Dayna Garland will never forget the song.
On a beautiful day in March 2017, she was about three miles off Lahaina with marine biologists Meagan Jones and Jim Darling, who were collecting whale songs for analysis. In 2001, along with renowned underwater photographer Flip Nicklin, the two scientists had founded Whale Trust, a Maui-based nonprofit organization dedicated to studying and raising public awareness about humpback whales and their environment.
That March morning, Whale Trust’s research vessel had stopped, engines off, as they waited for a male humpback they had seen and recorded earlier to surface.
“He had moved directly under the boat,” said Garland, Whale Trust’s director of operations and events. “When he started singing again, the sound vibrated through the hull so loudly and clearly, I didn’t need the hydrophone. It was a profound moment for me to move from listening to literally feeling whale song, and it deepened my lifelong curiosity to know more.”
Garland grew up in Denver, a mile above sea level. Her fascination with whales was sparked at the age of 7, when her parents gifted her with a cassette tape, “Songs of the Humpback Whale.” She remembers listening to those haunting vocalizations over and over again.
“Long before I saw humpbacks in person, their songs drew me in,” Garland said. “What’s interesting is that although both male and female humpbacks communicate with sounds, only males sing. Their song changes annually, and all the males in a certain population sing virtually the same song in a given year.”
In 2016, Garland joined Whale Trust to produce Whale Tales, which had been launched a decade earlier as an educational event and a means to raise funds to support whale research in Hawaii. To date, in addition to Whale Trust, the Whale Tales Beneficiary Program has raised more than $725,000 to support organizations such as the Oceanwide Science Institute, Hawaii Marine Mammal Consortium, Sitka Sound Science Center and National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Through 2009, Whale Trust partnered with Kapalua Land Company to put on Whale Tales. Today, Whale Trust presents the event in collaboration with many local nonprofits and esteemed scientists, photographers, filmmakers and conservationists from around the world. Except for three years, it has been held at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua.
This year’s 14th annual celebration will again feature hands-on educational opportunities, underwater videos and photography, talks by eminent researchers, and whale watches with guest speakers mingling with visitors on board. The Family Day Whale Watch on the Presidents’ Day holiday, Feb. 17, will feature several kid-friendly education stations. All of the proceeds from the whale watches support Whale Tales beneficiaries thanks to the boat companies who absorb operating costs.
Among the 14 presenters at Whale Tales this year will be Jean-Michel Cousteau, the celebrated oceanographic explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer. His nonprofit Ocean Futures Society developed his Ambassadors of the Environment program “to connect people of all ages with nature and inspire them to protect it,” according to its website. It’s available at only four Ritz-Carlton resorts, including the Kapalua property.
“The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua is sponsoring Mr. Cousteau as a special guest at Whale Tales in collaboration with their Ambassadors of the Environment program,” Garland said. “We’re excited that he will be joining us. Details about his presentation are still being finalized, but it promises to be an inspiring snapshot of his 40-plus years of work in ocean conservation.”
Another Whale Tales highlight is the Art & Education Expo, which features Maui artists, photographers and ocean-related and environmentally conscious businesses. This year, those companies include Wahi Hawaii, which makes straws and cutlery from sustainably harvested bamboo, and Kokua Sun Care, whose reef-safe sunscreen includes seven Hawaii-grown ingredients that are rich in antioxidants: honey, spirulina, noni juice, plumeria extract, coffee fruit extract and macadamia and kukui nut oils.
The adjacent Marine Science Center offers a variety of hands-on educational experiences, including the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s 48-foot inflatable “walk-in whale” and Trilogy’s Excursions’ Blue‘Aina project, which organizes snorkeling and free-dive trips to clean trash and debris from the reefs off Maui.
“Life on Earth depends on the health of the ocean,” Garland said. “When the humpbacks return to Hawaii each winter, they ignite people’s curiosity to know more, not only about whales but the complex ecosystem beneath the waves. Through Whale Tales, we hope to increase understanding and inspire a desire to preserve that critical part of our world.”
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IF YOU GO: WHALE TALES
>> Where: The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, 1 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Kapalua Resort, Maui
>> When: Feb. 14-17, times and venues vary
>> Cost: Free, but a tax-deductible donation of $20 per person per day ($55 per person for a three-day pass) is encouraged. See the website for a complete schedule of events and activities. Registration is required for the presentations; online preregistration is recommended at whaletales.org/register.
>> Info: 808-572-5700, email whaletales@whaletrust.org or go to whaletales.org.
>> Notes: The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, is offering a package for Whale Tales attendees that includes accommodations, whale watch for two, Ambassadors of the Environment eco-adventure for two and admission to Whale Tales events. It’s valid Feb. 12-18; prices start at $1,804 per night with a two-night minimum stay.
>> Parking: Day parking for the event is complimentary; valet overnight parking is $30. Go to ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/kapalua-maui and click Offers.
DID YOU KNOW?
>> More than half of the North Pacific humpback population migrates to the breeding grounds of Hawaii annually, most from the feeding grounds of Alaska.
>> Humpbacks eat krill, herring and capelin in the feeding grounds. While they’re in Hawaii, they usually are fasting.
>> The shortest documented time for a humpback to complete the 2,500- to 3,000-mile migration from Alaska to Hawaii is 36 days.
>> The North Pacific population of humpbacks is estimated to have grown from fewer than 1,000 in 1966 to more than 20,000 in 2011, resulting in most populations in the North Pacific being removed from the endangered species list in 2016.
>> Humpback whale gestation is about 11 months, and calves (baby humpbacks) stay with their mothers for about one year.
>> Humpback whales have spindle neurons, specialized cells that help process emotion and social interactions. These neurons are also found in humans.
Information provided by Whale Trust
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.
