ACADIA NIGHT SKY BOAT CRUISE

Duration:

2.5 Hours (6:30pm to 9pm)

About:

Amazing Stargazing!

Join us on the 130’ jet-powered catamaran Atlanticat for a night-time celestial boat cruise. We depart at sunset and travel out among the islands surrounding Acadia National Park. Our first speaker is John Bear Mitchell representing Maine’s Penobscot Indian people.  John will share fascinating stories describing the origin of animal and human constellations that have influenced their belief systems for over 12,000 years. Bar Harbor Whale Watch Naturalist Zack Klyver will then share a short program describing how animals and humans through history have used the night sky to navigate.

After these spoken presentations, we will cruise over the ocean and look up at the darkening night sky while listening to a selection of celestial themed music including the theme of Superman, ET, Bolero by Ravel and Star Wars by John Williams. We then turn our attention to the night sky from the top and bow of the boat with local expert naturalist and amateur astronomer Lynn Havsall, who uses a laser pointer to point out and describe constellations, planets, stars, and distant galaxies. Lynn will explain and answer questions about Greek mythology, the aurora borealis, and the amazing universe we live in – a presentation that is an annual winner with everyone onboard.

Meet the Guides:

Lynn Havsall is a Wisconsin-born naturalist, who worked in Washington and Alaska before directing the Dorr Museum of Natural History at the College of the Atlantic. As a self-taught amateur astronomer Lynn makes understanding the night sky fun and fascinating and recommends using  www.skymaps.com and www.skyandtelescope.com.

John Bear Mitchell is a citizen of the Penobscot Nation from Indian Island in Maine. He works for the University of Maine in Orono as the Native American Waiver and Educational Program Coordinator, Wabanaki Center Outreach and Student Development Coordinator, and Lecturer of Wabanaki and Multicultural Studies. He has served on numerous museum and educational boards with missions based on Maine’s Wabanaki people.

Zack Klyver is a Maine based marine scientist, naturalist and conservationist. Zack was born in Nairobi, Kenya and grew up in commercial fishing family in Eastport, Maine. He is a graduate of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and has guided whale and seabird watching tours on the Gulf of Maine for 35 seasons and led over 3,000 whale watching tours with 700,000 passengers.

Important Information

• Trips are weather dependent – please call after 3:00pm on the day of the tour to make sure the trip is still going out before driving and parking.
•  Please know these tours are popular and often sell out early. We limit the number of passengers to provide ample viewing. Please make your reservation as early as possible.
• If the tour is sold out you may show up and wait to see if there people who do not show – fifteen minutes before departure these seats will become available.