Top of the Weathervane Restaurant
Capt. John Boat
It was very hot & humid when we went to bed. Overnight there was a thunderstorm, but by the time we went out the ground was dry and the atmosphere was hot & sticky again.
It seemed as if we were the only people in the hotel as we had breakfast. I headed over to collect our tickets for the Whale watching trip, Sue & Chris came along a few minutes later.
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Top of the Weathervane Restaurant |
Capt. John Boat |
By the time we got on the Captain John's Boat it was clearly going to be a very hot day. We had about 30 minutes to wait for departure, kept amused by the antics of ducks and gulls who saw us as a source of food, a group of teenagers who managed to lose a baseball cap overboard and a kind hearted guy in a motor boat who retrieved the hat, only to be in trouble himself as his motor failed to restart.
Duck in the harbor |
Ducks in the harbor |
Flags on the quayside |
Floating hat |
Duck in the harbor |
Duck and gull in the water |
Gull in the harbor |
Gull in the harbor |
Gull in the harbor |
Gull in the harbor |
Gull in the harbor |
Gull in the harbor |
Duck in the harbor |
Ducks in the harbor |
Sue & Chris before the start of the Whale Watch Cruise |
Mike before the start of the Whale Watch Cruise |
Brave souls setting off to parasail |
The flags on top of the wheelhouse |
At 9am, we were off, sailing through the narrow exit channel in the harbour past the replica Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. As soon as we were underway, the cooling breeze showed that a boat trip is a good way to escape the heat. We soon discovered that the reflected sun off the water surface was extremely bright. The shop on the boat did a good trade in hats.
Mayflower II |
Plymouth Rock |
It is quite a long way to the Open Water from Plymouth Harbor, along the inside of the barrier beach and past a small lighthouse, the "Bug Light" marking some cormorant covered rocks.
Bug Light |
Bug Light |
Cormorants near Bug Light |
Bug Light |
Small boat |
Bug Light |
Deep sea fishing boat following us |
The wake of the boat |
A colorful buoy marking the channel out to sea |
Sue on the Whale Watch boat |
Shadows in the wake of the boat |
The last point of land before the open sea was also marked by a lighthouse, this time a historic wooden one which has had to be moved inland to avoid cliff erosion.
Old wooden lighthouse |
Old wooden lighthouse |
Old wooden lighthouse |
On the cruise out we were followed by sea birds for much of the way, threaded our way through lobster pots and encountered a variety of ships.
Lobster pot marker |
Mike on the Whale Watch |
Mike on the Whale Watch |
Mike on the Whale Watch |
Mike & Sue on the Whale Watch |
Sea bird |
Lobster pot marker |
Chris on the Whale Watch |
Sue on the Whale Watch |
Mike on the Whale Watch |
Mike & Sue on the Whale Watch |
Chris on the Whale Watch |
The upper deck of Capt. John IV |
Sue on the Whale Watch |
Sue & Chris on the Whale Watch |
Wake of the boat |
A fishing boat |
A fishing boat |
A sailing boat |
A sailing boat |
Mike on the Whale Watch |
The trip to find the whales was quite a long one; the place where whales were known to be feeding was the Eastern edge of the Stellwegen Bank well beyond Cape Cod. We passed pretty close to Provincetown and the Cape Cod National Seashore.
The shoreline of Cape Cod |
The shoreline of Cape Cod |
The shoreline of Cape Cod |
The shoreline of Cape Cod |
And so to the whales. We were on the lookout for tell-tale spouts .. In the end it was the presence of other boats that located the whales.
Another whale watching ship |
Mike and Sue watching the whales |
Another whale watching boat |
Because of the distance we had to travel our time at the bank was very limited. We did see several whales, but none came very close to the boat.
Humpback whale |
Humpback whale |
Humpback whale |
Humpback whale |
A whale |
A whale |
A whale |
A whale |
A whale |
A whale |
A whale |
A whale |
Where is the whale?? |
Where is the whale?? |
Where is the whale?? |
Where is the whale?? |
Sea birds |
A whale |
A whale |
Here for comparison is a picture taken on a previous trip, without the benefit of a telephoto lens.
What we might have seen .. Picture from August 1997 |
We had a snack on the boat as we retraced our route back to Plymouth. It was clearer than when we left but still and stiflingly hot.
Small wooden lighthouse |
Small wooden lighthouse |
Bug light |
Bug light |
Cormorants |
Cormorants |
Stern wheel harbor cruise ship |
Houses on the barrier beach |
The Plymouth water front |
The Mayflower II |
The Mayflower II |
It was too hot to do anything. Sue & Chris went back to the hotel. I detoured to get tickets for the Duck Tour later in the day and then joined them to take advantage of the air conditioning.
Capt John Boat at the quay |
"In honor of those whpo chose the sea" |
"In honor of those who chose the sea" |
The end of Town Pier |
The time in the hotel provided an opportunity for a siesta and then to look at the photographs from the morning.
Sue in the hotel room looking shattered |
Mike doing eMail |
We had booked the last "Duck Tour" of the day, departing at 5:30pm, in the hope of cooler temperatures. This was not to be. It was still in the mid 90s as we waited for the WW2 amphibious "DUKV" to arrive. The PA equipment was broken, so we really struggled to hear the commentary.
Stern wheel harbor cruise ship |
The Town Pier |
Splashdown Duck Tour |
The bridge to the harbor wall |
Waiting for the Duck Tour |
Splashdown Duck Tour |
Waiting for the Duck Tour |
The first part of the tour was on land. We went to the old Grist Mill and associated mill pond, the Jenny Pond, and then back to the water front past "Friendly's Restaurant".
The driving wheel of the DUKV |
Gardens |
Friendly's Restaurant |
Grist Mill |
Governor Bradley |
Then it was in to the water for a tour of Plymouth Harbour. As we entered the water a rather loud alarm went off. The driver seemed quire concerned for a while, but eventually it stopped. The amphibious vehicle chugged slowly around the boats in the harbour. Alongside Plymouth Rock and the replica Mayflower before returning to land.
On the water going past the harbormaster |
Small beach |
Boat near the Myaflower |
Mayflower II |
Mayflower II |
Boats in the harbor |
Birds on a boat mast |
Birds on a boat mast |
Birds on a boat mast |
Plymouth Rock |
The Mayflower II |
The waterfront |
Four Sea Sons |
Flags on one of the boats in the harbor |
The waterfront |
Bridge over to the harbor wall |
Birds on the sign in the harbor |
Dinner was at one of the many fish restaurants on the water front. We chose Lazy Man's Lobster. It was easy but not very exciting. By this time we were pretty tired and then back to the hotel for an early night.
Sue at dinner |
Mike at dinner |