Adult
Ages 15 and Older
$ 279
Junior
Ages 6-14
$ 279
Child
Ages 5 and Under
$ 279
Senior
Ages 65+
$ 279
Cashes Ledge Whale and Seabird Cruise
Visit Cashes Ledge – a newly nominated National Marine Sanctuary to view and photograph marine mammals, seabirds, sharks, and marine life.
Duration
12 Hours
About
Have your own personal experience with Cashes Ledge!
Cruise from Bar Harbor to Cashes Ledge, an extraordinary undersea mountain range in the Gulf of Maine, located 80 miles off the coast of New England. In July 2024, the Conservation law Foundation nominated this rich and highly productive undersea ecosystem as a National Marine Sanctuary.
Globally famous marine researcher Sylvia Earle after diving on the ledge, said it was the “The Yellowstone of the North Atlantic,” and UMaine marine scientist Dr. Robert Steneck, who spent years studying the ledge’s benthic habitat describes it as, “The Lost World”.
Cashes Ledge includes Ammen Rock, a mountain top just 27 feet below the surface at low tide and holds huge and healthy kelp beds that are home to a beautiful, red-colored cod species and exceptional benthic life. The 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.
On our October 16th, 2023, trip to Cashes, we encountered two finback whales feeding, an exuberant pod of nearly 100 Bottlenose dolphins, and a great diversity of oceanic seabirds over the ledge. Throughout the day we encountered a great diversity of whales and wildlife including: a mother and calf right whale, mother and calf humpback open mouth feeding, 7 to 11 finback whales, 5 unidentified whales, and pods of Common and Atlantic White-Sided dolphins. Additionally, 350 grey seals, two breaching Basking sharks, and an Ocean Sunfish. Bird watchers logged 51 species of birds including many jaegers, alcids, terns, fulmars, and gannets.
This tour is being charted by the founder of Flukes International Whale Tours and naturalist Zack Klyver. Also, onboard as expert guides: Doug Hitchcox, staff naturalist for Maine Audubon Society, Julie Taylor, lead guide for Bar Harbor Whale Watch. Our team of researchers will collect data throughout the tour to further support the designation and importance of Cashes as a Sanctuary that is off limits to industrial development.
