Whales, those massive mammals, like sunken ancient ships rising again from the depths, always thrill me.

But neither Cheryl nor I had ever been on a whale-watching cruise, so when my grandson, Conor, gave us a gift of one last Christmas, we looked forward to it.

October and November are the best times to see whales in the New York Bight.

You might want to keep this cool gift in mind for anyone. It would be especially good for someone who has never been whale watching.

Whales were spotted lunge feeding off our beach one recent Long Beach morning.

But I heard about them—after the action.

As the whales were doing half-gainers and aerial pirouettes close to shore, I was busy tapping the plastic keys on this computer.

But I took the hint; the time to go on the whale-watching trip—was now.

Last Sunday, we booked on the Starstream, one of the boats of the Captain Lou fleet in Freeport, NY.

We hoped to be in warm sunny seas; it was to be in the fifties under blue skies, so we tried to get a 10:00 am to 2:00 pm slot on October 26th. But it wasn’t available.

So, we took the 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm slot.

It turned out to be a great choice. Bracingly “cool,” but still, we had clear sunny skies. The late sail also involved a memorable sunset return.

We were greeted at the Freeport dock by Spencer, Kim, and her mom, Lorraine, all volunteers at:

NY Marine Rescue. 

You can catch the NY Marine Rescue Center on their

Facebook page, as well.

I was so impressed that mom and daughter work together at such a beautiful noble task. They work to rescue marine wildlife like seals and sea turtles who have been ensnared in fishing line, etc.

Kim’s mom, Lorraine Misciagno, said she loves being involved in the process of rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing them back to where they belong.

Kim Perry told me she really enjoys educating people about the rescue and rehabilitations.

She said, “We find them cold, stunned, entangled, or injured.”  And “Of course, spending quality time with my mom is an awesome bonus.”

I told the pair of rescuers about my new Oakley Meta glasses on which I can take photos and videos on the whale watch. I thought they might work well for them in their work, too.

They smile for this still shot:

Kim spotted my Marine Corps hat, above said glasses, and Semper Fi’d me, telling me her husband was in the Corps too.

Cheryl took this shot of me trying to steam Kim’s Marine husband at home. It didn’t, as Kim predicted. Semper Fi, Bro!

Aboard the Starstream, we saw that fewer people chose the later sail, so we had plenty of room for photo ops:

The concession stand’s menu said: coffee, tea, hot cocoa, beer, White Castle burgers, and hot dogs. They also had muffins, cookies, etc.

We wanted hot cocoa, but they were out, so the friendly concession tender gave us complimentary teas.

Nice.

I had anticipated whales bounding almost into the boat, like I’d seen on social media; the Meta glasses were ready for such close, wide-angle action. But, not to be.

We were about two miles off Long Beach when I spotted the iconic double-domed Pink Lady:

I saw Roosevelt Beach, the start of where I captured so many whales close to our shore last October. You can see the photos I published in my photo essay here:

“Whales…This Time so Close”.

A review of that essay made me think, “What are you doing out on a boat?”

We got a view of the Manhattan skyline from the waters off Atlantic Beach:

It was a fun sail for sure. We had some good photo ops at the bow:

When I video with my glasses above my Nikon, you can hear the whale blowing as the staff describes:

Cheryl shares a laugh with Lorraine. I captured this screenshot from a video with my glasses:

Cheryl and I played “dueling videos,” you might call it, when I came in on her here:

And she captured me, making that glasses-video: a teasing, grinning, teen-again fool:

We only spotted one whale this day, but he accommodated us with some wide-jaw feeding, which the gulls got in on.

We were informed by the Marine Rescue staff that the whales were probably feeding on sand eels.

And the gulls—possibly Bonaparte gulls per South Shore Audubon Soc.—were helping themselves…

..sometimes, right out of the whale’s mouth:

We did get a lot more tail action, if you’ll pardon the expression, than I could get from shore…

…no doubt due to the shore’s shallow depths.

But it was the grace of waterfalls from tail arcs that captured my eye.

Lorraine,  Kim, and other volunteer staff provided us with important details about whales. 

Kim, such a dedicated marine enthusiast, was prepared with a laminated whale photo to aid in her talk:

I tend to see the brighter side of life in most situations. And so in this.

The late 2:00 pm sailing was cooler than the one finishing at 2:00 pm, but it was roomier and, as I said, had fantastic sunsets.

The ride back to Freeport Marina was bliss:

Sure, it was a one-whale cruise, but it was a fun run. I recommend it for anyone who wants to see whales or just meet other cool lovers of nature.

It’s important these days to find a place where there are no TVs or tablets to distract us. Being in nature is a fantastic choice, whether in the woods or on the water.

It enriches the soul being there with those you care about, or love, watching them smile at flying or scurrying creatures. Or enjoying the whales, feeding in our Long Beach pond.

Be well,

Leebythesea