why dont ishmael and starbuck see moby dick during the storm but all of the others do?

Starbuck’s boat, on which Ishmael is a rower, hits a large patch of mist and nobody can see anything. The wind is rising and there’s a storm coming on.

They can hear the other boats, but they can’t see them. Starbuck orders Queequeg to stand up. The boat is still rushing through the mist. The rowers can hear the whale surfacing and wallowing behind them, but can’t see it.

Starbuck gives the order and Queequeg throws his harpoon.

At the same moment, the squall hits the boat.

The whale escapes and the boat is thrown around by what feels like an earthquake.