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 ~ 8.9.26 - 8.12.26
Oh, August, you have been wonderful so far. We’ve had a pretty unbelievable stretch of beautiful weather, calm seas, and incredible water visibility, all of which have made an already amazing season on the water even better.
We continue to spend time with HUMPBACK WHALES on Stellwagen Bank, with many familiar individuals sticking around while new whales seem to arrive in the area each day. On top of the incredible humpback sightings, we’ve also had some great encounters with ATLANTIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHINS and even SHORT-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS, a species we don’t see nearly as often here in the Gulf of Maine.
It has truly been an unbelievable season, and there’s still so much excitement each day as we head out on the water. You never quite know what the next trip will bring, and lately, August has been delivering. ... See MoreSee Less
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AUGUST 12, 2026
This afternoon's whale watch got off to a great start with a partial solar eclipse that began as we were getting ready to leave the dock. We passed around some eclipse glasses so everyone could get a view of this celestial alignment and then got underway.
A few miles outside of the harbor we had a BASKING SHARK breach 3 times! A shark breaching beneath an eclipsed sun... that was cool.
Then we spent time with 13 different humpback whales. They were great (as they have been most trips this year) and I'm sure we will be sharing photos and video we took of the whales today very soon.
But this post is really about what happened on the way back in. I wanted to upload some my new video so I let my son, Jack, drive while I stood next to him. As he took the wheel I said "You know what make this trip really great? Dolphins. Find me some." Then I went to work on my computer.
A few miles later he said "There's something up in front of us. See? There's a bunch of little splashes..."
Not did the kid find dolphins, they were a rare species... COMMON DOLPHINS! This was our first sighting this species this season. They are rare visitors to the southern Gulf of Maine so seeing them is always special. Seeing how excited Jack was to be the one who found them was even more special. So I put together this quick video... ... See MoreSee Less
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AUGUST 12, 2026
Jut a couple of fun videos from this morning's whale watch... ... See MoreSee Less
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AUGUST 9, 2026
It was a perfect Summer day on the ocean and the whales were amazing. We saw many humpback whales on both our morning and afternoon whale watching trips and a couple of pods of Atlantic white-sided dolphins in the morning.
Here are some highlights from recent whale watching trips (mostly from today, August 9th). As you can see the spectacular sightings of 2026 continue. I know it’s a long video but there has been so much going on I didn’t know what to leave out!
Enjoy (and remember to switch to 720p for best quality)! ... See MoreSee Less
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WHALE SIGHTINGS UPDATE ~ 8.3.26 - 8.7.26
Happy Sunday! It has been a HUMID and HOT week here in Gloucester but the whale sightings are just as hot. We continue to spend time with Jabiru, A-plus and their calves along with Pele and the calves have rested, been playful, and a lot of times, surface active. We’ve also had some other humpback whales in the area as well such as Music, Dross, and Hammock and calf. We also had an amazing pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins this week.
We are getting ready for another hot and humid day here and Gloucester and we are looking forward to spending it on the water. ... See MoreSee Less
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AUGUST 6, 2026
Seven Seas Whale Watch
Gloucester, MA
The theme for this afternoon's whale watch was: "Breaching, Leaping and 'Rainblows!"
There will be more photos and videos from this afternoon (and other recent trips coming soon!
Note: Remember to switch to 720p for best quality! ... See MoreSee Less
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