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Marine Naturalist - Jonathan Opay 2007 Whale Journal

By our on-board Marine Naturalist, Jonathan Opey

03/15/07 (Thursday)
Aloha and welcome aboard,
After having not been on the 'lek' for 2 days because of weather, we were finally able to get there today - and what a show!! The Humpback Whales (megatera novaeangliae) are still here in large numbers. We saw a total of 20 whales today...that includes the 5 breaches by a calf, and the 6 pec-slaps, as well as 10 tail-lobs, and 3 heat-runs. It's good to see the ocean finally start to cooperate, and make life easier for us. In addition, we had a very special encounter: There was a mother and calf that were surrounded by 2 different species of dolphins - pacific bottlenose (tursiops truncatus), and hawaiian spinner dolphins (stenella longirostris). It was like their own private escort...out into deeper water...and all the while the dolphins were playing with the calf. Inter species communication, probably...fun to watch definitely, seeing all this from the deck of the greatest viewing platform on the Kona Coast...priceless!!!! After all the sustained surface activity subsided, we deployed the underwater hydro-phone system. And did we ever have some singing going on...tons of whales still singing their hearts out trying to find a mate before the season is over. We also heard 'Chewie' again - it's good to know that he's still in the area. Well everyone on board had a wonderful time, and you can too, if you book your reservation on the Hula-Kai, don't wait seats are going fast! ‘Till then Aloha, Jonathan
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03/13/07 (Tuesday)
Aloha and welcome aboard,
Well the big waves seemed to have subsided at least for now...we had an exclusive trip today so instead of going north towards the 'lek', we went south for the first time this year, and farther than we have ever gone with the Hula-Kai. We were rewarded with an outstanding show...we found a 6 whale (megaptera novaeangliae), heat-run...the 5 males were quite active in trying to chase down the lead female. If you're not familiar with a heat run, the idea is to try and become the whale in the alpha position which is the one closest to the female. The males will be trying to get and hold that position. We only had 2 ½ hours so we were lucky to find these cetaceans, and even luckier that we were able to view them the whole time. While watching them we witnessed just about every type of activity that you could imagine. We saw tail-lobs, spy-hops, pec-slaps, and lunges. The only thing we didn't see was breaching...that would have been way cool. Don't get me wrong everyone was stoked with all the visuals - but oh course you always want more, at least I do when it comes to seeing whales. Can one ever get enough? I don't think so !!!! At the turn around point the rain started to fall, thank goodness it was a light rain. One thing that was the highlight of the trip, besides the whales was the natural splendor of the big island...all the different shades and hues, the varied topography, and the color of the ocean left everyone commenting on how beautiful our island home is. But don't take my word for it, come see for yourself....we'll be waiting for you...till then Aloha, Jonathan
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03/12/07 (Monday)
Aloha and welcome aboard,
Well it seems that the Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae) are still here. I say that because today is the first day since last Thursday that we were able to get to the 'Lek' because of large ocean swells that have been here for a couple days. We had barely arrived when we spotted or first 'pod' of whales. Turns out that it was a mother/calf/escort - they were somewhat elusive so after waiting for more than 10 minutes we left them in search of more active cetaceans. There was vigorous activity out on the horizon so we took a chance and headed out there, once there we were observed a 5 whale 'heat-run'. This is probably one of the last big 'heat-runs' of the season...that doesn't mean that we won't see any more, it's just that the large 'heat-runs' are starting to dissipate, and the individuals are gearing up for the big migration. After watching the female swim in a circular pattern for several minutes, the aggressive males submerged and were gone. We then encountered 4 'pods' of mother and calves. Remember that this time of year the 'Lek' also serves as a nursery. These calves were very active, there were at least 20 breaches performed by the calves alone. All at once the moms seemed to say that's enough and they all settled down. After viewing all the breaching and lunging we decided to continue north, where we had seen some tail-lobing going on. Upon arrival on the scene we observed 2 whales engaged in a tail-lobing duel...12 lobs later the show was over. By now it was time to begin the trip home, after turning south we began to power up the engines and off we went. We didn't get far before we encountered a huge 'pod' of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (stenella longirostris). They were quite playful and took turns swimming in our bow wake as well as our stern wake. By now time was crucial so we broke off from the dolphins and headed straight for home. Seeing all this activity this late in the season was encouraging, because it implies that there may Humpbacks in the area into April...that's exciting! That means that there may still be time to join us for an afternoon of fun and adventure. ‘Till then, Aloha, Jonathan
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03/10/07 (Saturday)
Aloha and welcome aboard,
