And so, a grand day was planned. One of our members has a summer cottage right across from the bluffs of a Wellfleet beach and she invited us to break our journey there. Then on to the sunset whale watch on what was forecasted to be a lovely night, where the sun would set in one direction and the nearly full moon rise in the other. What could be more perfect?
Well, it was spectacularly beautiful at Pat’s cottage, a home that has been in the family for generations, surrounded by twisted Pitch Pines and the ground covered with Bearberry, Sweet fern and the rare Broom Crowberry.
There are only four species in the Crowberry family and they aren’t related to anyone else, but Wellfleet is a place where it does flourish and her yard seems a Crowberry sanctuary. The path across the road takes you to headlands, which open up to a breathtaking view of ocean expanse.
And on a clear blue day the ocean reflects a myriad of blues. Gorgeous and it is why these beaches of the National Seashore often make a top ten list of the worlds most beautiful beaches - a propitious beginning.Next, on to Provincetown and our 5:30 boat departure. Amazingly, some of my ladies have never been on a whale watch though they have lived here most of their lives. So, I was praying this would be the unforgettable experience that it generally is. And again, even if the whales didn’t show in numbers, there would be the beauty of sunset and moonrise to make up for it.
But this is New England, what the weatherman forecasts and what actually happens are often two distinctly different things. No sooner had we left the harbor when, spreading from the land, came a “big, black cloud all heavy with rain”, first covering Provincetown, then overtaking us. Ah well, no matter, I had taken my usual stance right out on the prow of the boat. Perhaps this would just be a passing shower.
It takes about an hour to reach Stellwagon’s Bank where the whales are and en route we saw more Wilson’s Storm Petrels than I had ever seen before. They are a pigeon sized bird, black with a white rump and they seem to dance about on the water.
Why they do that I don’t know, but they are pelagic meaning you only see them when you are out to sea, so it is always a treat. Lots of Shearwaters, both Greater and Sooty playing chicken with the waves, they zoom over the water inches from the white caps. So, with a gray/black sky, and rain pelting you at whatever zippy speed the boat was going and the air alive with birds it was pretty cool even without whales yet.We were spotting whales off in the distance, and Connie, a first timer, was the first to see a breach off in the distance. But what you really hope for, feel cheated if you don’t get, are whales right by the boat, exhaling in your face, breaching within reach.
And yeah God, we got pretty close to that. A mother and calf came right along side us and when the mother did her deep dive, the calf stayed at the surface which they often do for they aren’t so good at diving yet. But what was so cool, was how interested in us it was. Three times it did a spy hop where they come straight up out of the water to have a look around.
To have the whale that we were watching watch us back was pretty memorable. We saw a number of mother calf pairs, always good news, but the ultimate 5 star attraction of this trip was when two adult humpbacks breached simultaneously, right off our starboard side. Incredible! I have seen a lot of breaches, but never two erupting from the water side by side, and then arching away from each other so the splash was a mirror image of each other.
Sea World couldn’t have trained anything more perfect. They also threw there flukes in unison when they went into a deep dive, and then one started flipper flapping where they slap the water with that long, white, flexible, pectoral fin. It must have done it 8 or 9 times in a row. If those two were trying out for whale Olympics I think they made the team! One of the ships crew who had been on 800 trips said he had never seen, and I add, will probably never again see, such a thing happen! Wow, so soaked though we were, this was worth it. Coming back with lightning flashing around, driving the hour back to Green Briar with rain still pelting down and roads turning into rivers, was worth it. Trying to get the ladies safely to their doors in pitch dark down narrow trails was worth it. It all was worth it. It always is. I know I have quoted this before, from a song by Michael Card call the Job Trilogy but it is so apt,
“Can you take Leviathan home as a pet? If you merely touched him you’d never forget.”
And so we won’t. Thanks wild women of Wednesday for giving me a great excuse to go. And from now on, I don’t think I will even bother to check the weather!
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