male whales chasing one female

six-lined soapfish

The water was much murkier today than it was yesterday, but we saw our first mom and calf underwater! Yesterday, we saw seven males that were chasing one female (not bad odds for her!) and we had a few good looks at them under the water. It was incredibly exciting! In order to woo the females, the males will ram their bodies into one another, make grunting noises, slap their pectoral fins on each other, and sometimes breach. It's all a bit chaotic, but very cool to watch.

We have had very wacky weather these last few days, which has made the seas rough to be out in. A "weather bomb" came in incredibly quickly and brought the winds up to 40-knots and huge rains in a matter of about half an hour. It lasted for an hour, but has stirred up the water making it murkier than usual and has caused the swells to be large. Luckily, I have my good friend Dramamine, to keep me in top form while on the boat.

I stumbled upon an octopus yesterday, which wedged itself as far back underneath a coral mound as it could go. It changed from this burnt umber/dark red color to a greenish white to attempt to blend into its background. It couldn't have been larger than an inch long. I've been getting a lot of grief about not bringing it back with me for dinner!

octopus eye

speckled butterflyfish

docking the boat during the 'weather bomb'