The Bar Harbor Whale Watching Company located on West Street. They also do many other smaller tours to include lighthouses, wildlife, and bay cruises.
We arrived very early to get a good parking spot and seats for our trip. This vessel uses jet propulsion like a jet ski and is very safe around whales and wildlife since it has no propeller. It also travels about 35 knots which is pretty fast for its size.
We decided on the upper level to have a good advantage point to see the wildlife. We were hoping to see whale breaches that we did not get to see on our previous whale trip.
While leaving the harbor, we had an opportunity to see some of the million dollars estates along Frenchmen Bay. These are referred to as cottages. Some cottages!
Million Dollar Row. Homes of America's super-rich and powerful families the Ford's, Rockefellers, Gettys, and Vanderbilts along with presidents and vice presidents.
The weather was very warm this day, 90 degrees in the harbor and the seas were extremely calm. At sea however, the temperature was a little chilly. You needed a sweater at times. We took ice water and snacks for our 3–4-hour trip.
After an hour or so we spotted our first whales. I decided to use video mode instead of photos. I turned on the camera and hit the record button when I saw a whale come up. Much easier than trying to catch each camera shot.
Our first contact, three whales. The video takes a second to adjust but you can see all three whales.
Did not realize for a while that there were a family of dolphins swimming alongside the whales. We counted more than five dolphins in the group. Not sure why this happens, but we were very lucky to experience this during our trip.
We also had an opportunity to see Mt. Desert Island Lighthouse, 18 nautical miles from Bay Harbor. College of the Atlantic researchers stay on the island in the summer months and depart for the winter. It was automated in 1977.
Although we had a good time, we never saw any whale breaches, but we were extremely happy to see the dolphins swimming along with the whales. All in all, a very nice day out on the ocean.
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