Happy New Year and Happy Minke Whale! (Written on Jan 01, 2104)
It is too rough to determine the dry and wet bulb temperatures from the fly-bridge, so I do the weather but without the thermometer readings. In the end, the moto is always Safety First. As Simon counted down the midnight hour he continued a Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes with the 12 chimes. It was lucky there was a bowl with just the right number of grapes lurking in the galley for him to maintain this celebration!
The species of our first whale sighting of the WAVES Expedition is a mysticete mystery. We are sending photos to colleagues for verification.
Photo credit M. Jenner
A few minutes after midnight and into the New Year we were 98.56 nm south of Southeast Cape, halfway to the pink line on the chart indicating Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. We really are on the way! As always I resolve for my New Years’ resolution to listen better…
It was a black night, I mean black. Sometimes a tiny low light hue broke through the heavy cloud but for most of my 12-3am watch the only thing visible beyond our own deck was the bright white waves at the top of the surging 4-5 m swell. There is nobody out here but us chickens… I guess this is not a particularly popular route!
Twenty-two screens in the wheelhouse shine and brightly sell their wares. GPS plotters, RADARS, and LCD screens with integral information about our machinery flash their news. The “scaryometre” or fuel flow metre, indicating just how much fuel we are using, will become the most popular gauge to read at any moment of the day. “Nothing ventured, nothing won” has to be the motto and this is how it feels. With the chance to make a difference and contribute to new scientific knowledge, how could we resist the urge that has a bubbled within us for the last two decades?
Grey skies greeted me at the 0720 in the morning when I opened my eyes, but I wasn’t being thrown around, this was a good sign! After breakfast, everyone got into the groove with the observation watches and recording detail so while checking some emails, I heard the following exciting conversation crackling in the wheelhouse on the uhf radio. Excitedly, Resty spoke “We’ve got something big in the water! A big splash, it looks like a whale!” Tas had begun scanning the horizon from the fly-bridge looking for critters, and sure enough she found a whale! Three hundred metres from the bow in the grey water and in the grey flat lighting of the overcast day, the dark dorsal fin Tas had seen, reappeared at the surface.
Suddenly, everyone was on deck, but not before dressing as quickly as possible, for the now cooling conditions. Beanies, gloves, jackets, sunnies and boots were speedily donned, over the top of the base-layer top and fleece-lined pants also being worn. Ten, Eddie Bauer-outfitted crew took stations on each deck level. “Over there, at one o’clock!” Tas called and the cameras swung accordingly. Blows were called with each surfacing and the 20 minutes that we spent with the whale, we were entirely engaged in trying to identify the animal. A single whale, its’ grey body smooth, save for a few whale warts and healing wounds. The body coloration appeared non-patterned, but perhaps the flat lighting hid details of the lateral body patterns. With a tall, sickle-shaped dorsal fin we suggested the species as Sei or Antarctic minke whale. In the end, we decided we need to check the photos very carefully! We are here, we are in the mix and this was our first cetacean sighting and with krill everywhere too! Well done Tas! And the chocolate bar goes to… Tas!
As the afternoon progressed a few technical issues threatened to hamper activities, but with logic, phone-a-friend help and sheer determination, both issues were solved. The crew breathed a communal sigh of relief with the positive outcomes. Being faraway, tends to accentuate things. And thus, we have already experienced The A Factor!
Resty cooked beautiful chicken and vegetable soup for lunch, served with toasted French bread which warmed the cockles of our hearts. Warming up after my soup, on my watch in the wheelhouse, I had to shed as many layers as appropriate! We are so grateful for the warm clothing we have!
Noon Observations Jan 01, 2014
Looking down the blowholes of this baleen whale.
Photo credit M. Jenner
Lat/Long: 46 29.1 S 145 59.1 E
Dry Bulb Temp: 12.5 degrees C
Wet Bulb Temp: 12.5 degrees C
SST (Sea Surface Temp): 10.0 degrees C
COG (Course Over the Ground): 206 degrees
SOG (Speed Over the Ground): 8.2 knots
Beaufort SS (Sea State): 5
WS (Wind Speed): 20 knots
WD (Wind Direction): 025 degrees
Swell: 3-4m
Wildlife: Australian sea lion, Shy Albatross, Wandering albatross, Grey-headed albatross, Short-tailed shearwaters, Fairy prions, Wilson’s storm petrels, Black petrels and one either Sei or Antarctic minke whale (need to check the photos) and 50 Dusky dolphins!
WT: TS – 7
Antarctic Fact: The Antarctic landmass is roughly circular with a diameter of about 4500km and an area of 14.2 million sq km. If Antarctica were a country it would be the second largest after Russia.
Antarctic Slang: Antarctic 10= a man or more often a woman described as being beautiful in Antarctica , but “just a plane ride from away from being ordinary”
A certain human-created barking from the wheelhouse should have been my cue as I tapped away at the keyboard. Someone had indeed found dolphins and Sam was barking to emulate Skipper! Small, animals swimming very quickly just underneath the surface and then surging out of the water with splashes covering the all important identifying features including dorsal fins, flummoxed us for a while. Being too rough to go on deck we had to photograph from inside, but as they were at the bow it was nigh on impossible to id them. Light rain also hampered our attempts at identification but I got a part body shot and with viewing in the binoculars and much discussion, we eventually decided these were a pod of 50 Dusky dolphins appearing at our bow in small groups of 6. Nimble, athletic and highly mobile, we saw flashes of white in the right places and from snatches of short clips confirmed their sighting, this being an unusual encounter, particularly due to the more northern nature of their known range.
With the barometer plummeting, we were racing southward to get out of the path of another front coming this way… this is the roaring forties and it is living up to its’ name! The smell of roast lamb bought in Vincentia drove us crazy all afternoon. Finally, in between bird counts at quarter after the hour for ten minutes each hour the call for dinner came. Everyone was happy to run to the table, as the aroma was insanely enticing! Roast potatoes and parsnips with rice and fresh lettuce salad were well-received and as we ate dinner the swell increased, making us clench our glasses and eating neatly became harder. I have decided hands are very useful! The dishwashing process was more interesting than usual but enjoyable music made the chore bearable. Tas’s rice crispy cake and cherries were served for dessert, as well as Rus’s “Tap-It-Unwrap-It” to celebrate our cetacean sightings!
Eight metre swell heralds twilight in the Southern Ocean. It’s all a bit rolly-polly, but all still good!
Mich
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