Friday, March 2 2012, 11:30am HST at Ma'alaea Harbor, Captain Jay motors in to pick us up.
~remember to click the pics to see them full size
The boat is a 60 foot Catamaran with twin Caterpillar engines
Jay has been a skipper for the Pacific Whale Foundation for nearly 25 years and a great new friend of ours!
First sightings
Thar she blows!
A mom and her calf
The next 3 pictures are explained below:
A 40,000 pound mother Humpback breaches. The second picture is a zoomed in version of the the first. The 3rd is the amazing splash made as she landed back in the water.
Just what the skipper ordered!
A whale's tail with Molikini in the distance. Molikini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater off the south shore of Maui & popular destination for SCUBA and snorkelers
This 4,000 pound newborn (2 to 4 weeks old) stuck around our boat with it's mom
and did multiple breaches for nearly an hour.
(Zoomed in version of picture above it)
~remember to click the pics to see them full size
For more about the whales and whale watch information from a previous post, click here:
3 comments:
amazing pictures! No wonder the captain looks so satisfied.
This seems like an experience to set the heart pumping like mad. You seem to have been very close to these whales. Were you close enough for their jumping about to rock the boat? How nice for your mainlander dad and his wife to get a first-hand taste of one of the pleasures of living in the middle of the ocean.
Never closer than 100 yards. Big lens on the camera + post production zooming and cropping give the sense of closeness. Did not feel the boat rock due to their activity. However, when shooting photos I am in a different world than when I am not. As a casual observer I may have felt the waves. As a photographer I am intently concentrating on getting the shot and oblivious to everything else. Not always the best state of mind but on a day like this the photography was quite rewarding!
What an incredibly exhilarating experience! And the pictures are fabulous. Glad you are having so much fun in Hawaii. Blessings and happiness to you and Tracy.
Love,
Cornelia
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