Migrations – Horizontal and Vertical!

Aloha,
It’s been another great week for Dolphin Watching on the Kohala Coast! Our favorite day last week had to have been Thursday, when we not only saw a pod of Spinners on our Dolphin Watch Adventure, but we encountered them again on our Moku Nui Sunset Sail. Both times we first saw the pod as we exited Kawaihae Harbor. Both times, the pod numbered between 75-100 animals, and both times, the pod stayed with us for at least 45 minutes. On the morning Dolphin Watch Adventure, as soon as the pod heard us exit the harbor, they swam over to investigate. We loved watching the dolphins play lazily in our bow and stern wakes as we motored slowly to the north. On the evening Moku Nui Sunset Sail, we were actually under sail, but the dolphins seemed to enjoy our speed as they accompanied us along the coast line. We saw a lot of end-over-end flips, and lots of spins!
Join us Tuesday for our next scheduled Dolphin Watch Adventure departing from Kawaihae Harbor at 8:00 am, or on Wednesday, departing from Kauna’oa Beach fronting the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel!
Dolphin Fact of the Day: Spinner Dolphins spend their night time hours feeding out in the open ocean on fish and squid that follow a nocturnal vertical migratory route. During daylight hours, the prey descends, and the Spinners “migrate” horizontally towards shore to rest in shallow bays. The pod of dolphins we encountered in the early morning hours last Thursday was relaxing after dinner. By the time we saw them in the late afternoon, they were beginning their evening wake-up ritual (lots more jumping and spinning – especially from the smaller adolescents) prior to “going out to dinner”.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Echelon Swimming

Aloha,
Sunday’s calm winds brought guests aboard our Dolphin Watch Adventure a spectacular encounter with the Spinner Dolphins. We first encountered the pod of about 50 dolphins near “Frog Rock”…which is north of Kawaihae Harbor near Kohala Ranch. The pod was pretty mellow, but swam over to check us out. We kept on a steady course, and the dolphins seemed to enjoy our wake (both bow wake and stern wake) as we motored slowly down the coast. The pod stayed with us for about an hour…all the way to Spencer Beach Park. We especially enjoyed watching the two tiny calves as they swam alongside Mom’s head, and tried to mimic everything the adults were doing.
Join us on our next scheduled Dolphin Watch Adventure departing from Kawaihae Harbor on Alala tomorrow (Tuesday). Call 886-6666 ext. 103 for information and reservations.
Dolphin Fact of the Day: For the first week of a dolphin’s life, he’s usually seen swimming near his Mom’s head…this is called “echelon swimming” and probably allows the baby to ride the pressure wave produced by Mom as she swims. Older calves are often found swimming nearer Mom’s dorsal fin. Researchers think this position allows the baby to keep up with Mom by “drafting”.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire