We were out cruising down the southern coast on the Maui Magic, just another beautiful day in Maui, and a pod of Spinner Dolphin joined us right in front of Big Beach.  The Spinner is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which they spin as they leap through the air, hence the name “Spinner”!

The Spinner Dolphin is usually dark gray, with a creamy-white patch on the belly.   Their beaks are distinctively long and thin, with a dark tip and their fins are lengthy for dolphins of this size. Adults vary in length from 51–93 in and weigh from 51–170 lbs.  Females reach maturity at four to seven years and males require seven to ten years.  They are quite social both with each other and the boats.  In fact you can often find them taking a ride on the boats’ bow-waves.

Dolphins echolocate and communicate using click-whistles and pulsed sounds which you can sometimes hear when they are right next to the boat. Echolocation allows the dolphins to track objects in darker water and to see further than their eyes will allow.  Spinners can actually identify themselves with sounds they make by trailing bubbles from their blowholes and sounds called signature whistles.  You will also see Spinner dolphins communicate by slapping the water with various body parts.

On the Maui Magic we see dolphins multiple times a week.  Most times the will be swimming along our bow or doing acrobatics just a few feet away.  It’s quite a treat!

We went on the afternoon trip on 1/7/10 and had a great time!  The food was terrific and the crew was super friendly and professional.  We really enjoyed ourselves, thanks for a great trip!

The Abell Family

As we bring in the year 2010, the Hawaiin Islands also bring in the Humpback Whales, and boy are they bringing in a show!  Their seems to be more whales then previous years already and they are all about ”showning their stuff”.  The other day on the Maui Magic, we had 2 juvenile whales breaching like crazy.   It was as if they were doing their morning excersises and wanted us to join in!  After about 10 minutes we finally just had to leave to make sure we got our passengers some snorkeling time.   While snorkeling in Molokini, or any snorkel spot for that matter, if you dive down even a few feet you can hear the whales singing and making their noises.    The passengers that go for the SNUBA option really get a treat as they are serenaded throughout their entire dive!   The new year has also graced us with some amazing weather.  Sunny skies and 80 degree temps spoil us everyday….sorry you poor midwesterners!  Get out of the snow drifts and get out here to Maui!

We have snorkeled on the Four Winds II 3 times.  The staff is always friendly to the kids.  We highly recommend the trip it is always a highlight of our vacation each time we visit Maui.  The snorkeling is exceptional and the whale and turtle watching is a great bonus.

Jason Thomas from Edmonton, Canada

Our wonderful Hawaiian Humpback Whales have returned to Maalaea Bay, and all the folks enjoying our snorkel trips are now enjoying some whale watching as well.  Both of our excursions, the Maui Magic, and the Four Winds II, keep their trips pretty much the same throughout the whale season.  The difference is that we get to see the whales while en-route.  It may take us a tad bit longer to to our destinations, (Molokini, La Perouse, Turtle Town, Turtle Arches, etc.), but it’s well worth it to see the whales in action.  The whales visit us from Alaska during the winter months to give birth and mate.   In no time at all, we’ll have baby whales breaching and tail slapping to get their strength up for the big trip back up north!  For the real whale action you want to be here somewhere between mid-January to mid-March, but even now we are getting some pretty spectacular shows!  There is nothing quite like seeing a 45 ton animal leap out of the water…I love whale season!

The white tip reef shark is a small shark, usually not exceeding 5.2 ft in length.  This creature is easily recognizable by its slender body and short but broad head, oval eyes with vertical pupils, and white-tipped dorsal and tail fins . One of the most common sharks found on the Hawaiian reefs, the white tip shark can also be found as far west as South Africa and as far east as Central America. It is typically found on or near the bottom in clear water, at depths from 26–130 ft.

During the day, white tip reef sharks spend much of their time resting inside caves. Unlike other sharks that must constantly swim to breathe, this shark can pump water over its gills and lie still on the bottom. At night, white tip reef sharks emerge to hunt bony fish, crustaceans and octopus. Their elongated bodies allow them to force their way into crevices and holes to extract hidden prey. Individual white tip reef sharks may stay within a particular area of the reef for months to years.  White tip reef sharks are rarely aggressive towards humans, though they may investigate swimmers closely.

I love swimming with sharks!  That is the nice sharks that don’t like people for food, like the White TIp Reef Shark.  I was working on the Maui Magic the other day and it was my turn to jump in and tie up the boat at Molokini Crater.  With the visibility well over 100 ft, there are a lot of cool things to check out on the bottom.  Even in 80+ feet of water were our mooring sits.  So I tie up the bow line and grab on so that Captain Buzz can drag me back to the stern mooring, and sure enough, right below me was a beautiful White Tip Reef Shark.  It was following us back, probably curious as to what was going on 80 feet above him.  Jason tossed me the stern line and I turned to swim back to the pin and he was still there, just cruising with me.  After making sure we were secure I started to follow him around and sure enough there were a couple more hanging out under some big boulders.  They were absolutely AMAZING.  I truly never thought that I love snorkeling with sharks…well the harmless ones anyway!

While visiting Maui with my wife and son recently we had the joy of snorkeling with Four Winds II. I would like to compliment your entire crew on the excellent service provided. From booking our excursion to the Captain, crew and cook all did an excellent job. Thanks for doing a great job and enhancing our visit to your island.
Pete Brehm