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Above: A recent seal cruise aboard the "Perseverance" with Monomoy Island Excursions.

Nature Cruises

One of the most rewarding ways to experience Cape Cod wildlife is from the water. From this vantage point, you can marvel at seals diving for fish or lazily sunning themselves on the shore. A cruise to Stellwagen Bank will lead you from one magical encounter to another with our resident whales. Perhaps they'll wave at you with a flipper, leap out of the air as if filled with joy, or parallel the boat with curiousity.

Cape Cod is home to hundreds of shorebirds and spectacular species like the once- endangered osprey. On two recent cruises, one to Monomoy and one along Bass River, we spotted nests with babies. However, since the Cape is also a stopover for southern migration, there are endless opportunities to see less familiar species. Since southern migration began in July, birding is excellent now.

Naturalists aboard these cruises will help you spot, identify and learn more about the wildlife around you and point out historical landmarks and other points of interest along the way.

Whale watching cruises leave from Plymouth, Barnstable and Provincetown Harbors. Cruise times vary from point of departure. These are large boats which provide a pleasant journey to the open waters where the whales feed. We've cruised many times with each outfit and found the naturalists and crews to be helpful and knowledgeable.

Above: Gray seals are part of the Cape's year-round population.

Seal watching cruises depart regularly from Chatham and Harwich, headed for the seal haul-out sites along South Beach and Monomoy Island in Chatham. Many outfits also offer sunset cruises and shuttle service to Monomoy so that you can explore this secluded beach.

If you like cruising as much as seal watching, check into Monomoy Island Excursions. Because their homeport is in Saquatucket Harbor in Harwichport, the trip includes a scenic cruise along Hardings Beach, Stage Harbor, Port Fortune and Morris Island before reaching the seals. (They also offer an extended 3-hour cruise.)

Bass River Cruise. Recently, we teamed up with The Starfish, the Cape's only river cruise, for a memorable trip down the largest tidal river on the Eastern Seaboard. Many believe that explorer Leif Eriksson sailed up the Bass River over 1,000 years ago. From the earliest days of European colonization the river, separating Dennis and Yarmouth, was one of the Cape's busiest commercial waterways.

Today, the river is dotted with fishermen, shorebirds and pleasure crafts. Each side is lined with grand old sea captain's homes and the summer homes of the rich and famous.

The narration is simply first rate. This Cape captain knows everyone and everything connected with this beautiful waterway, including all the quirky and colorful details that make an area and its people come alive. (To share more would really spoil it.)