Diamond Dolphins! (Written on Mar 09, 2013)
Painting by M Jenner
Coming to from my sleep, I wonder “Have I done my watch yet?” A few minutes later ‘Knock, knock’ on the door, answers that question right away! In the wheelhouse Resty says that Sam has left me a note written at 1105pm, which when I put my glasses on (hmm!) I see reads as follows: “Dolphins on the bow saying goodnight through the porthole!!! Never mind I’ll come and tell you at 12!!!!”
Immediately thinking Resty and I should see if they are still alongside, I step onto the Portuguese bridge and sure enough hear the tell-tale sounds of “phuh-wuh”, dolphins surfacing nearby. I am blown away with the beautiful sight which unfolds beneath us. All of the white-wash beside Whale Song is totally phosphorescent in a hue of blue-whiteness and there are small scattered blobs of brighter ostracod bioluminescence, as seen the night before. Individual dolphins travelling through the water leave a “blue-white” path and as they move, their entire body shape is visible in the glow. Wow! Take this in and hold this – this is unique.
Quietly entering our cabin and grabbing my video camera I gently wake Curt saying “We have dolphins bow-riding in phosphorescence!” I am aware that we have only seen this once before in our 23 years at sea… he won’t mind being woken. The small camera struggles in the low light and I immediately give up and soak in the scene of the foaming frothing “heavy” sounding water as it swishes away from the hull. Then from our aft starboard quarter, three dolphins come surging in. Their tail-beats moving up and down leave long trails and their bodies are so clearly visible I can see one adult slightly ahead and a mother and a juvenile closer and a tad aft. The edges of their tail flukes are well out-lined and the hydrodynamic shape of their pectoral fins and fine beaks also clearly discernible in the black water. Unfortunately, during the few minutes before Curt and Skipper came on deck, the animals had moved away. Pretty soon Sam appears on the starboard side of the Portuguese bridge. Kindly, he is checking that I saw the dolphins, worried since he can’t see them now but had had ten animals (9 adults and a baby) on the bow for the most part of an hour. He could see them in the porthole first off and heard their whistles through the hull. On deck he could not believe what he was seeing. I am so glad Sam got to see this, this is an unreal scene. I had debated with waking the whole ship, but sadly they had already been with us a long time when I got to see them, so I would have disturbed and disappointed them as well… We all stay here together for a few minutes hoping they might come back, it’s a midnight party in the wheelhouse, Resty, Curt, Sam, Skipper and me – all looking over the side for dolphins! What a treat to be accompanied by florescent dolphins by night and gliding albatross by day. Am I in heaven?
I run downstairs to deploy an OMNI sonobuoy but no vocalisations are heard or seen with the gear. They have been very vocal for over an hour and in fact this is what Sam heard through the hull at the bow keeping him awake with their noisy whistles, but now they are gone and apparently quiet. Pollock Reef is 2.5 nm to our north – all safe we make our way at 262 degrees to the south of Esperance. Today we’ll pass Esperance Canyon and Stokes Canyon, there are several in this area heading westward from Stokes including Bremer Canyon, Albany Canyon, Wilson Canyon and Leeuwin Canyon. We are just leaving the Bight and passing south of the eastern part of the Recherche Archipelago.
The same image of dolphins in bioluminescence is embedded in my memory from long ago while sailing on the catamaran WhaleSong when our girls were little. Seated on the aft-deck we watched in awe animals similarly dancing in the phosphorescence. Full body-shaped patterns and trails of blue-white streamed beside our yacht through the darkness. Time ticked by and when taking Micah and Tas to bed, they were happy to think about the swirling, swimming glowing dolphins just beside them as they lay in their bunks. What a wonderful way to fall asleep!
The water yesterday appeared “heavy” or slow-moving as the waves folded at the surface. It was distinctly becoming greener rather than the bright blue thus far, a sign of high productivity. Every now and then, really bright small ostracods light the glowing “blue-white” white-wash. The water looks soapy… the natural world never ceases to inspire and thrill… Recalling the scene is easy, it is pure delight! The sea soothes and I feel privileged to feel it everyday…
Rain approaching over Termination Island, Western Australia.
Photo credit M.Jenner
At 0830 am we are 43 nm SSE of Esperance – it’s grey and even sprinkles of rain dampen our first morning observation crew. We continue westward at 273 degrees with 15-18 kts ESE, the sea is grey reflecting the grey sky…
At noon we are 27.9 nm NE of Stokes Canyon at 34 30.8S and 121 28.3E. Plop!, goes the sonobuoy in the water, on channel 60 for the mid-day deployment. We dine on bowls of hot chicken soup with cheese toasties with paprika and Italian herbs followed by warmed, chocolate hot cross buns… The sun bursts through the patchy cumulus and with the wind behind us 20-22 kts doesn’t feel so bad. We are still on the 100m contour line travelling along just inside the shelf edge and in the next 110nm we will pass a whole bunch of canyons. We are in potential killer whale country. Please let us see you…
Curvaceous dolphin leap – the circle of life!
Photo credit M.Jenner
During my afternoon watch (12 mid-day to 3pm), the light is weird and there are pretend “dorsal fins” and “blows” in every direction. I have whole cities of whales everywhere. The grey light is playing tricks with our expectant eyes. At least we are heading towards a blue sky. The sun is warm and welcome and the blue sky a tonic. The clouds seen in the last two months while being away have been spectacular. I have always loved clouds but didn’t realise just how much I love them!
The day continues without any further cetacean sightings, baring the near midnight 1105-1212 dolphin sightings. The bluer water and warmer water we determine is the reason. If the bath is too warm, find the cooler spot. It is clearly too warm here. This is the old, “no data is data”, part of science which I love! Sightings are valid and no sightings are also valid.
Sunset “God light” to end the day.
Photo credit M.Jenner
We have “God light” again at sunset as bands of cloud swathe the space just above the horizon, then patches allow sneaky beams of sunshine through, at the last moment – unreal! We begin to think of the things we want to do when we get back to Freo. I want to see Micah and Tas, but actually want to be still at sea. I LOVE my at sea life. No car-parks, no extra fuss… We watch the weather regarding an approaching frontal system and at dawn will decide whether to pull into Albany or press on for Fremantle.
From a comfortable warm Leeuwin sea,
Mich
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