I'm sitting on the boom on top of the cabin on our second largest catamaran in the fleet, talking to people over a microphone telling them all about humpback whales and how amazing they are...all of a sudden out of nowhere here comes 5 full grown humpback whales 100 yards off the starboard side of the boat- big and moving fast. We're talking 50 feet long and weighting in somewhere around 100,000 pounds each. H-U-G-E. The captain kills the engines immediately. There are 4 males chasing after a female- heat run. The ladies, as always, are keeping the men on their toes, even in the whale world. She's too fast for them and is sending them on a goose chase. She uses our cat as a barrier between her and the males. Pulling a full U-turn and going straight under us leaving the males wondering which direction she was heading in. Once they finally figure out where she is they ram and swim over one another trying to be the first to catch up with her. Right off the bow of the boat, we could have reached out and touched them. At this point we thought they were going to hit the boat because of their lust-driven, klutzy swimming. We all got sprayed with whale boogers (their spouts) and splashed by their flukes propelling them forward. She continues to use the boat to her advantage, swimming back and forth under the boat and then heading south for the long haul, hoping to tire out the males in her endless race. Nonstop breaches for the rest of the cruise, we stopped counting after 40. Unbelievable. I am on the cabin top this entire time, trying not to scream into the microphone because I am completely overexcited by all of this activity. The passengers are elated. I nearly fell off the boom.
The crew is giddy with excitement. We are all bouncing around the deck like little school children. Even the captain, who typically is rather composed and professional, is giggling like a little boy at the helm. We've just experienced the most amazing whale watch in years. One for the books for sure.
We tie up and are saying our goodbyes to our passengers. One lady actually hugged me because she was so happy to have seen those whales. It was on her bucket list to see a whale in the wild-her first trip to Hawaii ever, they had been saving for years. We are glowing for the rest of the day.
A night paddle is in order. 5 of us, one man short, are planning on taking the outrigger out for a long paddle-we need to do something with our energy after a whale show like that. We set off toward the sun, paddling hard and fast. Me and the boys, what a motley crew we are. Overheating at this point because the humidity is almost too much to bear, even after the sun has set. My body is aching but somehow I am able to keep the pace. We are fighting the sets to get out of the lineup. Watching these waves build in front of us, easily overhead, makes me paddle that much harder. A couple of times I had to just put my head down and paddle because the butterflies in my stomach were threatening to take over.
We decided since the sets were perfect and no one was at Parker's break that we were going to take this lil' canoe for a spin in the lineup. Paddling out and watching for a set. A manta ray swims by, it's flippers breaking the surface as it skims for its dinner, quiet and determined. Paddling in and being denied a couple of times. Nearly there. Paddling back out and getting into perfect position. Huge set. Again the butterflies. I don't watch and instead give myself a quick glance back and then put my head down and paddle. We got it! We are flying down the face of this wave and still paddling our hearts out-hooting and hollering. As the wave breaks we pull off to the side and discover the giant wave right behind us. "Paddle hard! Go, go, go, go, go!!!" That's all I hear from the steersman behind us. We are almost sideways, vulnerable. "Left!!!" We are leaning and still paddling trying to make sure we do not flip seeing as the reef is only about 6 feet under. We make it over, there was a moment where we were all thinking the same thing- we're going over. "Get me out of here, paddle hard!" The steersman is amped! We need to push it to get out of the lineup. Once we are in the center of the bay again we are thrilled, exhausted, but on cloud 9. Wow.
It's dark now. We can only see the lights from the resorts on shore. We're heading in. Once back on shore we turn the boat around and all have some moments of high fives and hugs to congratulate one another on the adventure we just had. None of us have ever been on waves that big before on the outrigger. Literally glowing again and it is dark out.
"It was a great day, we haven't haven't had a day that amazing in a while."
Ending with a quick pow wow grabbing sandwiches before we all head to our homes for some much needed rest...and showers.
A day off today and some time to let my body recover before the long week ahead.
Aloha from this little lava stone,
M.
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