It sure was a windy day on Tuesday — so windy in fact that the only cruise we were able to run was our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales. Guests who woke up early enough to join us were well rewarded though, since the Humpback sightings began as soon as we exited the Bay! We began our cruise watching 2 big adults who decided they wanted to watch us too, and swam pretty close to our boat. After seeing them, we encountered a Cow/Calf pod, who also seemed pretty interested in us. Throughout the cruise we saw 7 breaches within about 400 yards, and all told we saw 15 different Humpbacks.

Even if you can’t wake up early enough to join us on the Breakfast with the Whales, we run Whale Watches at 10:00 and 3:00 — call us at 886-6666 ext 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com for details and reservations.

Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: Yesterday, I mentioned that researchers taking DNA samples from the whales take dime-size plugs of skin. Researcher Chris Gabriele was quick to point out that the skin and blubber plug is actually the size of a pencil eraser and is obtained by using a dart tip on the end of an arrow propelled by an air-rifle or crossbow. Tissue samples are used to ascertain a wide variety of information including sex, age, hormone levels, dietary composition, stress levels, contaminant levels, and the presence of viral or bacterial diseases among other things. Mahalo for the information Chris! We rely on researchers like her to keep us up-to-date!