Posted on: Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Whalesong is featured in the lastest issue of the Maui magazine of January 2007:

Whalesong has been featured in the Maui News three times in Ron Youngblood's Maui Nei column. Mahalo Ron for your kind words and always wonderful Maui stories:

January 30, 2003

February 7, 2003

Monday March 18, 2002 - Honolulu Star Bulletin

Friday March 15, 2002 - Honolulu Advertiser

April 12, 2001

Maui Nei
by Ron Youngblood
Thursday, January 30, 2003

This is the high season for na kohola ó Mauiís most famous visitors during kau anu, or winter. The humpback whales have come from the cold north Pacific to enjoy the warmth of the waters around the Hawaiian Islands. The relatively shallow, clear waters between Maui, Kahoolawe, Molokai and Lanai make a good place for na kohola to mate and give birth to their young. Although their numbers have been increasing, the humpback whale is an endangered species. Approaching them is against the law, and having one or more come close enough to be seen is an unforgettable thrill. Still, na kohola seem to know there is little to fear from these tiny land animals in their noisy boats and often swim up to cover whale watchers with the stench of their explosions of breath. The whales also seem to have a sense of play, leaping into the air this way and that. There are stories about young whales swimming into very shallow water to investigate the bubbles coming from scuba divers or sliding along the back side of Molokini, perhaps to study, with their large intelligent-appearing eyes, those weird, two-legged, bubble-blowing ìfishî scuttling along the middle reaches of the island. But for every whale that is seen, scores are heard. If ke kohola is close enough, its song can be heard on the surface. Under the surface, whale songs can be heard for long distances, even though the ocean can be a noisy place with the whump of honu (turtles) breathing; shrimp cracking; naia (porpoises) chirping; and, near shore, stones rattling in the waves. The songs vary. There are high-pitched, haëi melody lines often over basso-profundo grunts, which some believe signal a successful liaison between a male humpback and a fair-fluked female. The hypnotic nature of the songs is enough to lure some divers into the water just to listen. On a night when mahina piha shed silver over the ocean and the water was a silken invitation, a solitary diver slipped a kayak into Makena Bay. Some distance offshore, where the water is 60 to 100 feet deep, the diver threw his gear into the water and then joined it. With 100 feet of line connecting the kayak to the diver, a slow descent toward papaku ended with the diver suspended some 70 feet under the surface. A single dive light cast a spear into the black, showing the kayak riding easily on the surface. The light was turned off. In the comfortable darkness, the diver breathed slowly, holding his breath now and then to still the burble of bubbles from his regulator. In those moments of quiet, he listened to na kohola concert of that night. At times, the singers seemed so close the bass notes could be felt as well as heard. When his tank of air was nearly gone, the diver floated to the surface. It would have been nice if one of the whales had put in an appearance, but the songs left the diver satisfied and feeling a little smug as he paddled his plastic boat back to shore. Thereís no need to buy a bunch of expensive dive gear or even get wet to enjoy the live songs of visiting na kohola. A small group of individuals dedicated to learning more about the humpback whale has made it possible for anyone with access to the Internet to listen to the warbling whistles, low moans and percussive grunts ó all in real time, as they happen. At this moment, in an office in Wailuku, the songs of the leviathan are as close as the earphones over my ears. Whalesong.net is a nonprofit organization that is in its third year of broadcasting live songs of humpback whales from the waters off Kihei. The Web site has information about the group of volunteers and a live audio link to a hydrophone suspended from a buoy.

The underwater microphone is hooked to a tiny radio transmitter. The signals are picked up onshore and hooked into the Internet. The best time to listen is at night, but improvements made in the equipment make even daytime listening enjoyable. Just ignore the sound of the water moving around the hydrophone. Itís almost as good as being there, and it is certainly a lot less hassle and considerably drier. Thanks, eh, Dan and Kent and all the others who make it possible to bring one of the great experiences of the ocean around Maui onto dry land via whalesong.net.

