Whale watching: morning or afternoon better?

We%26#39;re planning a whale watching tour in mid-June, most likely from the Aquarium. Is there an advantage to either the morning or afternoon tour? I.e. calmer water, better chance of seeing whales, etc.

Whale watching: morning or afternoon better?

I just did one this past week in the afternoon. We saw 2 mamas and babies and lots of others. Finne, humpback, and minke. They said morning was good, too. So, probably either. ???

Whale watching: morning or afternoon better?

Unless I%26#39;m mistaken, calmer water has nothing to do with time of day... it%26#39;s a wind/weather thing...

Before you decide to go out on the boat be sure to check the weather for the wind speed. It could be bright and sunny but if the wind is blowing over 25mph you might want to wait a day. The boat will still take you out but it could be rough. I went on a whale watch out of Plymouth and it was windy. We didn%26#39;t give it a thought. They told us it was going to be rough after we bought the tickets. Seventy five percent of the boat was sick throwing up. The water was breaking over the boat. You couldn%26#39;t let go of anything or you%26#39;d fall down. My father was a commercial fisherman so I have been on boats my whole life. I didn%26#39;t get sick. It wasn%26#39;t any fun. Not worth it if it%26#39;s rough. If the wind is going to be light and variable then go and have a great time. I hear there are a lot of whales out there now.

I gotta second that warning - the last time we went out it was miserable because of a storm further out to sea. That being said, I have been 4x and the most whales we ever saw was on a sunset cruise - even the crew was excited about the number - it was thrilling. Just keep an eye on the wind.

Thanks for the advice; sounds like it%26#39;s much better to buy the tickets the day of the tour. We have to schedule this for the weekend. Anyone know if the tours offered by the Aquarium sell out in advance on weekend days?

Is this a silly question - how will I know if the wind is blowing over 25 ??

I am hoping to go on the whale watch during our day trip to Provincetown, but we have got a spare day at the end of our trip that we could move the whale watch to if it is very windy (end of July)

25 mph

I checked the detailed weather reports before I went and chose the day with the least wind and chance of rain. I also took 1/2 of a meclizine tablet to be on the safe side. I don%26#39;t know if I needed it or not, but had no trouble w/ nausea or sleepiness.

If you have access to the net while in Boston, go to this site. There%26#39;s a big square box in the ocean east of Boston. Click on the middle of the box and that will give you the forecast for Stellwagen Bank. It will give you wave heights as well as wind in knots instead of mph. 1 knot equals 1.1 mph

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/box/

That looks really good Will, thanks so much. I will check on the Saturday before we go to Provincetown and if it looks windy we will not go out from there and wait until later in the week.

It will certainly help for planning eldest daughter who does get sick - she will be better informed, if it is calm she might give it a go. It will be a shame to miss it as she loves nature, but just to be sick for 2 1/2 hours it is not worth it.