Aloha,
We saw lots and lots of different whales on our cruises on Tuesday. Highlights included sightings of 6 different whales during our 10:00 Whale Watch from Kawaihae. 3 of these Humpbacks seemed interested in us as well, as they surfaced right off our bow taking a look at us. We also saw a couple of close-by breaches from some other whales. As we left the bay on our 3:00 Sail with the Whales Cruise, we saw a couple of Humpbacks waving their big pectoral fins in the air, as if to say “Aloha” so we sailed towards them. By the time we got to them, they had stopped pec slapping, but we did get to see them spout a few times and dive. We continued on, seeing 8 different whales throughout the course of the cruise, including a couple who surfaced within about 200 yards of us.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: According to the experts at NOAA, in 1966 when commercial whaling was finally banned, the Humpback population in the North Pacific was estimated to be less than 1400 individuals. How many Humpbacks live in the North Pacific now? Stay tuned…I’ll provide that estimate tomorrow!