Cetacean Jamboree! (Written on Jan 24, 2013) Reporting for my midnight watch I am very interested to hear that Maria has had a “Cetacean Jamboree” detecting all kinds of cetacean sounds including a mysterious call not unlike Sigourney Weavers’ “Aliens”, dolphins, blues, and a noisy container ship knocking everything out for a half an hour. […]
Author Archive | Micheline Jenner
Day 5 Voyage Report via satellite
Grey, Grey Wednesday! (Written Jan23, 2013) Lots of darkness all around, we are 38 00.7 S and 123 07.0 at 265.6 nm SE of Esperance. It’s 4730 m deep, way deep, all over your head basically! Thus far we have heard sperm whales, sighted a beaked whale (and recorded its calls), seen and heard common […]
Day 4 Voyage Report via satellite
Beaked Whales Trilling Good Morning! (Written Jan 22, 2013) Blackness shrouds Whale Song – the sky, again moonless and clouded over covers a matt black seascape. Looking down into our side-wash, tiny phosphorescent ostracods and other microscopic nekton and plankton twinkle. This light, apart from our own navigation lights, theirs is the only lightness around. […]
Day 3 Voyage Report via satellite
Ahoy Mr. Albert Ross! (Written Jan 21, 2013) The sky is again moon-less and inky-black, the scattered clouds through which the stars struggle to sparkle cast a foggy hue as I begin my 12-3am watch. Monitoring the sonobuoys, Maria and I detect “Man-made” tones emitted by two approaching vessels but otherwise all is quiet and […]
Day 2 Voyage Report – We are settling in!
Day 2 – We are settling in! (Written on Jan 20, 2013) Immediately after our “First-Night-Out-Pasta” (as named for Day 1), served with mounds of grated cheese and rustic baguette accompanied by a rising swell, all the crew collapsed into bed exhausted from their huge first day out. As we approach Cape […]
Day 1 Voyage Report – On the High Seas Again!
Day 1 – On the High Seas Again! (Written on Jan 19, 2013) After several days of lists upon lists and running to and fro re-supplying our good ship Whale Song with all things tasty and useful, I try to convince myself that if I have forgotten something and it isn’t on […]
Whale Songs’ Fremantle Departure (Saturday 19 January 2013)
What’s Happening? Just to let you know the activities surrounding our departure have gathered considerable momentum… The final preparations for our 4000 km jaunt reached fever pitch on Friday 18 January, while loading sono-buoys and bags of fresh fruit and veggies. Four or five crew at a time have loaded and staggered down the […]
Of sea – A poem by Micheline Jenner
Of Sea Oh the sea, you angry sea What is your mood? What is your game? This strong current – Agulhus current, so free Not ours to tame Taking us on a southern course To southern seas and iceberg clime Like riding a wild, bucking horse We […]
Seriously Sound Science!
“Fly-bridge – this is the wheelhouse, hey we have “carpenter-fish” – sperm whales, the bearing is to the south, see if you can see the blows, the signals are strong, the animals must be close!” From the flying bridge of Whale Song, the cetacean observation team are looking for marine mammals in the […]
Darwin Departure and Scott Reef
Darwin Departure and Scott Reef 2 emailed 09/10/12 Daffy wings away and we are back to The Usual Suspects Five, now getting ready for our transit trip home to Fremantle via Scott Reef. We have some unfinished business out there and must go back en route. On September 25th we up anchor at 1245 and […]