11-25-13 I Think She Was Trying To ID Us!

Monday, November 25th
...out on Maya's Westside Charters...I always tell the passengers that at this time of year we never know what we might see once we leave the harbor...but little did any of us know what was in store for us on this afternoon...
...Melisa spotted a humpback whale...

...the whale was a bit north of Kelp Reef marker...trending down island, zigging, zagging, and circling along the way...after getting south of the marker - deeper water - the whale showed her fluke...

...Capt. Jim said we'd watch the humpback for a couple surfacings and then head on to see what else we might find...the humpback didn't surface and didn't surface...where was she??? and all of a sudden she was spyhopping right next to the boat and just holding that spyhop!...she came up so quietly we didn't even know it until one person saw her LOL!!!...and then the 'adventure' began - amazing!
...we had not approached the whale.
...she came to us and because she did not leave the boat we could not move.
...she was under us...all around us...more than once her head was on the starboard side while her tail was on the port side! - Scary!!


...I don't know the ID of this whale...and this didn't add any information!

I've uploaded a 11 minute video to YouTube of this once in a life time encounter from today. (Of course if she sticks around she may do it again!) ...here's a 1 minute clip to give you an idea, but it pales in comparison to what's on the long version...

...this may be common in Hawaii during the humpback season, but it's not common here, making it all that much more unbelievable...