Out to Sea Part II
As of today we have now completed our third week of the sea component. We set out with new methods and ideas for projects ready to test them in practice. Also, Scott joined us for the week to get a sense of what we’d accomplish and to work out difficulties we’d been encountering. I’d have to say our duties this past week could be summarized effectivly in one word…â€SCIENCE†Each day we talk about goals for the day, task to accomplish and projects to work on, but it typically comes down to doing just plain old “SCIENCEâ€. Some days this entails our killer whale research projects, while other days we record water quality data from various locations in the San Juan Island to monitor specifications of the water that might affects eel grass growth. Sometimes we’re fiddling with equipment, trying to reduce water flow noise past the hydrophone or troubleshooting a number of computer programs designed to analyze acoustic data. But some of the best SCIENCE abord the Gato Verde comes spontaneously through frequent observations. One day we sailed in front of the Lime Kiln Lighthouse, sprawled across the trampoline on the bow marveling at the Dall’s porpoises surfing the wake off our bow. On another occasion we spotted sea lions rummaging through a mixing area picking out prey and occasionally keeping an eny on our boat as we drifted past. And finally some days, there is not much to observe minus “birds, boats, and lots and lots of water!†best communicated in a thick British accent.
That said, all of us Beam Reachers are having a fantastic time abord the Gato Verde, floating up and down the Westside, talking with experts and enthusiats in the field of killer whale research, doing our own “SCIENCE†and keeping ourselves sane with jokes, games, silly accents, great food and nightly entertainment…
um…who loves October!!
Stay tuned for updates from week seven of the Beam Reach Adventure…
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