Member of a close-range competition pod |
Distant breach from a big boat trip |
Two of the trips were a new experience for me – whale
watching on a small raft.
The Ultimate Trip
These rafts are Coast
Guard-grade Zodiac inflatable rafts. One
trip had a boat that could hold about 26 people (our trip was not full) and the
second, smaller boat holds about 14.
The concept is that, even though these boats have to (and
willingly) abide by the do-not-approach-closer-than-100-feet rule, they still
can give you a closer view of whales. That is for two reasons:
#1 You are closer to the water; there is simply
less boat between you and the wildlife.
A Humpback Whale at close range |
#2 Whales more frequently approach the smaller,
quieter boats.
A whale approaches a Zodiac near Molokini |
So-So Whales
We were really pumped because we read lots of reviews and
saw lots of pictures pointing to an AMAZING experience.
Unfortunately, it
wasn’t.
Photo: Ultimate Whale Watch & Snorkel |
Fluke dive taken at close range |
Before I go into detail, I need to explain one thing that
helped form my opinion. Because we were anticipating and wanted to capture
close action, we brought mid-range rather than long lenses.
So, even though some whales were actually closer than what we had seen on the big boat, the shorter lenses rendered photos that looked approximately the same as the long lens photos from the larger boats.
Had the whales been exceptionally close, the long lenses would have cropped too tight. So, it was the right camera decision; it just didn’t render the results we wanted. And both Caty and I suffer from a typical photographer malady: the remembered action is what you see through your camera rather than what actually happened. Thus, we were closer but didn't feel closer.
We did have a mother and calf approach fairly close, but
they did nothing interesting. And, this is my beef with that whale watch. I believe we spent too much time
with some of these boring whales. Once we established their lackadaisical behavior, we should have gone in search of something more exciting.
So, even though some whales were actually closer than what we had seen on the big boat, the shorter lenses rendered photos that looked approximately the same as the long lens photos from the larger boats.
Had the whales been exceptionally close, the long lenses would have cropped too tight. So, it was the right camera decision; it just didn’t render the results we wanted. And both Caty and I suffer from a typical photographer malady: the remembered action is what you see through your camera rather than what actually happened. Thus, we were closer but didn't feel closer.
Whale blow |
Mama and baby |
Two Humpbacks |
Dolphins!
Now, during this trip, we did have some excitement – a close
encounter with some Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins. This was pretty exciting
because:
First, they were very close
Second, dolphins aren’t all that common a sighting on a
whale watch
The one above-surface shot I got of a Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin on the first trip |
Third, we had already had a close encounter with Spinner
Dolphins on our big-boat snorkel trip.
Spinner Dolphins from the big boat |
Photo: Ultimate Whale Watch & Snorkel |
I had both my GoPro and our two underwater cameras on
selfie sticks and I was ready.
We never
got that close to whales, but I took some video just in case (I mean, they could
swim by without us knowing) and I purposefully videotaped when the Bottlenose
Dolphins swam by.
While I wasn’t confident I had gotten much, when I got back
to the hotel, I downloaded the videos and I had captured some Bottlenose Dolphins! On the boat, I hadn't taken time to look at what I was getting; I wish I had because I would have
tried to aim the camera a bit lower. I missed a few great shots
because I was aimed at bit at the surface. But, if I had been looking at videos, I probably would have missed other shots!
Pulled from my video |
But, the video was cool enough that Caty and I decided it
would be worth a second shot on our last day in Maui. I mean, if you can get dolphins, maybe you can get whales.
Taking another trip was a great decision. No, we still
didn’t have a whale swim under our boat and no whales breached right next to
us. But, we did have better encounters on the second trip.
We had some Spinner Dolphins come at close range and we were
able to get great photos above water. I also captured some underwater Spinner action; although not quite as good
as the Bottlenose stuff.
Humpback Whale dorsal fin |
Spinner Dolphin spinning |
One of the interesting things this video did was explain a
puzzling action we had encountered. The Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins were
swimming normally, when suddenly one charged directly at our boat, splashing
loudly and then diving beneath us. We thought it was an act of aggression
toward our boat.
But, the video clearly showed that we had nothing to do with
the action; the dolphin was chasing a fish. And, as you can see in the video
and photos, there aren’t many fish in that water. He was just going for a
snack.
Caty got some good video, too. I will share hers in my
dolphin post.
Bottlenose Dolphin chasing a fish |
Now, although the whale encounters weren’t SPECTACULAR, there
were a few cool things.
Video Revelations
First, I took some underwater video when we got close to a
few whales and I didn’t have time to look at it until I got home to Colorado (the second Ultimate trip was on the day we flew home; so we didn't get to view any video before the long flight). I was blown
away – not by the video – but by the audio. I got some fantastic whale songs.
This was so exciting to listen to.
Click here to hear.
Second, we did see a behavior that we had not witnessed on
any other trip: a competition pod. This is basically a bunch of boy whales
rumbling as they vie for a female’s attention. The resulting activity produced
a lot of splashing and several times when the whales raised their heads farther
out of the water than you normally see. It gives you a much better picture of
what a whale face looks like (yes, I did use these photos in my Humpback Whales post,
but they were just too cool not too).
I could have gotten some better pictures had we
not had as many cell phone photographers on board and I will talk about that in
a moment.
Click here to hear.
Fluke dive |
A great view of a competition pod at close range |
Competition Pod |
I did.
Whoa!
Now, full disclosure before you watch the video. The audio
on the original was boring: mainly water slapping the boat and some boat noise. So,
I overlaid it with the whale song you already listened to. It’s real whales and
real sound; they just didn’t actually occur at the same time.
Click here for the video.
