Hymn of the Sea

Thanks to onboard auditory technology, whale watchers from Australia to Mexico can now eavesdrop on what's happening under the waves.

- Stephanie Vermillion

I SCANNED THE SURFACE of the ocean, waiting for a breach or a blow to pierce the water. It was an hour into my whale-watching trip off the coast of Moorea, an island in French Polynesia, and still no luck. "Maybe we're too late in the year," I mused to my husband. The region's whale season goes from roughly August to October; I knew November was a long shot. Our Moorea Activities Center guide, Jay Tevaireva, had one last trick up his sleeve: a hydrophone.