Magic Carpet Ride at the East of the Bight! (Written on Mar 06, 2013)
A tangerine sunrise over South Australia heralds another beautiful day on the briny.
Photo credit M.Jenner
When I come on at midnight we are 37.4 nm south of Pearson Islands of the Investigator Group which is at the southern end of Anxious Bay on Eyre Peninsula. From the chart we can sense a common theme from the history of the area.
I am awake quickly as I have a lot of things to look at. On the RADAR, the islands to the north are easily recognisable and a couple of vessels travel to the south-east. In the sky, a trillion diamonds are scattered across black velvet and on the three acoustic screens blobs and things resembling teeth go “clock clock” and others “croak”. This is the year of “things that go clunk in the night”! What makes all these funny sounds? We are building a library and it is so fascinating piecing the noise-makers with the noise-makers identity.
At 0050 I hear the first “whistle” which I think will hopefully be the beginning of a session of dolphin chatting. Only one sound is made and fourteen minutes later another two sounds are heard. Orca or killer whales heard on the trip across were similar in sound type, this and together with the infrequency and subtleness of the call, seems to fit killer whale behaviour. Possibly one or two animals are on a reconnaissance run and are being discreet as they scout the area. Other animals make “buurrrr” sounds, I love having the wheelhouse bustling with things that go bing in the night!
Scattered bait-balls break the surface of the calm sea, evidence of activity below.
Photo credit M.Jenner
We continue along the 100m contour line and while listening to the sonobuoy, I also strain my ears for the tell-tales sounds of dolphins riding with us. Both doors of the wheelhouse are open and there is a lovely light breeze which is really only our own movement. I have a beautiful sleep after my watch and at 0730 am the sunrise is a gorgeous tangerine glow with a nice “scarf” of golden clouds near the rising sun. In the wheelhouse we have a flurry of watch and clock changing. As we proceed westward, we need to adjust our shipboard time to be in sync with the longitude and also the daylight hours for survey. As such 0730 becomes 0600 and this way we only need to change one more hour to be on WA time for arrival in about a week. It’s fun, we time travel all the time!
With this encounter of a Cuviers’ beaked whale we are able to collect both visual and acoustic information.
Photo credit M.Jenner
As Sacha returns to the fly-bridge she spots a dark body surfacing at our 8 o’clock position and half a mile away. We slow, turn and deploy two sonobuoys, an Omni and a Barra, for acoustic analysis and bearing determination, respectively. After following the surfacings for one and a half hours, with 3-5 minute down-times, twenty-two photos of the dorsal fin are collected and upon viewing these and discussing the surfacing style, size and behaviour – Curt and I concur that we have been working with a Cuviers’ beaked whale! It’s a smallish animal, 6 metres long with a slightly lumpy profile and quick surface movement. As we move along slowly with the animal, it is great to hear its’ blow and see the small, dark body at the surface. The exhalation is stronger than the inhalation and no blow vapour can be seen. I fire away photos from the foremast and at 1055 we decide to leave our first cetacean sighting of the day. I love hearing the blow with the visual sighting but importantly we have the visual and acoustic recordings together.
Lunch is served, being summer-style cheese and ham, salad, baguette and reheated Green chicken curry/rice. We are hungry, simply because 12 noon became 1030, so we effectively waited another hour and a half to eat… I am glad to eat when hungry.
Throughout the day albatross, this one a Shy, land on the calm sea beside our vessel.
Photo credit M.Jenner
The afternoon sea is flat with barely any swell at all. The wind is less than 5 knots which brings only a tiny ripple across the surface. The water is mid-blue, the sky as well, a gorgeous summer blue. With such a sunny day I am wearing a cream/turquoise canvas wide-brimmed hat with my sun-protection shirt and pants. Everyone comments that my hat makes them feel summery and beachy! I am very happy to oblige! Sadly, I am short on sand to throw at them!
The 100 m contour takes us on an arch around the Great Australian Bight. Far way cream cumulus gathers at the horizon like a lace edge on our extended blue skirt. Today we have seen many fish in boiling bait balls where flesh-footed shearwaters have gathered with argghhh, argghhh, argghhh fighting sounds. With two long fishing lines out, we are still hopeful for a fish dinner. We have many ideas on what will work. Resty always thinks Sam should be sacrificed… While Curt and Sam tow our U/W CCTV camera to watch a fish taking the lure, they see a strike! Pulling the line in and bringing the fish on board, I match our quarry with tuna in the fish id book and determine that we have a blue-fin tuna on the menu! Yahoo! Dale reckoned we had to buy a fish to get a fish… Well, we must thank Dale for the snapper yesterday. Shush, now don’t tell Inday he bought it, ok! We are thrilled, fresh fish has been our longing!
Just after lunch a phone call comes from Perth. Checking on the chart, Curt determines we are 90 nm from the nearest telephone tower at Ceduna. Atmospherics and technology continue to amaze me!
A Common dolphin leaping excitedly in the moody sunset light.
Photo credit M.Jenner
In the afternoon we have 4 pods of short-beaked common dolphins, perhaps 200 in one, 100 in the next, 30 in the next and 10 the last. They are all heading south-east, leaping and moving quickly and they keep on track – on a mission! We are sad they don’t get distracted with us, but if they are feeding, this is a good sign. The last pod was particularly active and one individual leapt well clear of the water by 4-5 metres thwacking the tail flukes down very hard making a huge splash and spectacular viewing!
The bird counts each hour for ten minutes have been continued today while along the 100m contour. We have had many white-faced storm petrels, flesh-footed shearwaters and 4 or 5 albatross each hour, noted on encounter. Mostly the Shy albatross we saw today would cruise by then stop to rest on the calm water. In light airs, albatross need to flap as well as glide. Easy to watch they show good rhythm, 3 flaps or sometimes 4, then glide then flap and glide, until they want a rest and with wings bent and feet out-stretched and down, they hit the water somewhat ungainly.
The sun has a real kick to it and heading west into the sun means tomorrow we will be dressed with sarongs and Arafat hats to keep us cool and burn-free. The sunset is another “pearler” and watching the last orange hues we enjoy delicious Filipino kinilau, butter-seared tuna, steamed rice, baked vinegar potatoes and lettuce salad. Yummmmm! Thanks to Sam for setting the lines, the Tuna, Dale for buying the snapper (remember hush!) and Resty for preparing it beautifully. It only took two months… we are patient!
What will tomorrow hold? For certain more sunshine and neat things to find!
From south of the Head of the Bight,
Mich
No comments yet.