Spinner Dolphins Ride the Bow Wake
If you read my most recent post you’ll know that we’ve already notified guests who have reserved our Whale Watch Cruises that most of the Humpbacks have migrated away from the Kohala Coast. A few people have expressed interest in joining the Humpback search with us (with the proviso that we can’t guarantee we’ll find any whales to watch), so as long as they’re willing to head out to sea, so are we!
Guests on Monday’s Wake Up with the Whales Cruise enjoyed beautiful weather and calm seas. Unfortunately, we didn’t enjoy any Humpback sightings…but we did find ourselves the object of interest for a fairly big pod of Spinner Dolphins. As soon as the dolphins heard the boat, they swam over to play with our bow and stern wakes. We got to see a lot of leaping, some spinning, and even a few dolphin tail lobs. We also got to watch the dolphins ride our bow wake. Though it looks like we’re going to run them over, we aren’t. The dolphins choose to come to us, and they certainly know how to position themselves perfectly to surf the pressure waves the boat creates.
I don’t know if you’ve ever stood at the bow of a boat and looked down at the surfing dolphins, but there’s something just so indescribably joyful about their interaction with us. And when they surface to breathe, getting to hear that little “puff” as they spout always puts a smile on our faces!
Mahalo,
Claire
Ocean Sports Whale Fact of the Day: The first whales to leave Hawaii each year are mature females (who are either newly pregnant, or taking time off between pregnancies), followed by sub adult whales, and then, mature males. The last to leave are new mothers with their calves.