WHALE-OHA!
sharks and dolphins aren’t the only underwater encounters you can have in Hawaii.
Sharks and dolphins aren’t the only underwater encounters you can have in Hawaii.
Up north, humpbacks spend their days seeking food and feeding. Once they arrive in Hawaii, they give birth to 2,000-pound calves and have fun in the sun.
“We’ve got whales!”
I’m tucking into my bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy when breakfast is suddenly interrupted by a shout over the PA. It’s immediately followed by a loud splash.
From the bridge, Captain Winston Warr has spotted two humpback whales heaving their massive bodies high above the surface. Within seconds, all 28 guests aboard UnCruise Adventures’ Safari Explorer abandon the dining room and rush to the yacht’s bow. Luckily, there’s no need to detour to our cabins for down jackets and wool hats. We’re sailing off the sandy shores of Maui in balmy Hawaii.
At first, all’s quiet. Then there’s a distinctive whoosh. Not only do I hear and see a whale blow, I’m close enough to catch a whiff of its fishy breath.
The morning wildlife show has begun. Amazingly, breaching whales are just the opening act.
“Look! There’s a shark towing a water bottle.” Karl Faivre, one of our two expedition leaders, is clearly excited by the sight of a small shark swimming in circles. The shark is hooked to a floating plastic bottle and unable to dive for food. Without food, it won’t survive. What to do?
Captain Winston slows the yacht. Faivre climbs into a skiff for a rescue attempt. For a few tense minutes, all eyes turn from the splashing whales to the troubled shark.
We cheer as Faivre unhooks the bottle and gently places the freed shark back in the blue Pacific. We later learn a shark may be the soul of a departed ancestor in Hawaiian culture. It protects family members while they are in or on the water. Being good to sharks is good karma.
The good vibes work. One of “our” whales leaps from the water so close to a neighboring fishing boat, the boat rocks violently. As we snap photos, the startled boaters gaze back at us in disbelief. From our perch on the bow, we can see the whale from head to tail as it swims under their boat and breaches again.
Another day while taking a skiff ride near Lana’i, naturalist Jill Quaintance drops a hydrophone in the water. Though we don’t see any whales, we hear them singing a mile away.
Hawaiian Waters
Best known for getting passengers up-close to wildlife in Alaska in the summertime, Seattle-based Un-Cruise Adventures took a cue from the humpback whales. The niche, smallship line followed the whales to the islands for the winter, offering their first tropical cruise in October 2011.
The playful antics of whales in Hawaii are a key factor separating whale watching in warm Pacific waters from Alaska’s cool clime. Up north, humpbacks spend their days seeking food and feeding. They’re bulking up for their 3,000-mile migration south to the islands. Once they arrive in Hawaii, they give birth to 2,000-pound calves and have fun in the sun. It’s the only spot in the United States where humpbacks reproduce. Strange as it sounds, there is little whale food in Hawaii. Hence, the need to make the long trek back to Alaska.
Fortunately for the whales, Congress designated the Hawaiian Islands Humpback
The morning wildlife show has begun. Amazingly, breaching whales are just the opening act.
Whale National Marine Sanctuary in 1992. An estimated 3,500 humpbacks migrate annually to the area surrounding Maui County alone (the islands of Maui, Moloka’i, and Lana’i). You may see a few in November, but peak viewing happens January through March. The whales depart by May. Maui is one of the few places where you can watch whales from the beach almost daily in season.
For a marine wildlife enthusiast, daily whale watching is a major perk of cruising aboard Safari Explorer. Thanks to a highly flexible schedule, the captain can cruise closer to (up to 100 yards) and spend more time with frolicking whales. I mean, what’s more enticing — a delicious breakfast or humpbacks showing off practically under the bow?
Life for humpbacks wintering in Hawaii wasn’t always this good. In 1900, about 15,000 migrated to this now protected area. Their sheer numbers, together with the relatively shallow water (less than 600 feet) made them easy targets for whalers. The population dwindled to a mere 1,000 before the 1982 ban on whale hunting. While estimating the total current population of humpbacks is a challenging task, these majestic creatures are making a comeback, with numbers in the North Pacific, for example, in the 20,000 range and tallies in the North Atlantic at around 11,000. Humpback whales are found in oceans all over the world.
Swimming with manta rays
Whales aren’t the only game in town on a Safari Explorer cruise. We spent hours snorkeling with colorful tropical fish and green sea turtles, called honu. During skiff rides off the shores of Lana’i, pods of spinner dolphins frequently entertained us. The wild dolphins even thrilled several unsuspecting snorkelers by swimming right up to them.
One evening around 7 p.m., we all swam with manta rays — an included excursion and a cruise highlight. There’s good reason snorkeling with these rays off the Big Island rates as the world’s No. 1 night snorkel.
“We’re hoping for a little belly-to-belly action tonight,” says Katie Gaab. It sounded racy, but she wasn’t talking about dirty dancing at the disco. Our guide from Kona Diving Company was pumping us up for an up-close and personal encounter.
Our crew fitted us with wetsuits (it’s chilly after dark), fins, and masks. They also supplied the custom designed surfboards we clung to as we peered into the depths for rays.
Spotlights aimed below the surface attract plankton, and hungry mantas show up for a free meal.
Gaab noted that snorkelers see from one to 36 mantas on most nights. Spotlights aimed below the surface attract plankton, and hungry mantas show up for a free meal. Once they come, there’s no chance of missing them. Manta rays are huge, measuring 14 feet from wing tip to wing tip and weighing 100 pounds per foot.
Ours was a lucky night. We snorkeled with two enormous rays. Gliding gracefully, they appeared and disappeared mere feet below our bellies. Their giant mouths agape, they scooped up masses of plankton with each pass.
The Yachting Life
You know you’re yachting — not cruising — when you casually step behind the bar and help yourself to a cocktail. Sure, there’s a bartender to mix your Mai-Tai or pull a microbrew from the tap. But if he’s busy checking out the evening wine selection, it’s OK to help yourself. The cruise is allinclusive except for a few high-end wines and tips for the crew.
Each day guests experience what Un-Cruise Adventures does best: explore lesser traveled coves, keep a constant eye out for marine life, discover local lore, and play with a boatload of water toys. In the islands, the yacht carries 15 kayaks, four stand-up paddleboards, and one sailboat. Snorkel gear is supplied.
Out of the water, guests often spend the entire cruise in shorts, T-shirts, and sandals. No need to dress up for dinner where the mahi-mahi, ono, and marlin are delivered fresh to the chef.
Catch the aloha spirit aboard Safari Explorer. You’ll feel like part of the family, or ohana, as they say in Hawaiian.
From November through mid-April, week-long trips aboard the 36-passenger Safari Explorer sail between the Big Island of Hawaii and Maui, with calls on Moloka’i and Lana’i.