» Photo gallery: Whales dazzle and delight at Honolulu Harbor

» Photo gallery: Humpback whales at Honolulu Harbor

A pair of humpback whales — possibly a mother and her yearling — spent nearly eight hours Thursday frolicking in Honolulu Harbor to the delight of tourists who got within 10 feet of the endangered and federally protected mammals that winter in Hawaii waters.

The 45- to 50-foot-deep water of Honolulu Harbor — the center of Hawaii’s maritime industry — had not been visited by humpbacks since the mid-1990s, said Dan Meisenzahl, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, which has responsibility for Honolulu Harbor.

The whales had shadowed the 65-foot commercial fishing boat Ocean Pearl for days while the five-person crew fished for ahi 400 miles north of Oahu, said the Ocean Pearl’s captain, Willy Winn.

The whales then followed the Ocean Pearl to the mouth of Honolulu Harbor at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Winn said.

"A couple of humpback whales have been hanging around us for about a week," Winn said. "When we started coming back, they followed us all the way into the harbor."

The Ocean Pearl drifted for about 20 minutes at the harbor entrance Thursday morning, waiting to see what the whales would do.

When the boat tied up at Pier 38, the whales followed, Winn said.

"They’re on their annual migration down south, and I think they just happened to run into us and tagged along," Winn said.

There were reports that the humpback pair had been joined by two — and possibly four — other whales, which officials with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary could not confirm.

"The first report we got was there were three (humpbacks) and a calf," said Meisenzahl. "Two of them could have high-tailed it out of there immediately."

At Aloha Tower the two remaining whales ventured within 10 to 15 feet of humans on land, who took dozens of photos and videos.

Teresa Kiyonaga headed to Aloha Tower at about 9 a.m. after she heard from her boyfriend that whales were in Honolulu Harbor.

"I thought it was awesome, beautiful," said Kiyonaga, a certified nurse’s assistant at Alexander Manor, a retirement home in Makiki.

She called her brother, David, and they both had the rare opportunity to see two humpback whales 15 feet away as the mammals swam next to the Star of Honolulu.

"Our New Year’s present," Kiyonaga said.

But Chris Kojima, chief mate aboard the Young Bros. barge Manu o ke Kai, had an even closer view.

"I got within two inches of them," Kojima said. "I could practically touch them but I definitely didn’t. I’ve seen tons of crazy things out in the ocean, but nothing like this. It was surreal. It was pretty gnarly and pretty crazy."

The whales stayed on the bow of the 110-foot Manu o ke Kai for two hours as it sat tied up to a fuel dock beginning at about 7:20 a.m.

"It seemed like they were scratching their backs on our boat," Kojima said.

One whale had an open, bleeding wound on its back, Kojima said.

"You could see the blood," he said. "It wasn’t gushing blood, but it was definitely an open wound."

Two officers with the state Department of Land and Natural Resource’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement ensured a 100-yard protection zone around the whales in a 26-foot patrol boat.

There were never any plans on Thursday to try to force the whales out of the harbor, DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward said.

The DLNR enforcement officers were only making sure "the whales are not disturbed and people are kept a safe distance from the whales," Ward said while the humpbacks were still in the harbor. "Hopefully at some point they’ll get hungry and move out."

The whales later began circling the idling 135-foot Navatek I, which was trying to take 122 passengers out for a whale-watching trip, said David Witherwax, Navatek I captain.

"They came up to us, so I just clutched out our engines so our propellers wouldn’t be spinning," Witherwax said.

As the Navatek 1 headed out to open water, Witherwax said, "I was told the whales were getting behind us, but I was losing them because I was going too fast."

So Witherwax ordered the Navatek I’s speed to drop to 5 knots, or 6 mph, so he could try to lead the whales out of the harbor.

"Once we realized they were following us, we kept our speed not to lose them," Witherwax. "We left the harbor, got toward Buoys 1 and 2 and they swam off."

Ward said the whales left the harbor at 1:45 p.m.

Out of a humpback population of 12,000 that live in the waters between Alaska and Hawaii, an estimated 10,000 make the annual winter migration to Hawaii to mate and give birth, said Edward Lyman, marine mammal response manager for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

"We’re just coming into the January, February, March peak season for whale density here," Lyman said.

Hawaii’s humpback season runs from November through May, when humans are required to stay at least 100 yards away from humpbacks at all times, Ward said.

Humpback whales are protected by both state and federal laws.

Ward asked anyone who sees a marine mammal in trouble to call the NOAA Marine Mammal Hotline at 888-256-9840 or DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement statewide hot line at 643-DLNR (3567).

Star-Advertiser reporter Rosemarie Bernardo contributed to this report.

Hawaii News Now video: A whale of a show in Honolulu Harbor