Muskeget Seal Cruise

I went with Captain Blair Perkins aboard his boat, Shearwater, on a seal cruise over to the island of Muskeget this afternoon. Thanks, Blair! I have never been on a seal cruise and had no idea what to expect. We left the Town Pier and within a half an hour or so, we arrived at Muskeget. Blair expertly maneuvered the boat up to the seals without ever disturbing them. We were able to get as close as 5 or 6 feet from the beach and the 700 or so seals which were hauled up on the sand. The seals were completely at ease with us. This is the time of the year when the seals give birth. There were several pups alongside their mothers. The picture I took above shows a pup and it's mother.(click on the pic. for a better view). The pup was born sometime this morning. If you look closely at the picture, it looks as if there is blood on the tail of the mother as a result of the birth. We stayed for quite a while watching the seals on the beach and playing around in the water around the boat. One of the seals looked as if she was going to give birth at any moment but we couldn't stay any longer to see if she would.


here's a picture I took of the seal colony on Muskeget


Thanks for having me, Blair. It was a fascinating experience for me. It was a part of nature and Nantucket that I have never experienced all the years I've lived here.