Why we call them “Humpbacks” – Image courtesy of Marty Kurpershoek
Aloha,
We’re happy to report that we got back out on the water on Thursday!
Though the swell was still rolling in, we departed from Anaeho’omalu Bay on our Wake Up with the Whales Cruise at 8:00 AM. Guests joining us spent significant time with Mom Humpback and her little calf. The baby seemed pretty interested in the boat, and made his best efforts to approach us. After blocking his path a couple of times, Mom seemed to grow confident that we weren’t anything to be afraid of, and eventually let him sate his curiosity (from a safe distance).
On our Mid-Morning Cruise from Kawaihae, we watched 3 different Humpbacks. Their dive cycles were really varied….staying underwater anywhere from 7 minutes to 20 minutes between breaths. Two of these big adult humpbacks surfaced fairly close by to us two different times. When we lowered the hydrophone between sightings, we didn’t really hear a lot, so we’re guessing there were a lot of Humpbacks who headed out to sea during the big surf event. We also ran a Private Educational Whale Watch for Waikoloa Cub Scout Pack 38, their troop leader, and some of the scouts’ parents. As is often the case with boatloads of keiki, the whales seemed interested in what was happening on deck. Over the course of the trip we saw 7 different adult Humpbacks, and had a couple of very close encounters when a couple of those whales surfaced right next to us, obviously checking us out.
Have a wonderful weekend…I’ll post the next report on Monday with a recap of our weekend sightings.
Mahalo,
Claire
Ocean Sports Whale Fact of the Day: We talk so much about Humpbacks in these reports, but I don’t think we’ve ever really explained this “common name”. The Latin name for a humpback is “Megaptera novaengliae” which means “big-winged New Englander” referring to their exceptionally long pectoral fins. We call them “humpbacks” because when these whales begin their breath hold dives, they roll their backs making a little hump as they dive. But if you’ve seen Humpbacks diving, you’ve probably figured that out already!