Why We Dive
WHALE SEASON EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS
by Ev Schultz
(Jan - Mar, 09)
MOUSE OVER IMAGES TO ENLARGE!
Recent activities in the ocean reinforce why we dive…
every day is different!
WHALES, whales & more whales continue to highlight first quarter diving on Maui. Lots of humpback whales, spotted eagle rays, Hawaiian sting rays, mantas, spinner and bottlenose dolphins, sharks, jacks and more….oh my!
With a focus on whale season, early January saw a lot of activity since many of the keiki humpbacks born late last year are now exhibiting feeding, breaching, fin and tail slapping behaviors. Don’t miss Suzzy Robinson’s exciting snorkel article and rare photos as she was able to see a mother feeding a keiki humpback during one of her many snorkel tours.
With three underwater sightings of humpback whales before the end of last year, winter months were no different - yielding another five sightings at various dive sites throughout south Maui (we usually see a half dozen or so whales each year – but this year was exceptional). Additionally, on January 15th there was a major whale show inside Molokini during our divers surface interval. January 25th, divers were joined by a mother and calf during their underwater tour at Molokini. A more unusual site by Joe’s group at the end of January as they were able to see 3 false killer whales pass by during their safety stop on the backwall. Both Joe and Tiffany enjoyed their second underwater whale sighting at Hawaiian Reef at the end of February. Almost every day throughout January and February the crew reported being surrounded by whales or whales putting on active displays for our divers (and crew).
Our resident surfers (Dave and Zoe) continue to come back with believable tales about their encounters with a variety of critters week after week. On Feb. 7th they watched as “school” was in session for a mother teaching her calf breaching (5 consecutive), and at least 40 fin and then tail slaps. Of course, if there are no photos….did it really happen. They often surf with Hawaiian green sea turtles and the occasional monk seal…while not too happy about the occasional question of, “what was that?”
The winter extravaganza continued with a variety of other unique sightings. Diving at Hawaiian Reef saw a school of ladyfish following the divers throughout a dive which also saw 500+ sleek unicornfish, white-tip reef sharks and a school of 25+ barred jacks. Another day the group had a rare 5’ Hawaiian stingray follow the group the entire dive. A married couple of saddleback butterflyfish were seen at Red Hill and a school of spinner dolphins followed the boat and dive team on a trip further south. Early February, divers saw a large barracuda being cleaned at Orange Grove while jacks and sharks were feeding as they turned the corner at Reef’s End. The end of February caught another pair of Hawaiian stingrays on Ed’s Adventure-X trip, while the other charter saw a rare peppered moray.
The only thing missing is you!
Ev Schultz is an integral part of ERDA. She has managed the booking office for over nine years and is constantly being praised by our customers for her warm and friendly manor while dealing with our diver's needs.