Calm Ocean = Calm Whales

Aloha,
The ocean was so calm on Tuesday, and the skies overcast, so it felt as if we were cruising on a silvery mirror. The whales seemed pretty calmed by it all too. In the morning, all three of our catamarans went out for a two hour whale watch out of Kawaihae Harbor. Guests on Manu Iwa began their trip with a pod of Spinner Dolphins near Black Point. These dolphins were mostly swimming along the surface but we did see a few phenomenal spinning flips from a juvenile in the pod. We spent most of our Whale Watch time sitting near a pod of three big adults. Based on their behavior, we were guessing it was two males pursuing a female. We saw 4 pec slaps from the whale in front, and a couple of little tail lobs (we think this was the female).For awhile, when the two males were within touching distance of her, we saw her pick up her speed and even lift her chin out of the water. We saw some bubble blowing from the male closest to her (an aggressive move meant to block the other male). Towards the end of the cruise, we found a Mom/Baby/Escort pod. The adults in this pod were notably smaller than the three we had spent most of the day watching. Baby surfaced a few times, and we got to see him do a 360 degree roll down Mom’s rostrum. When we deployed the hydrophone, we heard a symphony of whales –  and at least two of them sounded pretty close by.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: According to research conducted by the Nelson Institute of Marine Research, a Humpback’s heart beats an average of 40bpm, but the whales do experience periods of tachycardia and bradycardia during dives.