Beam Reach

One last week at sea to go…

As October weather sets in (and really, who doesn’t just LOVE October) we are all preparing for our final week at sea. Last week was a mixed bag of ups and downs. We had three days with J Pod off the west side of San Juan Island in Haro Strait, two days of which were so balmy if I didn’t know any better I would have guessed it was July…in fact, it was SO warm we were wearing shorts and a few even jumped in for a swim! It was great to be able to collect quality data for each member of the group so at least everyone has something to work with coming into the final weeks of collection and analysis. I’ve been working to understand the distinction of whistles and have had the help of a few experts in the field-bottom line-its challenging for even the best in the field. Go figure I’d get myself into something like that 🙂 To get a better sense of the groups we’re watching I’ve also tried my hand at photo identification-it’s extremely rewarding to see a fin and saddle patch out on the water and recognize it from the computer the day before. Other highlights from the week include motoring at night into a small harbor on the south end of Lopez Island, each of us standing lookout for logs and kelp and bouys and whatnot. Also, a few of us enjoyed taking a hike out to Turn Point on Stuart Island and checking out the lighthouse, the magnificent view from Lover’s Leap (and a Minke sighting!), plus thorough enjoyment of the fall foliage, a little pickup basketball, cute kittens and lots and lots of laughs. While there were many highlights, the boat continues to be a downside to many of our days. The electic motor is excellent for acoustic recordings but it runs for only about an hour on battery power therefore it isn’t safe for us to use it for long before we need to conserve for docking and other such activities. Further, the generator had problems on three of the seven days, first it would only start with extreme difficulty, then it wouldn’t start at all, and finally the starter cord broke so there wasn’t even a chance to start it at all. Luckily on Sunday we had nasty weather which means wind and we were able to sail most of the way from Jones Island back to Friday Harbor-at one point we even had the boat flying at a whopping 9 knots, three or four times faster than any other day that week. The only trouble was that once we tried to bring the boat back to the dock the batteries died and we had no propulsion and the wind was blowing us onto the rocks. Thankfully, our team was able to quickly extend docklines and haul the boat into the dock, fighting wind and lack of maneuverability the whole way. Now that we have all showered and checked in with the “real world” we’re getting ready to head out for one last hoorah…our fingers are crossed for killer whales, sunny skies, wind, and a flawless boat…but really, that’s quite a lot to ask so we’ll be keeping our hopes up for even just one. Plus…next week is Peggy’s birthday, Leslie’s birthday and my birthday…how much more fun could we ask for!?!

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The final stretch…

So, my time here with Beam Reach is almost over.
I’ve begun analyzing data, and I’m not gonna lie – I’m excited.
The boat… has been the boat, and it’s definately not an ideal research platform, but we’ve been able to have several good enocunters with the whales regardless.

Dalls porpoises are in love with our boat… they’ve come to bowride several times and once even tried to coerce us into regaining propulsion and so they could bowride. Sadly, it didn’t work, but they gave it a good 15 minute try! We’ve seen a Stellar sea lion (endangered) and eagles, and all sorts of other nifty wildlife.

We got to go ashore for a bit on Stuart island – and it was very nice. A cute little island with some good hiking and curious deer, and a fascinating little schoolhouse.

I’m totally distracted, so I’m gonna keep this short, but overall I’m still enjoying myself, getting along with people, and loving the research element of it – despite the myriad of technical difficulties. I’m excited about that, it means I’m in the right place. My new computer is supposed to be arriving today and hopefully that’ll make data analyzation fastier and easier – well, maybe not easier, but more efficient. I’m looking forward to editing my paper and starting to put together my powerpoint presentation.

My last and final thought is I’m going stir crazy for 5 simple reasons: I miss my cat, I miss my friends, I miss being a carnivore, I miss spinning, and good god do I miss my high heels.

– but still having a totally great time!! just getting antsy.

Ok, that’s all for now. Lata Alligatas!

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I'm still Alive

Well, what can I say besides we are still alive. The great October sunshine has officially disappeared and the rain has come. Thankfully I like the rain in moderations. This week was harder than most because we had a relief captain and the boat broke AGAIN! We have been using the dinghy as the only source of powering the boat and get really wierd looks from people when entering a marina. Ya, I would probably stare too if I wasn’t on the boat. We had no power when docking at the labs today and the boat almost got away by doing a 360 in the docking area. Luckily it took six people to pull the boat into the dock while the wind was trying it’s hardest to push it away. We once again walked the boat into the dock at the labs. At least I got data this week and am excited to have it finished and analyzed quick. I am losing some data points because of some electric noise screwing up the recordings. I realize that’s just how science works. I am counting the days to be able to see my family when they come up. I hope to get more opportunities to acquire more data for my project in this next week. I do hope to have my project complete soon. Did I mention we also had some great porpoise bow riders last week, it was a highlight of mine!

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