One of the things I was most looking forward to during this trip to Hawaii was a boat trip I had scheduled to watch the humpback whales off the coast of Lahaina on the southwestern side of Maui. We departed the harbor at about 7:00 AM just after sunrise. There were approximately a dozen of us on the tour, plus the boat captain and first mate. Our boat has some power and quickly got us out into the open ocean.
As I understand it from our crew, the sea between the islands of Maui and Lanai is very shallow (only about 400 feet deep) and somewhat nutrient poor. Because of the shallow waters and lack of predators, humpback mothers use this area as a nursery for their calves. Males also visit this area in the hopes of a female taking interest. Supposedly, this is one of the best areas in the world for viewing humpback whales.
Our enthusiasm is almost immediately met with rewards, as we quickly see a mother and calf rising to the surface to spout. The captain explains that we should be looking for spouts as our whale sign. Laws prevent us from approaching any closer than 100 yards to the whales, but with our engines cut, the whales can approach as closely as they want to us and often their curiosity sends them in for an up close and personal meeting.
In all directions we see spouts, the captain moves us around the area for two full hours following numerous groups of whales as they play around the harbor. Most commonly, we see whales spout, but occasionally, we catch a tail rising into the air, as the whale dives deeper, and a couple of times, we see the whales breaching in the distance. Unfortunately, getting pictures out here, especially with a mediocre camera, is very difficult. The problem mostly being the focus. It's difficult to get the lens to focus quickly enough to catch the whales before they dive again. I am able to catch a few shots, but none of the breachers, as they were too distance for my lends.
As with all good things, our whale watching tour must come to an end, but it was an amazing experience. While it's impossible to know how many were repeats, we probably saw seventy-five whales spouting and diving through the course of the tour. These beautiful giants are awe-inspiring and I can't wait to visit them again someday.
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