Once again the seas were up...however the Hula Kai is very stable so we went out and had an awesome whale watch. There was a confirmed sighting along the Kona Coast, after several breaths the Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae) sounded and was never seen again. After waiting for more than 10 minutes we attempted to push north towards the 'Lek'. Once we reached Kiawe Point, a mother whale surfaced and blew...Wow...then her calf surfaced and blew...double Wow!!!!! The reason that this sighting was way cool is because the calf was less than a week old. It was so new that you could see it's 'natal' wrinkles. When I pointed these out to the people on board, someone wanted more information. Here's what I told them: Cetaceans are marine mammals, when the calf was developing inside it's mother it was curled up just like a human baby...so after it's born it is very light gray in color, and it's quite wrinkled. As it matures over the first week of life, its color starts to darken and the wrinkles start to fill out as it's gaining up to 200-lbs a day on mother's milk. And here's something most people don't know...for the first month neither the mother or the calf will get any sleep. Why do you ask??? Ah, you'll have to come on a whale watch to find out the answer...if that's not possible then e-mail me and I'll give you the answer. I can't begin to tell you how delighted we all were to see this promise of a future for it's species....I hope someone on board got some pictures so that we can track this whale and look for it next year. As you can imagine we were all wide eyed and smiling from ear to ear...however the last thing we wanted to do was stress out the mother....so we said our aloha's and watched as they swam off into the deep blue ocean. Personally, it's days like this that not only define what I do, but in the grand scheme of things says who I am as a person...and as a professional. Later on we encountered a medium pod of Hawaiian spinner Dolphins (Stenella Longirostris). We were still in awe of the mother and calf sighting...but were glad to see how playful dolphins can be. After they submerged we turned and headed for home. In total we saw 4 whales, but today's trip meant so much more than that - it's that kind of feeling that will stay with you long after the glow of the sunset has left the sky. As someone said it's not just a whale watch, it's an adventure!!! Come join us for an afternoon of fun and excitement on board the Hula-Kai. ‘Till then, Aloha! Jonathan
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03/09/07 (Friday)
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Aloha and welcome aboard,
Well the big waves are still here, but that didn't deter us from going on what was perhaps our most spectacular whale watch this season. What I mean by that is we've seen lots of heat-runs and we've seen many duels for the alpha position by aggressive and urgent males. We've also seen incredible tail-lobs, and not to mention the close encounters...remember Hula and Kai! But today's trip was beyond all of that not only because of what we saw, specifically a mother and calf Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae) putting on one of the most spectacular displays of breaching we've seen all year. We watched them breach for a total of 15 times in a row. First the mom, then the calf matched her breach for breach. Needles to say we were all speechless. The 'wow factor' was off the charts. Mom then rolled over and slapped her pectoral flipper 5 times against the surface of the water. Not wanting to stress them out after this awesome display, we broke off from them when we saw another blow in the distance. However once we arrived in the vicinity the whale was nowhere to be seen - but that didn't matter because we were surrounded by Nai'a (Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins - Stenella Longirostris). They were quite playful lunging and jumping in the bow wake and surfing the stern wake. We did not deploy the hydrophone because of the waves, but just being out there today more than made up for not hearing the whales. Well needless to say that after a start like that everyone was totally stoked by the time we arrived back at our home port of Keauhou Bay. Remember the whales won't be here too much longer, don't miss the opportunity of a lifetime, book your trip soon - I promise you won't be disappointed! ‘Till then, Aloha! Jonathan
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03/08/07 (Thursday)
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Aloha and welcome aboard,
Today's trip can be summed up with 3 words, “victory at sea”. Oh we saw lots of whales, but the ocean was really turbulent. Upon leaving Keauhou Bay we headed straight for the 'Lek', once there the whales began to show themselves almost immediately. In every direction there was sustained surface activity such as breaching for example, we counted more than 20! That's right, I know that seems like an unusually high number, but there are still a lot of whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae) here and on the 'Lek'. There were a total of 25 whales seen, not to mention the 10 tail-lobs, and the 6 spy-hops, we also saw 5 pec-slaps and 10 lunges. As I've mentioned in previous entries, that at this time of the season the 'Lek' serves not only as a breeding ground, but as a nursery as well. With that in mind, we saw 3 different mother/calf combos, and the calves were extremely active...jumping, breaching, and playing near the surface. At this time we deployed the hydrophone and heard lots of males still here, singing trying to find a partner. Even at this late date, they know that time is running out for this season and soon the emphasis will shift from mating to hunger and the great migration will begin back to Alaska for food. Well that pretty much sums up today's trip, be sure to book your trip soon, ‘till then, Aloha!  Jonathan
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03/05/07 (Monday)
Aloha and welcome aboard,
Today's trip was pretty exciting. We went directly to the ‘Lek', and once there began to look for Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae). There were quite a few pods, mostly consisting of cow/calf/escort trios. We found a calf that was quite active, in total we saw 24 breaches - 14 of which were done by this calf. And all were less than 50-yards away. Capt. Kurt Bell decided that we should run north, so we did and there we found another calf that did 5 lunges. All over the 'Lek' there are mothers and babies - that's why March is one of my favorite months. We should have numerous sightings for the next month or more. As we turned the boat north we could see activity up ahead, so off we went in search of more whales. There was a huge female fending off 2 males with her tail, this went on for quite some time before she disappeared beneath the waves. On the inside there was a whale pec-slapping. Why? Well, perhaps to send an acoustic message to another whale? By now it was time to deploy the hydro-phone.  when we turned it on there more whales than we could count, all singing their hearts out. We heard 'Chewie' again and this time he was really putting everything he had into seriously competing with all the other males. I guess they all know that time is running out, and those that haven't found a partner yet are getting desperate! Well that pretty much sums up today's trip. If you've not had a chance to see the whales yet, then come on out with us – we would love to share the experience! ‘Till then, Aloha, Jonathan | email Jonathan |

