He dropped back down into a horizontal position and glided along the full length of the boat, insuring we all got a good look, He was so close we could hear the water gliding off his back with a whisssh. When he exhaled it was explosive; when he inhaled it sounded like whistling in a big hollow tube... wonderful sounds, hard to represent accurately with words but I can still hear them in my head.
In this picture his blowhole (right above the redhead) was clamped firmly shut; he had just inhaled. You can see the fleshy ridge that forms a V around his nostrils and works as a splash guard.
That summer, we called him "Barney" because he carried a "pet" barnacle, the white dot on his back, and we could identify him as soon as we saw it. (His fluke was the true identifier, since barnacles are likely to fall off when Humpbacks migrate to warmer waters).
