Tag Archives: mugging

Mugged for 45 minutes!

Posted on by
Aloha,
We started off our week with a Breakfast with the Whales trip that our on-board naturalist Adam said was both “Awesome” and the “best [he’s] seen in weeks”! The trip began with a full breach about 300 yards from the boat, but that wasn’t even the best part. Adam reports that we were surrounded and mugged for 45 minutes by a very curious pod of Mom, her baby and their escort. As Adam said…they were within “spitting distance” the whole time! We love when we’re the object of so much interest by our Humpbacks! On our 10:00 Watch from Kawaihae, we saw 6 Humpbacks — two different pods of Mom/Baby/Escort. We did see one breach and when we deployed the hydrophone we heard some pretty loud, clear singing. We also saw  the Humpback’s little cousins, Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins twice on that trip. On the 3:00 Whales and Cocktails cruise, the Humpbacks seemed to have quieted down quite a bit. We did see one whale, who was on a 13 minute dive pattern. S/he would surface, spout twice and then sound for 13 minutes.
Join Ocean Sports and watch the Humpbacks watching you. Call us at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: Before whaling was banned internationally, Humpback whales’ livers were processed for their oil, which contained a lot of vitamin A. A fully grown Humpback has a liver that weighs between 800 and 1400 pounds.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

A “People Watch” for the Humpbacks

Posted on by
Aloha,
It was another very windy day out on the ocean yesterday, so I only have information to report from one whale watch…but it was quite the trip! On our 10:00 Whale Watch from Kawaihae, guests enjoyed the gusty conditions seeing 11 Humpbacks. We saw 3 different Cow/Calf/Escort pods, and one Cow/Calf pod who decided it might be fun to take a look at us too. Mom allowed her baby to swim right underneath our stern (which is pretty unusual…most times she’ll put herself between her baby and anything bigger). The water was so clear, and they were so close to the surface that we actually got a great look at baby’s tubercles (the sensory nodules on his head). While this was going on, the sounds of  cameras taking sequential photos almost blotted out the sounds of all of us on board oohing and aahing! We also saw 3 body lunges, 4 head lunges, 2 tail lobs, and off on the horizon, 3 breaches. We did attempt to deploy the hydrophone, but in those windy conditions, all we could pick up was faint singing.
Experience the Humpback Excitement for yourself — join Ocean Sports for a whale watch. Call 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your spot today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day:  The intestines of a fully grown Humpback whale are about 200 feet long (approximately 5 times the length of her body).
Have a great weekend — I’ll send the next report out on Monday.
Mahalo,
Captain Claire

Close Encounter of the Humpback Kind!

Posted on by

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