Monthly Archives: December 2011
Competition and Wild Surface Activity
3 Pods of 2
Aggression, Excitement, Irritation???
Melon Heads, Spinner Dolphins and of course, LOTS of Humpbacks
We can hear the Humpbacks’ Songs
Aloha,
The first official day of winter on the islands was certainly a windy one! Guests on our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales Cruise that left out of Abay did get to see two whales as they travelled down the coast. On the 10:00 Whale Watch which left from Kawaihae, guests saw a couple of whales spouting in the distance and a breach that was also pretty far away. When Captain Will deployed our underwater hydrophone on this trip, guests reported hearing the whales singing, but it was pretty faint. Since our hydrophone can pick up sounds from at least 10 miles away, we know that there are some adult male whales that have already arrived to our area!
Ocean Sports offers 3 cruises every day to see the whales, departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaii Islands National Humpback Marine Sanctuary. For more information and reservations, call our friendly crew at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit us at www.hawaiioceansports.com.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: All whales, regardless of species, age, or gender make noises. Only Humpback Whales sing an organized song…and only male Humpbacks sing…and they only “sing” when they are in the warmer waters where they mate. So, is their song a mating song? Researchers have observed that female whales will not approach a singing male, so if this is a mating song, it seems to be a pretty ineffective one. I’ll share more theories about the purpose of the Humpback Song in future emails.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire
Breaches in the Wind
Aloha!
Yesterday was the last official day of Autumn and the season sure blew out with some gusts! The windy weather didn’t seem to affect the Humpbacks though, as both morning trips reported seeing some whales. Guests on the 8:00 am Breakfast with the Whales out of Abay saw only a couple of whales, but they did see a full breach. Guests on the 10:00 Whale Watch out of Kawaihae saw 4 different whales multiple times and a couple of breaches (or the splashes from breaches) on the horizon. It’s not unusual for us to see a lot of surface activity (like those breaches both boats reported) on windy days…why? Well, we’re not sure if the wind excites the whales or just makes it more difficult for them to communicate in other ways.
Ocean Sports offers 3 different opportunities for Whale Watching daily departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaiian Islands National Humpback Marine Sanctuary Waters. For reservations or information, please call us at (808)886-6666 ext 103, or visit www.Hawaiioceansports.com.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: The first whales to arrive in Hawaii each year from Alaska are sub-adults (usually males) — the teenagers of the Whale World. The next arrivals are adults who are looking for mates, and the last to arrive are pregnant females.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire
Close Encounter of the Humpback Kind!
Aloha,
Regardless of the windy weather by the end of the day, guests aboard Tuesday’s Whale Watches enjoyed some wonderful Humpback surface activity. On the 10:00 whale watch, we saw 5 whales…but 7 breaches! There also was some head lunging and pec slapping going on, and since it was calm enough in the morning, we were able to deploy our underwater hydrophone, but we weren’t able to hear any singing. The highlight of the trip though, had to be the CLOSE ENCOUNTER. We love it when the whales accept our presence comfortably enough to swim right next to our boat!
oin us on any of our 3 daily Whale Watch Excursions departing from 2 different locations within the Hawaiian Islands National Humpback Marine Sanctuary. For more information or reservations, call us at (808)886-6666 ext. 103, or visit hawaiioceansports.com.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: There are Humpback Whale populations in all the oceans of the world. The whales we see here each winter are part of the North Pacific population. “Our” whales feed in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska during the summer months. They swim the 3500 miles to Hawaii each year to calve in warm waters (and to mate).
Mahalo,
Captain Claire
12 Different Whale Sightings!
Aloha!
We had another GREAT day on the water yesterday, and the guests joining us on our 8:00 Whale Watch on Seasmoke were treated to sightings of 12 different whales! But it wasn’t the sheer number of whales that delighted the guests…it was their obvious interest in our boat. After stopping the boat about 150 yards from a pod of whales, 2 big adults approached the boat. According to our long-time Humpback Naturalist Captain Nick, these Humpbacks spent more than 20 minutes circling the boat, and diving between the hulls! The whales got so close that guests could actually see the hairs on the whales’ tubercles…and lots of people onboard actually got sprayed when the whales spouted alongside the boat. Now that’s what we call a mugging!
If you’d like to see photos from this trip, or a video clip, visit Hawaii Ocean Sports on Facebook.
Ocean Sports offers 3 cruises daily to see the Humpbacks from two different locations within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. For information or reservations, please call our reservations lines at (808)886-6666 ext. 103, or check us out at hawaiioceansports.com.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: All mammals have hair. Humpback Whales are mammals… so where is their hair? Humpbacks have rows of bumps on their chins that we call “tubercles”. Out of each one, sticks a hair that’s about 1/2 inch long that we call a “vibrissa”. Because there’s a nerve ending underneath each hair, and blood flow to the nerve, we know the whales use these hairs to sense something…but we’re not sure what they’re sensing. Quite likely, they use their hairs like cats use their whiskers– to feel some sort of proprioception.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire
Strong Start to 2011-2012 Humpback Whale Season!
Aloha!
We’re seeing a very strong start to our 2011-2012 Humpback Whale Season. Over the weekend, both the Seasmoke (departing from Anaeho’omalu Bay) and the Alala (departing from Kawaihae harbor) reported multiple sightings during each two hour cruise. Coincidently, guests and crew aboard each of our trips reported seeing 7 different whales during their cruises (were they the same whales??? We’re not sure — but since the season is just beginning we think it’s safe to guess that at least a few of the 7 are travelling the 10 or so miles between the bay and the harbor).
On Saturday, the Seasmoke crew deployed the hydrophone and heard what they described as some “very interesting sounds”. Perhaps they were hearing the newest version of the Hawaii Humpback’s song. And last night, guests aboard our Whales & Cocktails Cruise were treated to 15 breaches (some quite close to the boat), 2 pectoral slaps, and some interesting “tail sailing” activity (that’s when the whale lifts his tail straight out of the water and lets the wind blow him around…this behavior is often explained as an efficient method for the whale to cool down — evaporation can decrease the temperature of the blood close to the surface of the skin, and Humpbacks have a lot of surface capillaries in their flukes.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: It takes an average of a little over two months for the Humpbacks to migrate from the summer feeding grounds in Alaska to Hawaii (although at least one Humpback was seen in Alaska and then in Hawaii just 45 days later). That means on average, the Humpbacks are swimming about 4 knots (a little bit faster than we travel when taking a brisk walk)!
Ocean Sports offers 3 Whale Watch cruises daily. For more information or reservations, please call us at (808)886-6666 ext. 103.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire