Aloha,

We ran all kinds of Whale Watches on Thursday. On our 9:00 Kid’s Field Trip Cruise (yes – we run educational cruises just for our local school kids – and when I think of the boring field trips I used to attend, I have to admit I’m kind of envious) — the kids got to see about 15 different whales, including a couple of competitive pods. The kids also saw several Humpback Mom/Baby pods, and a couple of breaches from some adult Humpbacks. On the 11:00 Kid’s Field Trip Cruise, the kids saw a breach just 100 yards from the boat. They also saw a Mom/Baby/Escort pod – and the escort did some pec slaps. The water was so clear on Thursday, that you could see the outlines of the whales’ bodies as they swam just below the surface. On our Breakfast with the Whales Cruise, we watched Mom/Baby/Escort swim right underneath our bow, and then saw the dissolution of a small competitive pod. And we began our 10:00 Cruise with a double breach. We also got to hear some of the loudest singing we’ve heard this season when we deployed our hydrophone.

Just a personal note…I will be offline all next week, so Kay, our Director of Sales and Marketing, will be sending you the Humpback Updates from her email address! Have a wonderful week, and I’ll be back again for the report on March 17th.

Mahalo,

Claire

Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day:Those lines we see under the Humpback’s mouth are actually pleats that allow for the expansion of her mouth when she feeds. This expansion, combined with her ability to flex her jaws, allows her to hold up to 15,000 gallons of sea water in her mouth at one time — that’s the equivalent of 160,000 cans of Diet Pepsi (or Budweiser) in every gulp — of course, she doesn’t swallow the water she gulps…just the unlucky fish that had been swimming in it.