Taking a cue from the demise of Skipper and Gilligan on their three-hour tour, we opted for a two-hour one on Maui. Actually, they don't offer three-hour tours and that is probably why!
We booked our excursion ahead of time, knowing that December and January offer prime whale watching opportunities. We went through the non-profit Pacific Whale Foundation, which guaranteed a sighting or your next excursion is free! (Or discounted, at least.) Since this is the time of year the whales migrate and mate, we were pretty confident we'd at least see ONE humpback whale.
We started the cruise from Lahaina Harbor on their
mostly smooth-riding single-deck catamaran, Ocean Explorer. Each trip includes expert interpretation of the whales' fascinating behaviors by Pacific Whale Foundation's certified marine naturalists.The open seating area offered unimpeded viewing -- a favorite of photographers -- until we got out of the harbor and everyone was standing up and trying to spot and point out whales.
They'd yell, "Look!" or "Over there!" and point. By the time you looked, you'd catch the tale end (literally) of the action.
Wait, that's a small whale, isn't it?
Are there sharks in the water??
Nope, those were dolphins entertaining us as they buzzed around the boat so we could all get pictures. Our onboard marine naturalist estimated it was a school of 40 spinner dolphins. These dolphins are known for jumping high into the air, spinning anywhere from one to seven times before they hit the water. While the cause of this is not scientifically proven, researchers think this is done for a mixture of reasons, including attention, courtship displays, getting rid of water in their upper respiratory tract, resetting their organs, ridding themselves of parasites, or simply because it's super fun. We saw a few do this but like everything else, if you weren't anticipating it, you definitely were not going to capture a picture. Just preserve the memory in our minds.
After the dolphin distraction, we resumed our lookout for "spouts" of water from our humpbacks.
Was that one there? Yes it was! Ohmigosh. A whale!
It got pretty exciting when we saw a handful of them "breach" out of the water... think that Pacific Life image you've come to recognize over the years. I missed the main action on the breach above but all was not lost...
I managed to have the camera ready for this one. It was quite a ways off so it was a grainy photo, but you can see how amazing it is!
There was another boat of tourists that obviously got the closer, better view. But all the tour companies must follow the state and federal laws regarding approaches to humpback whales. They try to stay a football field away and guests are not allowed to place their arms or camera equipment into the water when whales are within 100 yards.
My suggestion if you are going on a whale-watching excursion is to have a decent camera with a much better zoom than mine. Also one with a view finder or with a shield that allows you to view your digital screen when the sun is shining on it. For every picture I took of actually marine life, there were at least 5 of just sky because I couldn't tell where I was aiming the camera!
While I did not take video, I stumbled upon a photo application that can string together some pictures and "animate" them. Isn't that cool?
It would have been well worth it to have stayed out on the water an extra hour. But you can't press your luck with those three-hour tours... those three-hour tours...
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