A last adventure in Gloucester

The oldest operating lighthouse in North America is in the distance.

Our last adventure in Massachusetts was to go whale watching. We boarded the Privateer IV, through a group called 7seas, and settled in for a boat ride.

...a three hour tour, a three hour tour...

The whale watching companies all work together in the area, it almost makes it unnecessary to choose one company over another. They communicate about and share the whales. Our guide told us that the boats take turns and stagger their times. They radio to each other where they find whales. It’s a very interesting company model, where your competitors are also your assets.

The ride out to the whales was a beautiful one. We couldn’t have picked a more perfect day.

When we found whales, there were two of them. Their names were Nine and Milky Way. We spent about an hour with them. They would dive for a few minutes and come back up to the surface. Eventually, they got interested in our boat. They came right up to the side. If our boat had sat lower in the water, we would’ve been able to pet them. That’s how close they were. Several people to our left got wet when one of them blew a spot of water.

After about an hour, our guide said there was another boat in route. Even though our tour time was not over, we have had our fair share of whale-time. We had a great time, I’m not complaining, but it really struck me as a interesting model of business. They were relinquishing an asset to a competitor over their customers. But it made sense too because another boat did that for us at our beginning. I like that model.

​We spent the rest of our tour cruising for an unlikely well, which we never found. We saw castles on the ocean shore, light houses, and lots of sailboats. It was a great final adventure in Gloucester.