Maui Nei
by Ron Youngblood
Thursday, February 7, 2002

[Note: The information about the radio on this site and in this article is actually about our 2001 season's configuration. We will update the site soon with current information.] For the second year in a row, a group of avid volunteers known collectively as Whalesong has installed an underwater microphone attached to a radio transmitter. The signals are received onshore and then transferred to the Internet, where they can be listened to at the same time the whales are calling to each other. Dan Sythe and his band of volunteers reinstalled the hydrophone and transmitter link Jan. 26 with more than a little trepidation. Sightings earlier in the season indicated kohola, the humpback whale, were staying farther offshore this year than last, even though the bay offers the kind of shallow, sun-warmed waters expectant whale mothers like for calving. "We are very happy to have the hydrophone back in the water," notes the Whalesong log entry for Jan. 26. "Whales were singing and vocalizing in various ways when we put it in, and this has continued through the night. From the strength and clarity of the vocalizations, we believe some of these whales are in close proximity to the hydrophone. "We are hoping some researchers can tell us more about what we are hearing. We wonder if some of the high frequency sounds are dolphins. Some of the vocalizations sound like birds chirping. Some are very deep but melodious, low-frequency sounds." Whalesong archives the best transmissions, which can be called up on the Whalesong Web site, but it is the live sounds that produce chicken skin. It's as if the listener is in the water. Ask any diver or snorkeler who has heard the songs while in the water off Maui during whale season about the experience. Listening to the songs on the Internet, even in the daytime with a constant hum and the sound of water moving over the hydrophone, is very close to actually being in the water. It's almost as if the listener can feel the soft embrace of the ocean. The only things missing are the hazy underwater visuals and the sound of the diver's own breathing. The best time to listen, Whalesong learned during its inaugural season last winter, is in the middle of the night, particularly during a full moon. Last year's problem with commercial radio interference has been conquered, and there was some minor pilikia with the equipment that kept the whales off the air right after the system was set up. Beyond the joy of being able to listen to kohola at will, the amazing thing about Whalesong is that it works at all. The transmitter is kicking out only 250 milliwatts of power. That's a fraction of one watt. Compare that with most of Maui's radio stations, which generate thousands of watts of power. Dan (NV6W) and Rachel Sythe built the system with Bonnie Crystal (KQ6XA) doing most of the work on the transmitter, relying on her extensive experience as a expeditionary amateur radio operator. With the right equipment, listeners can hear the broadcast at 145.580 MHz FM in the 2-meter amateur radio band before it goes through the Internet. Occasionally, the transmitter is off the air for one reason or another. When that happens, there will be music playing. Be patient and bookmark www.whalesong.net and try it a bit later, or go to the Web site's whale sounds recorded last year and earlier this year. Whalesong is in the process of establishing three more monitoring locations in partnership with isle canoe clubs. It also plans to establish a listening station at a hotel, and expand an exhibit and monitoring station at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary on South Kihei Road next to Kalepolepo Park. "The Whalesong project including the radio system, hydrophone, audio fee system, Web site, Internet connection, floating platform and beacon operation was built and is operated entirely on a noncommercial, volunteer basis to further the spirit of education, science and experimentation," the Web site says. "We hope that this work will foster better understanding and relationships with life in the undersea and surface environment of Planet Earth." For temporarily dry divers, snorkelers, kayakers and whale tour participants, Whalesong's live broadcast is a way to enjoy the sea and Maui's biggest, most famous visitors even while pecking away at a keyboard in a newspaper office. Thanks, eh.

Maui Nei
by Ron Youngblood
Thursday, April 12, 2001

Maui's newest radio celebrities are humpback whales cruising around Maalaea Bay. The whales have been on the air via a tiny, experimental radio transmitter since March 27, but listeners with an Internet connection can tune in from anywhere on the globe. Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to listen to whales knows the thrill that comes from hearing the minor-key songs, grunts and other noises made by some of the biggest creatures in the sea. Scuba divers have been known to sit quietly on the bottom of the sea off Maui just to listen and hope the gentle giants would come calling. There are any number of places around Maui where recordings of whale songs can be purchased, but there is a particular thrill in listening to a song that is being sung at that very instant. Is it a bachelor whale looking for a mate, a calf calling to its mother, a guard whale telling a mother and calf every thing's OK, or a pod member telling the others about a stretch of warm water free of boats? Who knows? Perhaps the whale is singing for the sheer joy of singing. The lyrical melodies composed by the whales have inspired conservationalists, poets, musicians, and a tiny band of amateur radio enthusiasts, who saw a way to eavesdrop on the whales while staying high and dry onshore. That was the inspiration behind Whalesong. "We hope to provide useful and educational information on the acoustic aspects of the oceans and whale and dolphin behavior," says the Whalesong.net Web site. "We hope that the songs and sounds of the humpback whales will provide entertainment and inspiration to those who are interested." The "we" behind Whalesong are "radio wizard" Bonnie Crystal (KQ6XA), Dan Sythe and Rachel Sythe. Dan called the other day to tell me about Whalesong. That led to sitting with a morning cup of coffee in Haiku and listening to a whale singing to the accompaniment of gently lapping waves in Maalaea Bay. While a light rain fell on the cattle outside and Neville the cat curled in my lap, it was easy to picture the whale moving over the sandy floor of the bay, swimming through water made a little murky by the waves kicking up debris. A solitary, close-by whoof summoned up the image of a green sea turtle surfacing for a breath of air. The long-unused diving gear on the other side of the room sat like a rebuke, but being able to listen to the kohola, the sea and maybe a honu created the same sense of serene well-being experienced while visiting papaku, the bottom of the sea. Eh thanks, you guys. Getting real-time whale songs on the Internet involved anchoring a float about a half-mile offshore in Maalaea Bay. Hanging below the float, an underwater microphone picks up the songs, along with other ocean sounds. The sounds are sent to shore by way of a 250-milliwatt amateur radio transmitter (NV6W). Power for the transmitter comes from a solar panel. Onshore the signals are hooked into the Internet via the Whalesong Web site. The transmitter identifies itself with a quick blast of Morse code every 9.8 minutes. Getting to listen to the whales takes a bit of doing, but not much. After getting to Whalesong.net, a would-be listener needs to have the latest version of Real Radio. There's a link on the Whalesong Web site. And getting the latest version of the program is free. Be prepared to have your computer tied up for most of an hour as it downloads the 6.7 megabits required by the Real Radio program. The morning I listened in, the loudest sounds came from the waves. Then there was some interference from a commercial radio station. It was a little like listening to quiet music with a conversation going in the next room. Listening to the whales required a little concentration. It's worth the effort. There's another way a person can tap into the whale songs. A portable receiver that can be tuned to 145.580 MHz FM should be able to pick up the miniscule signal if the receiver is along the Maalaea Bay shoreline and has a clear line of sight to the float.

Sythe said the 24-hour-a-day, live whale songs will last for perhaps another week or two. "It's getting late in the season for the whales," he said, "and the float and its transmitter are anything but a permanent installation. After that, visitors to Whalesong.net will have to content themselves with the archival recordings in place of the live sounds of whales in Maalaea Bay.