ONE of the best places along the coast to see whales is off Mount Desert Rock, where the great, gentle creatures come to feed in the upwelling waters. This is a lonely place indeed, almost 15 miles from the nearest land. The lighthouse here stands on three acres of low-lying rock, often shrouded in fog. The light is now automated, but you will still find human inhabitants here: researchers and volunteers of Allied Whale (www.coa.edu/alliedwhale), a project of College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. Often they will answer VHF calls to "Petrel." A heavy Coast Guard mooring, labeled “CG,” makes it possible to tie up and go ashore, landing your dinghy on the ways.
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Pick a day with good visibility and a reasonable weather forecast. Any of the harbors on Mount Desert Island are good points of departure, but it’s a shorter run from Burnt Coat Harbor or from Frenchboro, Long Island.
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When you set out toward the empty horizon, Frenchboro will drop astern, and you will feel as if you have left the world behind. Before long, all land will disappear. On a typical hazy day, you may be within 3 miles of Mount Desert Rock before you glimpse its lighthouse.
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Be prepared to be disappointed. After all, whales are not sighted every day. But also be prepared to see a great, black glistening shape rise suddenly from the water close aboard and pass down your side without a sound. Even pilot whales are impressive enough, and the great whales may dwarf your boat.
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There is likely to be a whale watching vessel near the rock, and perhaps some smaller boats. Listen for the chatter about whales on various VHF channels. Watch for a sudden plume of mist shooting skyward and a great humpback or finback whale rising majestically to the surface. Followed by a little fleet of observers, the whale will swim in leisurely pursuit of food, sounding occasionally and showing the white undersides of its flukes, then surfacing and blowing again.
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The behavior of whales is not always predictable, and they can be dangerous. Read the whale-watching guidelines.
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