Dozens of Whales Visit PTown Shores

Spouts from these whales disappeared quickly on this breezy PTown afternoon.

Where are all these whales coming from?
This spouting whale, remarkably close to the coast at half-tide, was among a pod of seven or eight found quite close to the shoreline along Race Point Beach a couple of days ago.
Whales were spotted from the overlook at the Province Lands Visitor Center, with its stunning view out over Race Point Beach, when the Provincetown Trolley Tour stopped there to talk about marine wildlife, rum runners and the old shipwreck days.
When their tour guide on this trip spotted a whale spouting in the distance, it turned into a bonus whale watch for the Trolley's passengers, who watched excitedly as some six to eight whales, continuously spouting, ventured sometimes within 50 yards of the shoreline. A few fins and flukes were spotted, but most often seen on this day was the spouting, as several whales repeatedly surfaced for a breath of air.
For nearly three weeks whales have frequently put on a show in Provincetown waters, on almost a daily basis, spouting off both Herring Cove and Race Point beaches. They've been seen on several days, anywhere between 11 AM and 4 PM, to the delight of folks enjoying a day at the beach. On one particular day, passengers got to see whales spouting on nearly every tour of the Provincetown Trolley. On this glorious day, with superb visibility, it was hard to tell just how many whales were moving back and forth along the length of the beach, spouting one after another.

Today Marks 194th Anniversary of Sea Serpent Sighting Near Race Point in 1819

Now 35 years old, this mural could use a touch-up, but still tells
a fascinating story of Provincetown's colorful seafaring history.

194 years ago today, on June 6^th of 1819, Captain Hawkins Wheeler and his crew, sailing out of Fairfield, Connecticut on the sloop Concord, were off the shoreline of Race Point when they spotted something startling in Provincetown’s waters. Recounting the sighting later, the captain and crew described a sea serpent that had risen out of the water some 200 feet from the ship. The men claimed to have seen a large head rising about eight feet out of the water, resembling that of a horse, complete with something akin to a horse’s mane, atop a long, bumpy, snake-like neck. The sky was clear, the weather fair and the waters calm, so the men were convinced that the animal they had seen was not some sort of illusion. Their story would still be easy to write off as a mirage if it hadn’t been for nearly identical sightings described by hundreds of other New Englanders over a number of years, both on the land and the sea.

I wrote about this sighting and many others in my first post on this blog, nearly a year ago. Click to read Public Art Meets PTown Legend to learn about a sea serpent spotted from Provincetown to Gloucester, and even reported off the shores of Norway in newspapers and magazines of the day. Captain Wheeler’s sighting is depicted in the seventeen-foot mural adorning the outdoor seating area at Mojo’s restaurant, found at number 5 on the Ryder Street Extension, around the corner from Town Hall, near the bus plaza. Get something great for lunch or supper at Mojo's and eat it at a picnic table on their patio while you contemplate local artist Bill Evaul’s 1978 mural depicting this folk tale that, as it turns out, could well have been a true story.