See Whales by Sail along the coast of beautiful eastern Cape Breton. Incredible coastal vistas provide the backdrop to the abundant sea life found in the north Atlantic, featuring whales, seals and many other possibilities. You never know what may come up 'out of the blue'! SeaVisions has been providing 'Whales by Sail' since 1992. Operated by the MacKinnon family, lifelong residents of Ingonish, the white schooner sails have become a fixture along this coast. The knowledgeable and competent staff will ensure your voyage of exploration will be a safe and entertaining one. Sail aboard the 73 foot square topsail schooner Avon Spirit, the largest whale watching vessel on Cape Breton Island, and explore this beautiful coast as our ancestors did in the early 1800s. We do motor out of Ingonish Harbour every tour (under full sail!), however as soon as we reach sufficient wind we turn off the motor and let nature provide the power for the remainder of the voyage. 3 tours daily at 10am, 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm no noise no fumes Dept. of Transportation approved 2 1/2 hours of fun and excitement minimum 6 adults or $200 maximum 35 passengers (0-4 years count!) weather permitting (yes, we go if it is raining but not if it is too rough out there!)

Location We are located near the south end of the Ingonishes just a few hundred yards south of our local ski hill, which is visible from most of the community. Driving time from: Halifax- 5 hours Sydney- 2 hours Baddeck- 1 hour Cheticamp- 2 hours Port Hawkesbury- 2 hours , 15 minutes From Route 105 take exit 12 (via Englishtown Ferry) or exit 13 from which point it is a 45 minute drive. If you are driving the Cabot Trail clockwise you can't miss us either, we are right beside the road. We are adjacent to Cape Smokey Chairlift rides and cafe (www.skicapesmokey.com)

• Cape Breton Seacoast Adventures Kayaking Tours
• Knotty Pine Cottages
• Cape Breton Highlands National Parks Ingonish Beach Campgrounds (888-773-8888)
• And lots more!!!! See www.northeasthighlands.com

A wide variety of seabirds are often viewed on our tours.

Some of the more common seabirds are:

• the Great Black Backed Gulls
• Herring Gulls
• Other less common gulls visit our area throughout the summer
• Kittiwakes
• Northern Gannets (now there's excitement - when they are fishing!)
• Great Cormorant
• Double Crested Cormorant
• Black Guillemots
• Puffins (mid-June to mid-August)
• Bald Eagles are spotted on a large majority of our tours

Other less frequent visitors:

• Terns
• Loons
• Petrels
• Shearwaters
• Fulmars
• Razor Bills
• Common Murres
• Scoots
• Common Eider, Merganser and several other types of ducks
• Other shorebirds such as sandpipers and blue herons

Over 200 species of birds are known to occur in and around northern Cape Breton.

Whales!
Sightings differ from tour to tour, day to day as well as from year to year.

Our most common sightings are the speedy Minke whale.

• Fin whales - 2nd largest on the planet!
• Dolphins - we have 3 kinds
• Pilot whales - small toothed whales, they travel in large pods
• Humpback whales - not very common here but we do see them occasionally
• Harbour porpoise - the smallest whales around here - about 5 feet - very shy
• Orcas and Beluga whales - very rare visitors
• Seals - Harp, Harbour and Grey - some nearly every trip
• Sea Turtles - up to 1000 pounds, we see a few every summer (see www.seaturtle.ca)
• Sharks - rare sightings but we have at least 5 species including the giant basking shark
• Walruses! - 2 were in the area in 2003. Very rare.
• Ocean Sunfish - strange beast...reported to weigh up to 1 ton, most common mid July to mid August
• Tuna - very fast, active