FLIRTING WITH CANADA
Whale Watching in New Brunswick
Travel Alert 2026:
This Canada-flirting opportunity DOES NOT bring you into contact with US or Canadian customs
A few years ago I visited the International Peace Garden, which is open to Americans but part of it is in Manitoba. I blogged about that. Since then I’ve returned to the U.S.-Canadian border looking for other places along the US-Canada border where Americans are permitted inside a hermetically sealed little chunk of Canada.
Given the current repressive climate against PFR’s that has come to be known as the Epstein Shadow, combined with the violent climate against immigrants and others deemed suspicious at our borders, I now warn any current or formerly registered person against putting yourself in any situation where you might come into contact with U.S. Customs unless you have a valid passport in hand.
Fortunately, you won’t see any Customs or Border Control personnel while whale watching 10-15 miles into Canadian territory. Instead you’ll see whales.
One thing I want to make clear is that this is just a game. Nobody is trying to sneak across the border. I don’t even want to do that and it would violate the rules of the game – which are that it has to be a bona fide place where any American is allowed to be without a passport. So let’s play the game:
From the 50 State Visitor Guide: Maine
M.R.S. 2019
Offenses
committed before Jan. 1, 2013:
M.R.S. 34A §§ 11201 through 11256
Offenses
committed on or after Jan. 1, 2013: M.R.S. 34A §§ 11271 through 11304
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
Convictions
before Jan. 1, 2013: Registrants have 5 days to register with the
state Bureau of Identification (generally in writing) and 24 hours to register
with local law enforcement using a form provided by the Bureau. §§11222-11223.
Employees and students (and
probably visitors) in the state must register with the bureau w/in 5 days and
with local law enforcement w/in 24 hours of working for either (1) more than 14
consecutive days in the state, or (2) for an aggregate period exceeding 30 days
in a calendar year. §11224.
Convictions on or
after Jan. 1, 2013:
Registrants have 3 days to register with the state Bureau of Identification
(generally in writing) and 24 hours to register with local law enforcement upon
establishing a residence, using a form provided by the Bureau. §§11282-11284. “Residence” means 14 consecutive days in the
state, or 30 days in one year.
§11273(12).
Procedure available
for removal from registry after departure.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Restriction on
Contact with Minors: For registrants convicted after June 30, 1992
of an offense against a person younger than 14, Maine prohibits the knowing
initiation of contact with a person younger than 14 in a “sex offender
restricted zone,” unless the parent consents or the contact is for employment
purposes. “Sex offender restricted
zones” include schools other than high schools, day cares, parks, playgrounds,
and other places “where children are the primary users.” M.R.S. § 17-A:261.
Duration & updates:
10 years to life. Duration of reg. requirement and frequency of updates are determined by date convicted and tier. §§11222, 11285.
Eastport, ME Whale Watching Tour – July 2026
Flirt Rating – B+
It so happens that on my first trip to Maine in 2021 I had snagged a seat on a whale watching tour boat in Boothbay Harbor, which isn’t so far east of Portland, only to see no whales. The silver lining was that the tour boat company issued “standby tickets” to all passengers, good through the end of the following season.
Long story short I kept going back and back – but never saw a whale! As a result I was returning to Maine every year, not seeing a whale, and never seeing much of Maine either!
While preparing for
my July 2026 Maine trip I noticed on my Rand McNally map one of those little
red boxes that denote a point of interest.
It was in the water, on the Canadian side of the international boundary
(!) and it said:
“Largest Whirlpool
in the Western Hemisphere”
WHOA !! What’s that
?! And I wonder if there’s a boat tour of it ??
When I searched for a tour I found Eastport Whale Watching Tours, wherein said whale watching is entirely in Canadian waters and includes a side trip to see the whirlpool. Sign me up!
Whale Watching Boat
What is the Eastport Whale Watching Tour?
This tour is much different than the one in Boothbay Harbor. That tour has a large boat (capacity 125) and they head out into the ocean, look around and come back. This tour uses a much smaller boat (capacity 25) and never leaves intracoastal waters which are much more placid – see map.
The only tour offered was an afternoon tour leaving at 1:30. Their website also offers sport fishing trips – presumably in the morning and also in Canadian waters – so if you’d rather fish than whale watch then give them a call (see phone number on boat photo).
First stop was the Largest Whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. NO, it’s not like the death-defying whirlpools in Pirates of the Caribbean or The Odyssey. Instead there is a large area of a cove in the bay where the water slowly circles around, and you can’t really see that from a small boat.
However !! Around the perimeter of the large whirlpool, where the whirlpooling water rubs up against the surrounding non-whirlpooling water, it kicks up a bunch of smaller whirlpools that are really cool! See photo. Note: I asked our tour guy what is the best tide to see these whirlpools and he said, incoming tide generally but peaking the last two hours before high tide.
We were at about 4 hours before high tide, so good but not best viewing. I feel lucky. I assume they move the whirlpool around in the tour schedule so you see it at the best available time, but for best viewing you should consult a tide schedule before making your reservation.
Then it was off to see whales! Looking at the map you will see the tour heads eastward about 10-15 miles in New Brunswick intracoastal waters until it comes to East Quaddy Lighthouse. Note that this lighthouse is at the tip of Campobello Island, which is Canadian. I’ll get back to that later. For now it’s enough to say we were surrounded pretty close on almost all sides by Canadian islands and mainland.
Wouldn't it be cool to whale watch on a sailing boat? Well you can't - it's based in New Brunswick.
When we got to the whale watching spot we were not alone. Three other small boat whale watching tours – all Canadian – were plying the same waters. I soon realized, these guys all know each other, they’re out here every day, they know where to look for the whales, and they’re on the radio with each other so if anybody spots a whale the other boats come running. So in that way it was more like a whale chase than a whale watch.
And YES we saw whales. I myself saw several and managed to get a decent photo of one. Also, the crew were not on any strict schedule. The tour was scheduled as 1 1/2 hours, but as long as there were whales to be chased we chased them for almost an extra hour.
Then one more pleasant surprise. As the boat returned to shore they stopped at a couple of lobster traps they have in the water for just this purpose. The tour guy pulled one out and gave a lobster talk – see photos. You could never do such a thing on a big boat like at Boothbay Harbor.
Verdict: Great Tour! The fact that it’s all in Canadian waters is just the icing on the cake.
Other so-called “international” points of interest
Roosevelt-Campobello
International Park – A total
no-go.
President Roosevelt had a summer home on Campobello Island, NB, just across the bridge from Lubec, ME. This same island has the East Quaddy Lighthouse at the other end – see photo above. Now the whole island including the lighthouse is an “international park” focusing entirely on a US president, yet there’s no way to get there without a passport. I asked the guy at the checkpoint (I walked up to it – didn’t drive!). No exceptions, no work-arounds. What a bunch of dickheads. As for Lubec, it’s quaint all right, but not prosperous.
St. Croix Island
International Historic Park
– Flirt Rating - F
The island is in the middle of the river but in Canada. Too bad you can’t get to it. On the US side there is a small display and an overlook.
Town of Calais – Quaint Rating – A; Flirt Rating – D
If you want to see quaintness in a town that’s also big enough to have interesting stuff to see, try Calais. The St. Croix River is small at this point, with just a two-lane bridge at the crossing, and there is a downtown riverfront park, so you can look longingly at New Brunswick if you like, but that doesn’t give it great flirt rating. Note: Wabanaki Cultural Center. I assume St. Stephen, NB is just as good, but we can’t go there. Oh well!
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