Mugged, Maui Style
Lahaina slowly recedes as we motor to the southwest, the slap of small, crossed-up swells against the hull of the 35-foot catamaran. Further offshore we see the blows of numerous humpback whales, like the geyser fields of Yellowstone.
We're eager to see a close-up view, but we pass by several Humpback pods in favor of a spot further from shore, where two 30-foot long juveniles are "mugging" another boat.
The entire Au'au Channel is a marine sanctuary, so there a strict rules about what you can and can't do around the whales. (Nope, you can't jump overboard and swim with the whales, nature boy.)
"Mugging' is when a pod hovers around a boat so close that it can't start its engines -- too much danger that the props will injure the whales.
So we edge up to the other boat and cut our engines as two huge, powerful shapes pass directly beneath us, clearly visible in the crystalline water.
With the whales now distracted, the other, smaller launch starts up its engines and moves away, the people on board waving and cheering.
For the next 90 minutes, the two humpbacks swim around our boat, surfacing close by, poking their heads up and blowing spray on us, and generally showing as much interest in us as we're showing in them.
Finally, when it looks like we'll never get back to shore, another boat pulls alongside and distracts the whales and we're able to slip away, thrilled and satiated.
The perfect day is capped off when JP, Christy, and I run up to Kapalua Bay for a sunset snorkel. The remaining light slants golden and warm through the water -- it's like slow-motion swimming through a stained-glass cathedral. We head out to a deeper part of the reef and we're rewarded by spotting a huge sea turtle -- easily 200 pounds.
After a bit, we head back in. Our chests hit sand just as the sun dips beneath the island of Lana'i. We look at each other, silly grins on our faces. We all understand that we just experienced something we'll never forget.
Late lunch at the Pioneer Inn.
JP
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