooked in the history books, but commemorated with the tallest free standing granite tower in the world. Terry claims she and her sister once climbed this beast for a fantastic view of the harbor.

Tallest free standing granite tower in the world. 

As a working fishing port, there are many folks of Portuguese ancestry. There's a plaque commemorating their contributions to the town but there's a special set of murals for some of the noted women behind the men who kept the town running smoothly.

As we cruised out of the harbor and around the "fist" we passed wide beaches, lots of sand dunes and not a few lighthouses.

Including this one with a keepers cottage that can be rented in season. No electricity, however, and access is "over the sand" as they say. But, with blue fish and striped bass running within wading distance of the beach, it might be worth it!

While we cruised, we got the obligatory safety talk from the ship's naturalist and his helper. He also provided a little background as to the types of critters we might see, their behavior and the reason they are here.

After 30-45 minutes we finally approached the whale sanctuary and spotted the Dolphin IX with several whales off her bow.

Excitement began to build with the knowledge that we would soon be getting some of that "up close and personal" experience ourselves.

Lots of WHALES!  in the next post.