Aloha,
We ran two Whale Watch Cruises from Kawaihae on Tuesday. On our Wake up with the Whales Cruise we had to head south…all the way to the Hilton Waikoloa Village before we had some good sightings. We found Momma, Baby and Escort offshore of the resort, and they decided to come over to check us out. Later, we were surprised when another whale surfaced about 50 feet off our bow, spouted and disappeared under the surface. We also got to witness 5 full breaches from a whale about 800 yards away from us.
Since all the action seemed to be south of the harbor, we returned to the area during our 10:00 Cruise. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the same kinds of sightings as we had during the first cruise. While we were waiting around to see if any whales would surface, we deployed our hydrophone, and the songs we heard were very loud and clear, so we knew there were some humpbacks around. But the only sighting we had was of a whale who surfaced in front of us, took one breath and dove again, so we called the trip a “Fluke” and have invited all our guests to join us again on another Whale Watch Cruise for FREE.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: In 1918, in effort to stockpile more beef, mutton and pork to send to the American troops fighting the 1st World War, the US government sponsored a luncheon at the American Museum of National History in New York featuring Humpback Whale meat. Several dignitaries were invited (including Admiral Peary) to feast on the menu created by the Head Chef of Delmonico’s, and were quoted saying the meat tasted like pot roast or venison. During the luncheon, the museum’s “reliable sources” reported that if all of the 7 operational whaling stations on the Pacific Coast began processing whale for food (instead of for fertilizer), more than 20 million pounds of whale meat could be distributed to the American public during the summer months alone at a cost of 12.5 cents/pound (which is equivalent to $2.20 per pound today).The idea never really caught on with the American public…