03/04/07 (Sunday)
Aloha and welcome aboard,
Starting out from Keauhou Bay we anticipated another outstanding trip. Well, we got it! Once on the 'Lek' we ran north untill we saw our first whales (megaptera novaeangliae). The sightings came in groups of 3's and 4's all were quite active with most of the big breaches out on the horizon. We did see many heat-runs...4 to be precise and caught a glimpse of a cow/calf/escort trio. Included in the 20 whales that we saw there were 5 breaches that we witnessed up close, and 8 lunges that also occurred fairly close to the boat. As we watched the movements of a 3 group heat-run we were hoping for an awesome display of something. Well, we got 10 tail-lobs as a reward for our patience. After running north for another view of the displays we had seen from a distance, we found ourselves surrounded by many types of surface activities such as spy-hops, lunges, and heat-runs. It was then we decided to deploy the hydro-phone, and in doing so we heard a wonderful variety of vocalizations being sung by humpback males. By now it was time to begin the trip home, on the way we saw several whales show themselves as we went by on the Hula Kai. And suddenly a huge chorus erupted from the upper deck - it was 2 giant whales that breached simultaneously...wow!! We turned around, but by then the whales had vanished, so we continued heading home. This is a typical day for March, the whales are still here, however we are running farther north with each trip. Don't delay, book your trip soon and we'll take you on an adventure that you won't soon forget! ‘Till then Aloha, jonathan | email Jonathan |

