Impossibly Blue Water Again (Nov 20, 2015) The landed flying fish tally this morning was the princely sum of 20. Sam had asked me how many I thought he had found, but I couldn’t has a guess. “We could go commercial!” commented Curt. The swell had reduced, it is only 3-3.5 m now and with […]
Squeaks On The Ridge (Nov 19, 2015) “Mich, we’ve got a whale!” This is my favourite wake-up call when at sea! I struggled to get dressed quickly in the wobbly conditions. It was still blowing 22-28 knots with 4-6 m swell running, so I try to get on deck with my camera as fast and […]
Ocean Waves (Nov 18, 2015) Much theory exists in weather books, mariners manuals and sea-going texts on the characteristics if large ocean waves. Three most important variables regarding wave relationships are the wind on the sea surface, the fetch (the stretch of water over which the wind blows) and the duration, the length of time […]
Ninety East Ridge (Nov 17, 2015) Squid dominate deep water and are sought by many deep-water dwelling cetacean species such as Risso’s dolphins and Cuvier’s beaked whales. Evidence of squid in this area, are a few blotches of black “processed” squid ink on our foredeck, the calling card from at least one mast-inhabiting bird, during […]
Deep Sea News (Nov 16, 2015) With the towed array deployed 24 hours a day, we have been constantly listening to the sounds of the sea. This is our Deep Sea News. We can hear our propeller and a little cavitation every now and then and anything else we hear or see on the screen, […]
Eastern Indian Ocean Blue Whale Survey 2015 Commences (Nov 15, 2015) With another before 5am start, it was the early pink light that had me up and going to make final preparations for departure by consolidating items in the fridge and the pantry. We have done well with our victuals thus far, with only one re-supply […]
Last Day to Play in The Lagoon (Nov 14, 2015) With our interesting work here completed yesterday, Whale Song’s crew enjoyed a restful day in the lagoon. Clear water, warm seas, gorgeous coral, abundant fish, shady coconut palms and perfect beaches = Cocos. As well, final preparations were made on board Whale Song for the […]
Rendered (Almost) Speechless! (Nov 11, 2015) Let’s see – Cocos is beautiful! The sky is antique pink in the morning, the lagoon is turquoise, the water is deliciously warm, the visibility is unreal, the coral is gorgeous, the reef fish are plentiful, the colours of the reef zing, the species of coral is diverse, the […]
Lagoon Bliss (Nov 10, 2015) It was early, very early. The tropical sunlight had my eyes popping open at 0523… well it was daylight in the lagoon. A pale, pink sky rested around the puffy cumulus. I am certain this is a different sort of pink – like these are different sort of blues. I […]
Land Ho! (November 09, 2015) As we first saw lumps and bumps of land on the horizon at 0623 am this morning, we were 8.5 nm away. With the highest land only 10 m in height, the coconut palms were predominantly the highest profile items on the islands. I thought about the appearance of these […]
