Aloha,
We took both Seasmoke and Manu Iwa out for our Monday Wake up with the Whales Cruise. Guests aboard each boat saw more than 20 different Humpbacks — most in pods of two. Seasmoke left the bay slightly before Manu Iwa, and encountered one pod of two who fluked in front of the bow. Of course Captain Mike stopped the boat, and while waiting for these two whales to surface again, four more pods of whales surfaced in various directions about 400 yards from the boat. We also got to see one big breach just 100 yards from the bow and several head lunges. When we deployed the hydrophone, we were mesmerized by the very loud and clear sounds made by some very close-by singers.
Guests on Manu Iwa had a very similar experience, seeing more than 20 different Humpbacks. Just outside of the bay, we saw spouts, so we headed in that direction and stopped the boat about 300 yards from the last spouts we saw. Within just a few minutes, we found ourselves the object of curiosity for two large humpbacks who surfaced right next to us and took some time to look at us. After they dove again, we headed out to join Seasmoke. We also saw one whale breach 4 times, and saw a few head lunges before having to return to the bay.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: When we say we heard LOUD singing, just how loud do we mean? Well, Humpback whales have been recorded producing sounds at around 185 decibels. Because the decibel scales use different references for sounds underwater than through the air, that’s the equivalent of about 123 decibels for us on the surface…which is as loud as the amplified music at a rock concert when you’re standing directly in front of a tower of speakers.