03/03/07 (Saturday)
Aloha and welcome,
Today's trip started out with another sighting of the mother and calf that have been seen in the Kona area for the past 3 days. Although today they weren't very active so we didn't stay long enough to wait for an extended surface display. We did find much more activity on the 'Lek' that included breaches, spy-hops and tail-lobs. Today it was the tail-lobs that were an exciting display of humpback whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae) power and grace. Most people don't realize that whales also use their tails in a defensive posture to fend off predators. There were 2 whales involved in a duel of tails that went on for some time and thrilled everyone on board. After viewing this splendid display, we then found 2 more mother/calf combos. What made this encounter unique is that there were no escorts to be seen in the area...that meant that these were very young babies, and mom had not gotten a partner to help protect them on the way back to Alaska yet. This time of year is really exciting because the 'Lek' becomes a nursery as well a breeding ground. Off in the distance we saw a male lunging 5 times and there were numerous pec-slaps as some sort of reply to his challenges. Once we deployed the hydro-phone we heard many loud voices and clicks of dolphins (stenella longirostris) in the vicinity. In all it was a very exciting day and there were lots of happy campers when we returned to Keauhou. Be sure to book your reservation soon seats are going fast, and remember the whales are here usually into the 2nd week of April. We hope you'll join us for an afternoon of whale watching aboard the Hula Kai. Till then Aloha, jonathan | email Jonathan |

03/02/07 (Friday)
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Aloha and welcome aboard,
Well we saw the mother humpback that's been hanging around the Kona Coast for 2 days now...and just like yesterday her calf was breaching right along with her. We watched for sometime before heading on to the 'Lek'. Once up north we saw many whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae), some were close and others were out on the horizon. We found a heat-run and decided to follow them. What an awesome display of control and stamina as we watched the female lead 4 males on a huge trek from shallow water then back into the deep, and then they all disappeared as if they were never there. We observed several large breaches in the distance, so off we went in search of more sightings. It didn't take long before we were right in the midst of more breaching, tail-lobs, and pec-slaps. There was more activity to the north so we decided to forgo deploying the hydro-phone and go look for more cetaceans. We found in all 2 more heat-runs, and a huge whale that did a series of lunges. By now it was getting to be time to head for home and just when we were starting to leave the 'Lek', Nai'a showed up. There were Spinner Dolphins (Stenella
Longirostris) all around the boat. So as we began to accelerate they positioned themselves in our bow wake and stern wake to catch a free ride and give us a show. They stayed with us for sometime before breaking off to head out into deeper water for the evening hunt. Did we ever have fun and if you had been there you could have seen all this for yourself. Don't wait too long, seats are going fast, and remember spring break is coming and that means more people are coming to see the humpbacks before they head back to Alaska. Well that's all for now we'll see ya next time till then Aloha,
Jonathan | email Jonathan |

03/01/07 (Thursday)
Aloha and welcome aboard,
Did we ever have fun today! Once again we were blessed with calm seas, and blue skies. But the whales...oh my!!!! Right out in front of Keauhou Bay we saw a mother and calf. The mother was teaching her calf to breach and the calf was a quick learner. Mom looked like a giant redwood compared to the calf, but seeing this little body match her breach for breach was truly inspiring. After spending 15-minutes watching this display, we had to move on if we hoped to get up to the 'Lek'. Upon arriving on the 'Lek', that's when the whales (Megaptera
Novaeangliae) really began to perform. It took some hunting to find the right pod, but once we did the aerials began. First the breaching, after 5 in a row - we were cheering, after 10 in a row - we were ecstatic, after 15 in a row - we were screaming for more! Unbelievably there were 4 more breaches and very few words were needed to describe what we all felt. As a matter of fact, Capt. Matt Smith and I high-fived each other and that was sufficient to show our delight. How do you follow up a show like that? How about 8 lunges, or 10 pec-slaps??? For me the perfect ending was an opportunity to see' wind-milling', I say this because you don't usually see it occurring. Let me explain, wind-milling is when a humpback female has exhausted her short term energy supply, she then rolls onto her back in an attempt to keep aggressive males from getting any closer. Once she's on her back, she extends her huge pectoral flippers into the air, (bear in mind these flippers are 15-feet in length and weigh 2 tons each) and begins rolling from side to side. This is an extremely effective technique to make and maintain a buffer zone around her body. After the whales sounded, we deployed the hydro-phone, and once again heard many loud vocalizations, but by then the wind was picking up and we decided that it would be a good idea to begin heading back to Keauhou to stay on schedule and to try to reacquire some of the whales we had seen along the way. We did see a pod of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins (Stenella Longirostris), and once again everyone on board was on their feet cheering and applauding the antics of these very active and acrobatic cetaceans. Come join us for a fun filled afternoon, we'll save a seat for ya, till then Aloha, jonathan
| email Jonathan |

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