Cashes Ledge Whale and Seabird Cruise

Join guides from Flukes, Bar Harbor Whale Watch, Field Guides, Maine Audubon and OceansWide on a natural history adventure in search of seabirds, marine mammals, sharks, and marine wildlife at Cashes Ledge, a pristine biological hotspot 70 miles off the coast of Maine. A tremendous diversity of northern and southern hemisphere pelagic seabirds are likely and tropical bird rarities brought north by hurricanes are also possible. Marine Mammals that could be encountered include minke, right, humpback, finback, sperm, blue and pilot whales, harbor and grey seals, and Atlantic white-sided, common. and offshore bottlenose dolphins. A variety of sharks can be observed including basking, blue, mako, porbeagle, and great white. We will search for Leatherback sea turtles, ocean sunfish, bluefin tuna, and lions mane jellyfish.

Trip Leaders

Zack Klyver: Naturalist, Flukes: International Whale Tours, Co-Chair NAWWNA

Jan Pierson: AKA “Gannet”, Naturalist, Co-Founder Field Guides, Maine Bird Records Cmt. (Past) 

Doug Hitchcox: Naturalist, Maine Audubon Society, Maine Bird Records Cmt.

Trip Leaders

Julie Taylor: Naturalist, Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co., President, GOMMEA

Campbell “Buzz” Scott: Ocean Educator and ROV Hercules Pilot, Founder of OceansWide, past pilot with Bob Ballard

Mike Leonard: Professional Photographer, Photos by Mike, Assistance to make your best shot.

Pomarine Jaeger, Finback, humpback and Atlantic Sided Dolphin images (c) BHWW/Allied Whale. Sperm Whale and Harbor Seal (c) Barry Gutradt. Brown Booby (c) Kera Shervanick. N. Fulmar (c) Julie Taylor.

Cashes Ledge includes Ammen Rock, a mountain top just 27 feet below the surface, which is part of a massive range of ledges that create upwellings of cold nutrient-rich water that fuel an explosion of plankton, that feed herring, squid, and mackerel, who in turn are prey for tuna, sharks, seabirds and a high diversity of marine mammals. Visit the a wilderness area of the ocean Sylvia Earle called "The Yellowstone of the North Atlantic," and Dr. Robert Steneck calls, "The Lost World."

Tickets are $239 per person and maybe paid with a check made payable to Richard Klyver and sent to FLUKES, 120 French Street, Apartment 7, Bangor, ME 04401 or through a credit card using PayPal at richardklyver1. Please register below.

The Friendship V is a 112’ Jet-powered Catamaran. She is all aluminum and travels at 28 knots or 31 miles per hour. She has three decks and lots of outside viewing space and comfortable seating in the main cabin, the second deck cabin and on top of the boat. She has a full galley with a bar and three heads (bathrooms).