Sipadan Turtle Cave: The Video

The story I wrote last month about The Cave Where Turtles Die, at Pulau Sipadan, has turned out to be the most popular story ever published on The Right Blue. I guess it just captured people's imagination.

Now a reader has alerted us to a video of the Sipadan Turtle Cave, produced and posted to YouTube by Dutch diver Paul Vermeulen. It looks to us as though the diver only visited the first chamber of the cave -- or at least that is all he filmed. Watch for shots of the entrance to the cave, shot from inside. Spooky!



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.)

A theme song for The Right Blue

Our blogger friend LavenderBay came up with cool idea the other day, which she wrote about on her blog, Voice of the Turtle. She said:

I was reflecting this morning that I already hear a particular pop song in my head for two of your real-life blogs. So I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to play around on YouTube and discover other theme songs?

I had three criteria: I really like the song; it has to come from the country where the blogger lives; and it can be located on YouTube.

In her article, A Musical Interlude, she then listed a dozen blogs from her blogroll, chose a song that she associates with each blog's content, and posted links to the YouTube video for each of those. We think this is a clever and appealing concept. Go and have a look, and you'll see what we mean.

For The Right Blue, she chose John Denver's song "Calypso," about Jacques Cousteau's ship and undersea adventures. We are truly touched and honored by her choice, and we thank her. Here's the music video:



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.)

Tales of Whales: Humpbacks in Hawaii

One of the most wonderful -- and wondrous -- things about diving here in Hawaii, is the fact that some 10,000 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) spend the winter months in our waters. During the winter months, we get to see them frequently on the surface, and once in awhile, underwater as well.

Our blogger friend Sheila put up a humpback whale video on her site yesterday, and it reminded us to share some whale tales with our readers. For openers, here's the video:



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.)

The humpbacks that come to Hawaii every winter are a part of the North Pacific population that spend their summers in Alaskan waters. They pass the summer feeding, mostly, and then migrate south to warmer waters in winter. Some of these whales winter in the eastern Pacific, near Baja California, while the rest come here to Hawaii. It is here that they mate, and where the mama whales who successfully mated the year before give birth to their calves.

The whales begin arriving for the season in late Fall. We usually spot the first ones some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The arrival of the whales is a big deal to those of us who live near the coast or spend time in the water. Neighbors vie to be the first to spot the whales as they arrive, and to spread the word, "They're here! They're here!"

We see them offshore frequently, throughout the winter. We see them spout when they come to the surface to breathe. As mammals the whales are air breathers, and even though they can hold their breath for quite a long time, they must come up to the surface regularly for air.

The humpbacks play near the surface, too. They slap the surface of the ocean with their tail flukes, or with their big, flat pectoral fins. They breach and frolic with one another. Quite often we see the mama whales with their youngsters breaching almost simultaneously -- a real sight to behold!

These are huge creatures, weighing over 40 tons at adulthood. Despite their mass, they are very agile in the water. In the video you'll see one whale manage to leap almost completely out of the water. We call that maneuver a "full pickle" -- a term based on an apt description we once heard: that the humpback whale sort of resembles a huge dill pickle, with ceiling fan blades for pectoral fins. I can't recall exactly where we heard that, but the image stuck, and we began referring to a full breach as a "full pickle."

Here's a link to a live web cam at Puako, where we dive most often, so you can see what we see from the shore. If you're lucky, you just may see some whales. (You can also see what our weather and ocean surface conditions are like, in real time!)

In the next post we'll tell you about some encounters we've had with humpback whales. Meanwhile, you can find out more about these incredible creatures at these recommended websites:

• Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary - NOAA
• Getting to Know the Humpback Whale - The Dolphin Institute

Next: Encountering humpback whales underwater.

Underwater boogie

If you think that all divers do underwater is swim around and watch pretty fishies, think again. Check out this video of divers Doug Silton and Dax Hock demonstrating their underwater dancing prowess. Not everyone can do the Shim Sham and the Lindy Hop 22 meters below the surface!



(If the video does not display or play properly above, click here to watch Doug and Dax on YouTube.)

The video of Doug and Dax was shot while they were on vacation last year at Ko Tao, Thailand. Thanks so much to DougSilton for posting this terrific video on YouTube for all of us to enjoy. How about a nice round of applause for Doug and Dax!

[Tip of the hat to Craig McClain for posting the video on his blog, Deep Sea News, which is where we first saw it.]