We LOVE to catch fish, and so do the passengers! We caught a 30 pound ONO (Wahoo) on the Maui Magic on Thursday, just on the outside rim of Molokini Crater. She took out a ton of line, but the angler (one of our passengers) did a great job keeping up with her. He got on the reel from the moment she hooked up and kept on going all the way through. What a trooper!
It was a beautiful day snorkeling in Molokini and then we were off the Coral Gardens for our 2nd snorkel destination. For one of our little passengers, her ultimate goal for her Maui vacation was to swim with turtles. She found four while she was out and about at Coral Gardens, and couldn’t take the smile off of her face for the rest of the trip. I love that! It all adds up to another beautiful day on the Maui Magic!
The bottlenose dolphin is one of the most common of the dolphin species. They hang out in warm waters and are a very social animal. The can grow to be anywhere from 6-13 ft. and weigh 330 - 1400lbs. The distinguishing feature and how the dolphin get’s it’s name, is it’s long snout. The snout, however, is not actually the animals nose. Their nose is the blow hole on the top of it’s head! They use echolocation to hunt for their food. The clicking sounds they make can determine the location and shape of nearby items. They also communicate by squeaking and body language. So next time you see a bottlenose slap it’s tail or jump out of the water you know they are talking to each other! We saw the ones picutred above just last week on the Maui Magic!
The time for catching fish has finally returned, and the Ono’s are loving our lures! This past Friday morning got really exciting on the Four Winds II, right as we were about to pull into Molokini Crater! There’s nothing that get’s the heart racing quite like the sound of the clicker and someone saying, “FISH ON”! The crew immediately put one of the passengers on the pole to help reel it in, and sure enough it was at least a 15lb fish. After a few minutes of action and furry, we finally got everything settled and made ready to get in the water.. After all, we are a snorkel trip! It was a great morning in Molokini Crater with the visibility well over 100 ft.! Everyone had seemed to have all the snorkeling they wanted after about 2 hours, so we pulled out to show them the backside of the Crater. Wouldn’t you know it, not even half way around I looked over at the reel, and it was going crazy! Could it be two fish in one day? The crew member that set the line had accidentally forgotten to set the clicker so we didn’t even know it was on! We grabbed another passenger to take on the next Ono. It was a mission to bring it in because it was so far back, so I ended up hand lining it the last 50 yards. The second one was even bigger then the first, at least 20lbs! BEAUTIFUL!
Ono is an absolutely delicious white fish with a little bit of a sweet flavor, and a nice firm texture. Definitely order it next time you hear it as a special!
Captain Brennan and crew-
Thank you for the great experience! We had a fabulous time and your service was top notch. Looking forward to a return trip this fall. Thanks again!
Jeanne and Mike
Sea turtles are graceful saltwater reptiles, well adapted to life in their marine world. With streamlined bodies and flipper-like limbs, they are able to swim long distances in a relatively short time. When they are active, sea turtles must swim to the ocean surface to breathe every few minutes. When they are resting, they can remain underwater for as long as 2 1/2 hours without breathing. Green turtles often rest in caves or under ledges in deep water. Although sea turtles live most of their lives in the ocean, adult females must return to land in order to lay their eggs. Scientists believe that nesting female turtles return to the same beach on which they were born. Often, sea turtles must travel long distances from their feeding grounds to their nesting beaches. Just how sea turtles find their nesting beaches is unknown. Hawaii’s green turtles migrate up to 800 miles from their feeding areas near the coast of the main islands to nesting beaches in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The males accompany the females in this migration and mate with them offshore from the nesting beaches. After depositing about 100 eggs, the female covers the nest with sand and returns to the sea, leaving the eggs to incubate during the next two months. After hatching, the tiny, one-ounce turtles take several days to emerge from their nest. Once out of the nest, the hatchlings race to the water and swim constantly for the next 36 to 48 hours. While in the open ocean, young green turtles are carnivorous and feed on invertebrates such as jellyfish. The life span of sea turtles is unknown. Hawaiian green turtles seem to grow very slowly in the wild and may take 10 to 50 years (average 25 years) to reach sexual maturity. Male and female green turtles look alike until they are mature. Then, the male develops a long tail extending beyond the hind flippers. A female’s tail extends only a short distance beyond the end of her shell.
In Hawaii, the green turtle is a threatened species. Only 100 to 350 females nest each year, principally at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. To help restore Hawaii’s sea turtles to their former abundance, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the State of Hawaii’s Department of Land & Natural Resources have formed a Recovery Team. This team will identify research, management, and enforcement needs and will promote conservation through public education programs. All sea turtles in Hawaii are fully protected under state law and under the federal Endangered Species Act. These laws prohibit harassing, harming, killing, or keeping sea turtles in captivity without a permit allowing these activities for research or educational purposes. Divers should be aware that riding turtles is illegal and puts these animals under stress.
We are now at the “tail” end of whale season, and what a season it has been?!? The numbers increase every year, making 2009/2010 the best year yet. It’s was a tremendous season, like whale soup out in Maalaea Bay! We still get a glimpse of the late bloomers, but it’s more like right place right time to see them. We’ve been hit by a cold front over the past week, making it a little breezy out there. Not that it stops the newborn whales from getting their exercise for the trip North! They are collectively on their way back up to Alaska to their feeding waters. It’s always a bit sad to see them go, but I suppose we can give them a break. After all, how would you like not eating for over a month? Have no fear, just a few summer months and then they will be back in full force. They are absolutely magnificent creatures, and Maui is so lucky to have them as guests for over 5 months of the year!
Glass Bottom Viewing Room aboard Four Winds II
My family had such a great trip on the Four Winds II in Maui (March 3 morning trip). I just wanted to say thank you for the friendly, great, wonderful crew and the awesome Capt. John. The Captain went out of his way to show everyone the whales which was totally incredible despite the very windy and rough conditions.
Our two year old son and his grandparents, who did not go in the water, had lots of fun watching the fish and the people snorkeling from the glassbottom. Even though they don’t snorkel the experience was totally wonderful and they would go again.
Thanks!! or as you say in Hawaii “Mahalo”,
Serena Childs
I got a call in the office the other day, from a very nice woman who was completely exasperated. As soon as I answered the phone, “Maui Classic Charters, this is Katie”, she asked me, “there are so many activities to chose from, just tell me what to do Katie!”. I went through the options we have for our snorkel trips on the Four Winds II and the Maui Magic, but then finished by telling her that I thought her family would love the Maui Magic and that they should go out with me on the day I work, so I could take care of them! Relieved and anxious she signed up and mentioned that one of the other moms coming with the group was not so sure about snorkeling and would need a little encouragement. I told not to worry, I was her girl, she’ll be in there loving it in no time! The morning of the trip it was like we’d been friends for ever! The two little girls of the family, Caroline and Jessica, were two of the sweetest kids I’d ever met. They are cousins and best friends, and after the first 5 minutes of the trip, my little cheerleaders! Their laughs, cheers, and giggles were contagious as the saw whales breaching, dolphins swimming under the boat and turtles bouncing around the the surface of the water. At our snorkel destination, as promised, I had the hesitant Mom in the water at Molokini Crater after about 5 minutes. She had an absolute blast and was one of the first ones in the water at the 2nd snorkel destination, Turtle Arches. The girls were a very different story, they were fish from the get go. In first, screaming with excitement through their snorkels, and then sliding maniacs at the 2nd stop. They even had me going down the slide and doing jumps off the bow! (Have I mentioned that I love my job!) By the end of the day we were practically family with hugs goodbye and promises of the soon return….I truly hope so!
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