Our Crew

We feel that our crew is one of the things that separates us from other whale watch companies.  We are all true whale watch specialists and love what we do.  Ask around, you will not find a more qualified and enthusiastic crew!

Captain Pete Reynolds- Owner/Captain

Pete began boating at the age of six weeks, when his parents took him for his first sail.  Growing up, he spent his summers exploring the eastern seaboard from the Bahamas to Nova Scotia. Pete began tagging along on whale watches when he was twelve, and started working as a deckhand a couple of years later. At the age of nineteen, Pete obtained his captain's license, and has been taking the Granite State in search of whales every summer since.  In 2005, Pete and his wife Lindsay purchased the business from company founder and thirty year veteran Leo Axtin. In his spare time, Pete loves watching the Red Sox and running around with his two beagles. Pete has a B.A. in Communications from the University of New Hampshire.

Lindsay Reynolds- Owner/ Office Manager

Lindsay spends her summers managing the ticket office.  You will find her there ready to answer your questions or help you with directions. While she doesn't get the chance to come out on the boat very often, she brings great luck when she does. (She also gets seasick easily, so if she's on the boat, you know the seas are calm!)  In the off season, Lindsay spends as much time as possible with her first love, horses. Lindsay has a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of New Hampshire.

Captain Katie Murphy- Naturalist

Katie is a fifteen year veteran of Granite State Whale Watch and has led over a thousand whale watches. As an experienced whale researcher, there aren't many questions that Katie can't answer.  Katie is also a seasoned boat operator, and holds a 100 ton captains license.  In the off season, she is a middle school educator.  Katie is a research associate of the Blue Ocean Society. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1993 with a B.S. in Marine and Freshwater Biology, and obtained her Masters in Education there in 1997. Katie is usually accompanied onboard by her cheerful chocolate lab, Dory.

Beth Boucher- Naturalist

Beth has close to a decade of experience leading whale watch expeditions, with close to a thousand trips to her credit. Beth enjoys sharing her love and enthusiasm for marine mammals, and it often proves contagious!  In the off season, Beth continues to work with animals as a licensed Veterinary Technician. Beth is a research associate of the Blue Ocean Society and holds a B.S. from the University of Maine.

Melanie White- Head Deckhand/Naturalist

This will be Melanie's fourth year with us on the Granite State.  Melanie does a little bit of everything on the Granite State and is great at it all! She is a research associate with the Blue Ocean Society. In the winter months, Melanie works as part of a whale research team that conducts aerial surveys of the Right Whale population off the coast of Florida.  She holds a B.S. in Biology from Ursinus College. 

Captain Jonathan Gwalthney- Captain/Deckhand

With a decade of experience as a whale watch captain and naturalist, we are thrilled to have Jonathan join our team. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge about Jeffreys Ledge and the whales that frequent it. He is especially knowledgeable about the more remote areas of northern Jeffreys Ledge. In the winters, Jonathan also works as an aerial observer, conducting surveys of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales populations in their southern breeding grounds.  Jonathan obtained his 100 ton captain's license in 1997. He graduated from Roger Williams University in 1998 with a B.S. in Marine Biology.

Jodi Alger- Deckhand 

After three seasons as our head deckhand, Jodi now works full time as a licensed large and small animal Veterinary Technician in Deerfield, NH. She still works with us on the weekends though; once you start, it's tough to go long without seeing whales! Jodi graduated from the University of New Hampshire's Thompson School in 2001, and obtained her B.S. in Dairy Management in 2004 from UNH. In her spare time, Jodi enjoys doing agility with her two dogs, Winnie and Pheobe.

Amy Filipowitz- Deckhand/Ticket Sales

Amy is another valuable member of our team, who does a little bit of everything. This summer, you will find her splitting her time between the boat and the ticket office. Amy also has experience as a naturalist. In the off season, she teaches high school biology in Dover, NH. Amy has a B.S. in Biology from Fairfield University and a M.S. from the College of Charlestown in Marine Biology.

Will Cioffi- Deckhand

This is Will's first season with us as a deckhand.  He may look familiar to those who were out with us last summer, as he was often onboard as an intern for the Blue Ocean Society, and gained valuable knowledge and whale watching experience. Will is entering his junior year at Brown University, where he is studying Biology and Classics.

Rachael Jeffers- Deckhand/Ticket Sales

 Rachael will be working on the boat as well as on land for us this summer. When she is not with us, she will be leading tours at Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth (a really interesting place to visit while you are in town.)  Rachael will be graduating from Guilford College in 2009 with a degree in History with minors in Peace & Conflict Studies and Community Studies.