Cameras and Photographers
Ok, so let’s talk about iPhone photography. iPhones are
small, so you would think that they would be less disruptive to fellow
spectators than the big honkin’ cameras Caty and I carry. But, that has not
been my experience. There a several reasons.
Photo: Creative Market |
This also minimizes your footprint for
others. You don’t have elbows sticking out, blocking everyone else’s view.
Plus, you look through the viewfinder rather than the live view panel; thus
pulling the camera in tight to your face.
Your camera may be big, but the space it takes up I in front of you; just a narrow slice. Unfortunately, iPhone photographers tend to hold their phones differently. The phones are light, so they tend to put their elbows out and hold the phone above their heads. And, because they are looking at a screen (and may be farsighted), they tend to hold the phones far out. They take up more space than a single person’s footprint.
And, selfies .... Don't get me started ....
You need a clean view to get a good picture |
An arm discolored my photo |
Every freakin’ one.
I probably should have just shouted,
“Get out of the way,” but I sensed they didn’t care that they were blocking us.
Now, when you are using a telephoto lens and something gets in the way, you still get the shot; it’s just not sharp and it can be discolored. A lot of my pictures had a pink hue picked up from an arm.
Now, when you are using a telephoto lens and something gets in the way, you still get the shot; it’s just not sharp and it can be discolored. A lot of my pictures had a pink hue picked up from an arm.
So, if you are an iPhone photographer, think about what you
are doing.
One other thing about cameras: part of my reluctance to do
Zodiac or Kayak trips is concern about getting my cameras wet. Yes, I have a
waterproof camera, but it doesn’t have the range or quality of my Canons. And,
I have protective sleeves, but they only do so much. And, I do have a dry sack that is good if it gets too wet to shoot. Bt, I once put a camera out of commission shooting in the rain. So, I worry.
I am happy to report that the Zodiac was fairly dry and that I was able to protect my camera with the sleeve and my rain jacket.
I am happy to report that the Zodiac was fairly dry and that I was able to protect my camera with the sleeve and my rain jacket.
These trips were quite useful because Scott and I are going
on a trip to Svalbard (“The Realm of the Polar Bear”) this June and we will be
touring on Zodiacs. And, then, in December, we are going to the U.S. Virgin
Islands, where we plan to snorkel. I gained a lot of experience that I can put
to good use. Since I got home, I have already bought some better and longer
selfie sticks.
Birds!
Pulled from my video |
One other cool thing about the second Ultimate trip was that
we saw some birds! Really!
A nice profile |
I mentioned before that seabirds are pretty few and far
between. On one whale watch I had gotten a picture of some distant birds
speeding by, but I hadn’t had a chance to figure out what they were.
On this trip, we saw a female Great Frigatebird, which I
actually recognized immediately (in Florida, I have seen Magnificent
Frigatebirds, which are just slightly larger than the Great ones). With major
nesting populations in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans and a tiny
population in the South Atlantic, Hawai’i is the northernmost extent of their
range in the Pacific Ocean, with about 10,000 nesting pairs.
The Great Frigatebird is about 30 to 40 inches long and has
a wingspan of 80-90 inches. Males are smaller than females, but the extent of
the variation varies geographically.
Female Great Frigatebird |
They have highest ratio of wing area to body mass and the
lowest wing loading of any bird, which enables them to use marine thermals for
soaring (allegedly sometimes sleeping while soaring).
Photo: Wikipedia |
They generally feed within 50 miles of
their breeding colonies or roosting areas. They also hunt seabird chicks at breeding colonies, taking mostly Tern and Noddy chicks.
Both sexes have a patch of skin at the throat called a “gular
sac.” In male Great Frigatebirds, the gular sac is red and can be inflated to
attract a mate. That is something I would like to see.
So, that was cool.
Then, we saw an even cooler bird, a Brown Booby.
Is it a bird? Is it a duck? Is it a cartoon? It certainly is
a strange-looking bird.
A male Brown Booby |
Brown Booby using a whale to stir up fish |
Spectacular divers, Brown Boobies plunge into the ocean at high speed to catch small fish or squid that gather in groups near the surface. Like the Great Frigatebird, they also catch leaping fish (especially Flying Fish) while skimming the surface.
After we saw the initial Brown Booby (a male based upon its blue orbital rings; females have yellow rings), it was joined by two more and they capitalized on a whale fluking down to stir up prey.
The female Brown Booby grows to about 31 inches long with a
wingspan of up to 4.9 feet. Males are usually about an inch shorter with a
three-inch-shorter wingspan.
Their beaks are quite sharp and contain many jagged edges.
They have fairly short wings resulting in a fast flap rate, but long, tapered
tails. While these birds are typically silent, but occasionally make sounds similar to grunting or quacking.
Three Brown Boobies flying over the channel |
Although they are powerful and agile fliers, they are
particularly clumsy in takeoffs and landings; using wind and high perches to
assist their takeoffs. This clumsiness is what gave them their name.
We were fortunate that one flew directly over the boat and
then, we saw the three of them flying around the diving whale and across the channel. I also realized that the birds I had seen in the distance on an earlier whale watch were also Brown Boobies.
Male Brown Booby |
A great trip |
They also participate in the Rescue Entanglement Network as first responders to rescue Humpback Whales that have become entangled in fishing nets. Obviously, Zodiacs are an ideal vessel for this type of activity. We heard a rumor that there was a rescue going on while we were there, but never heard any details.
And, another cool thing I noticed about Ultimate; almost all (if not all) of their captains and mates are women.
A Good Alternative
Now that I have done a Zodiac trip, I am hooked. I will make
it part of the mix going forward.
Trip 1 date: January 31-February 8, 2019
Trip 2 date: February 25-March 2, 2019
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