Ventral Pleats.
Image courtesy of Diane Zander
Aloha,
All 3 of our catamarans are booked up this Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday with multiple exclusive charters for the SAP technology convention happening in our area.
With cruises running all day, there’s really too much to report on (and too much to read), so I’m just going to include a few of the most exciting highlights from our day on the water.
Guests on our early morning cruises out of Anaeho’omalu Bay saw a mixed bag of activity. When we first left the bay, there were whales everywhere, mostly in pods of twos or threes. We saw several breaches, pectoral slaps, and peduncle throws, and enjoyed watching lots of tail lobs too. As the wind died down, so did the surface activity, and by the end of these cruises we just seeing an occasional spout.
Meanwhile guests joining us in Kawaihae saw multiple breaches from several different pods of whales, some peduncle throws, and even an upside down tail-lobber (this whale was lying on her back, slapping the dorsal (top) side of her flukes on the water.
Later in the day, the wind came back up again, and guests joining us from Anaeho’omalu Bay got to see a lot more surface action including several breaches, and one sub-adult who was tail lobbing, breaching, peduncle throwing, and doing lots of twisting dives on the surface. It appeared to us that he was by himself, so we couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what was setting him off!
Finally, on our midday Kawaihae Cruise, guests got to spend some quality time watching a Mom/Baby pod before heading out to see a lone adult humpback. We actually found the same Mom/Baby pod again towards the end of the charter and got to spend a few more minutes with them before heading back to the dock.
Meanwhile guests joining us in Kawaihae saw multiple breaches from several different pods of whales, some peduncle throws, and even an upside down tail-lobber (this whale was lying on her back, slapping the dorsal (top) side of her flukes on the water.
Later in the day, the wind came back up again, and guests joining us from Anaeho’omalu Bay got to see a lot more surface action including several breaches, and one sub-adult who was tail lobbing, breaching, peduncle throwing, and doing lots of twisting dives on the surface. It appeared to us that he was by himself, so we couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what was setting him off!
Finally, on our midday Kawaihae Cruise, guests got to spend some quality time watching a Mom/Baby pod before heading out to see a lone adult humpback. We actually found the same Mom/Baby pod again towards the end of the charter and got to spend a few more minutes with them before heading back to the dock.
Mahalo,
Claire
Ocean Sports Whale Fact of the Day: Those lines we see under the Humpback’s mouth are actually pleats that allow for the expansion of her mouth when she feeds. This expansion, combined with her ability to flex her jaws, allows her to hold up to 15,000 gallons of sea water in her mouth at one time — that’s the equivalent of 160,000 cans of Diet Pepsi (or Budweiser) in every gulp — of course, she doesn’t swallow the water she gulps…just the unlucky fish that had been swimming in it.