Aloha,

We didn’t get to run our normal schedule on Thursday, so I can only report on one Whale Watch, our 3:00 Whales and Cocktails trip. Guests aboard the trip saw two whales. Each of them was about 800 yards away from the boat, and they were travelling separately. We saw each of them spout, and we saw their dorsal fins and their “humps” (which as we know, aren’t structural humps, but postural ones) as they dove. We also saw one their flukes as they each sounded.

The spectacular 2011/2012 Whale Watch Season is coming to close…don’t let the season pass by without experiencing the action for yourself! Call us at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.

Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: The maternal instinct of the Humpback is so strong that she’ll even take care of other small animals in danger! In 2009, 2 scientists sailing off the coast of South America watched as a pod of Orcas flipped a Weddell Seal off an ice flow. The seal began swimming towards a nearby Humpback. Just as the seal got close, the whale rolled onto her back, sweeping the 400 pound seal onto her chest. As the Orcas closed in, the Humpback arched her back, which lifted the seal out of the water…unfortunately for the seal, the water rushing off the whale started to wash the seal back into the sea. The scientists were astounded to see the Humpback use her flipper to gently nudge the floundering seal back onto her chest…moments later, the seal slid back into the water and swam to the safety of a nearby ice flow.

Have a great weekend — I’ll send out the next report on Monday. If you have any questions about the Humpbacks, there’s really only two weeks left of the season, so feel free to email me. I’d be happy to answer your questions in our last weeks of the season “Humpback Whale Fact of the Day”.

Mahalo,

Captain Claire