Whale Madness and a Salt Sighting
04.30.2026
A True New England Whale Watching Experience
Trusted by generations of guests since 1983
North of Boston's Best Small Business Award Winner 2025
#1 Ranked Whale Watch in Gloucester Since 2009 on TripAdvisor
#2 On Tripadvisor’s List of "Top Family-Fun in the World" Dec 2023
Welcome Aboard the
Privateer IV
From Historic Gloucester to the Waters of Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary
Departing just 50 minutes north of Boston, we introduce thousands of passengers each year to the whales and marine wildlife found just miles from our Gloucester dock. Our daily whale watch trips run from mid-April through mid-October, offering an educational and inspiring experience in this remarkable marine sanctuary. Family-owned and operated for four generations, 7 Seas Whale Watch has worked from this very dock for over 70 years. We look forward to welcoming you aboard.
What You Could See on Your Whale Watch
GUARANTEED SIGHTINGS! The productive waters off Massachusetts are home to a variety of species of whales and other marine wildlife. Over our 45+ years in business we have a 99% success rate in finding whales. In the unlikely event you do not see a whale on your trip you will receive a voucher for a FREE whale watch that you can use anytime in the future.
Recent Sightings & Photos
Check out our Facebook feed for the latest sightings, photos, and updates from the water.
Recent Instagram Posts
Explore additional photography and video highlights from our whale watches on Instagram.
Departing from the Heart of Cape Ann
Located on Cape Ann, Gloucester’s historic working harbor provides one of the closest and best departure points for reaching the feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank.
WHALE SIGHTINGS UPDATE ~ 7.10.26-7.13.26
Over the past several days, we’ve traveled anywhere from 30 miles offshore to just 3 miles from Gloucester to see whales, with great sightings of HUMPBACK WHALES, FIN WHALES, MINKE WHALES, and ATLANTIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS. At the end of last week, we were covering a lot of miles to find whales, but they were worth the trip. Over the past couple of days, however, the whales have shown up much closer to home, taking advantage of the abundance of menhaden along the coast.
Seeing whales close to shore is always a special experience. Not only do you get incredible looks at the whales, but you also get to see them with some of Cape Ann's most iconic landmarks in the background. A few passenger favorites, including Pinball and Spoon, have been making appearances recently, and you'll see some of them featured in this post.
As a reminder, the whales we observe are wild animals. They don't follow a schedule, and they can move not only from week to week or day to day, but even hour to hour. That's what makes every trip unique. In a world where we often seek predictability, whales remind us that nature has its own plans. Where they choose to be and what they choose to do is entirely up to them, we're simply visitors in their home.
Where we'll go tomorrow or what we'll see is anyone's guess, but it's in seeking that unknown that some of the most unforgettable whale encounters happen.
We're running two trips daily, and we've been seeing whales every day. Come join us! ... See MoreSee Less
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JULY 11, 2026
All of this video was taken between July 8th and July 11th 2026. I'd say July is off to a HOT start!
NOTE #1: Some of the shots (the sunset stuff) was taken on evening trips that were not originally intended to be whale watches. One was a wedding rehearsal dinner and the other a birthday party that were meant to be just scenic cruises around Gloucester harbor. However the whales were close, the weather was perfect, so why not turn them into impromptu whale watches?! We do LOVE watching whales at sunset! But that's why you might hear some music playing in the background (these trips both had a DJ). It was a fun way to watch whales actually!
NOTE #2: My son's favorite whale is a male humpback named "Chromosome". As you will hear, he was pretty exited to see him.
NOTE #3: To those who have accused me of using AI... Thank you. You're wrong. These are all REAL videos taken with rather modest equipment but your accusations reveal three facts: (1) The whales have been great this year, (2) It's sad that we are living in an age where people can't trust legit wildlife photography anymore, and (3) I'm getting pretty good at this video thing. So, again, thank you. ... See MoreSee Less
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JULY 10, 2026
This morning's trip ENDED with a spectacular feeding display with as many as 20 whales in just one feeding group (photos and video to be posted soon).
But this morning's trip BEGAN with a special encounter with two humpback whales - Nile and her calf.
These two whales were spending a of time at the surface and, in such calm conditions, we were able to get an incredible look.
Our naturalist Amanda captured this photo of Nile flipper slapping next to our boat. If you look on the right you can see Captain Jay attempting to take video of the whales from a very low-to-the-water (and sometimes under water) angle.
The video turned out pretty good! ... See MoreSee Less
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Today we were visited again by “Hasselback” the humpback whale, who treated us to some close-to-boat behavior. He's quickly become one of our favorite whales to see this season! We also had sightings of various other individual humpback whales, minke whales and a fin whale.
At the dock, we had an on-the-boat visitor. This black-crowned night heron has taken a liking to resting on the railing of our boat, and we always enjoy seeing them.
You just never know what you're going to see… or what's going to see you. Whether it's offshore or waiting for you at the dock! ... See MoreSee Less
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WHALE SIGHTINGS REPORT ~ 7.1.26-7.6.26 🐋
Here’s a full recap of photos from our wonderful Fourth of July weekend spent exploring the southern Gulf of Maine. We had sightings of HUMPBACK WHALES, MINKE WHALES, FIN WHALES, ATLANTIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS, and OCEAN SUNFISH. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for being offshore, especially with the heat wave in Gloucester pushing the heat index above 100 degrees.
One of the most interesting parts of the past few days has been just how different every trip has been. Some outings have made us work hard to find the whales, but they’ve all been worth the effort. Over the weekend we explored everything from just a few miles off Gloucester, to Jeffrey’s Ledge in the north, all the way to the southern end of Stellwagen Bank.
It’s also been exciting to reconnect with some whales we spent so much time with in past seasons but hadn’t seen yet this year, including Valley, Clamp, and Diablo. I can’t help but say "hello" out loud whenever I see them for the first time each year. The season never quite feels complete until we’ve seen those familiar faces again.
Unfavorable weather is keeping us at the dock tomorrow, but we’re already looking ahead to our next trip offshore. We hope you’ll join us!
#whalewatching #humpbackwhale #northofboston #newengland #Massachusetts #discovergloucester #whales #gloucesterma ... See MoreSee Less
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JULY 4, 2026
Yesterday was a hot day on the water. It was cooler than on land by a good 15-20 degrees… but it was still hot.
Our morning trip started with a sighting of a few MINKE WHALES, then we had a rare treat: DOLPHINS!
We haven’t seen too many pods of dolphins this year, but on the way out this morning we found a very active pod of about 200 ATLANTIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS that were a real treat to watch.
After spending some time with these dolphins we headed south and found a good number of HUMPBACK WHALES including some well known individuals that we have been seeing a lot of this year: Jabiru and her calf, Pele, Conflux, Raccoon and two other individuals that were nearby but we didn’t identify. Conflux did a bit of flipper slapping and Jabiru’s calf was his usual active and curious self.
In the afternoon we again headed south and were surprised to find humpback whale - a whale named “Striation” - breaching on the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank!
We watched Striation for a few minutes while he flipper-slapped and surfaced close by but soon decided to head further south in search of more whales. It was too hot ashore to stay close and get in early so why not go exploring?
It was the right decision as we found a different mother-and-calf pair from the morning, “Leukos” and calf and they were amazing.
The calf was very curious about our boat and with the glass-calm seas it mode for unparalleled great looks at what is arguably the prettiest calf out there.
So the Fourth of July weekend is off to a good start. Let’s see what today brings… ... See MoreSee Less
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