Ready to realize the immensity of whales, we boarded the whale-watching boat in Gloucester, MA. I was worried we would be one of those tour groups that don’t actually get a glimpse of a single whale. An older couple on board our boat, who were asking about our trip, told us they had been whale watching multiple times and liked the company we had chosen very much. This encouraging statement got me through the next hour of speeding across the vast water in the biting wind I had not quite prepared for while packing. I was cold, tired, and beginning to feel seasick. Maybe it was a good thing that I had forgotten my lunch back at Friendly Crossways!

The boat began to slow at long last, and the announcer said we were in range of possibly seeing whales, and our group - most of which had been inside taking refuge from the cold - made its way out onto the deck. The excitement had mounted and everyone was craning his or her neck in hopes of spotting the first whale.

I soon realized it had been silly of me to believe it unlikely that I would see a whale. After the first few sightings of the tops of the whales, it began to seem we were watching the whales put on a production of their greatest moves! We saw both fin whales and humpback whales; the three whom the guide kept referring to by name were Teapot, Falcon, and Lace. My enthusiasm was audible for every person on the boat; I simply could not contain myself. Every time I chose one side of the boat from which to watch, I heard “oohs” and “aahs” from the other side and ran quickly to the other side, only to remember how quickly they submerge back into the water.

Two of the sightings remain my favorites. The first special one was when three whales came up in quick succession from diving down 100 feet to feed. The water began to turn green in color, which is a sign they are close to the surface, and then one of the three whales came out of the water with its mouth gaping. The other two followed in the same form, so quickly that the three whales were above water, mouths open so that we could see six individual jaws, at the exact same moment.

The second one was unbelievable. One of the whales had a calf that was about two years old. Our guide said baby whales like playing around in the water and become curious about boats. As if to prove that, the calf came to the side of the boat where I was standing and emerged facing the wall of the boat. It was above water about five feet from the edge of the boat, remained for a few seconds and then disappeared. I was so excited to have seen a baby whale - about the size of an SUV - so close to me! Never did I imagine that she would reemerge another six or seven times, each time just as close to me, and each time so that we could see a different part of it. We got to see its entire back, its blowhole, its side, its open mouth, and its tail. On its final time, she sprayed out of her blowhole. Never did I think I would be so excited to be sprayed by a whale! For a short bit I wished to jump in the water and swim with her, but I managed to restrain myself.