I managed to talk myself back onto the boat today to
participate in another day of marine observation. Almost right away we saw a porpoise and then
what we thought was a grey whale but we learned later over radio chatter it was
actually a minke whale.
 |
| Common Minke whale also known as Lesser Rorgual. |
Seals abounded today
poking their heads up and checking us out.
The orcas were hiding though we tooled around listening to radio chatter
but it was pretty quiet. Again we
stopped at Jones Island for lunch.
 |
| Tiny Jones Island State Park. |
I decided to see if our lucky anemone
from yesterday had finished it’s lunch. Much to my shock it, along with it’s neighbor, were enjoying a different
fish today. Do we need to worry about
anemones now?
 | ||
| Hungry hungry anemones. |
 |
| Succulents on the beach. |
After lunch we tooled
around for quite a while but just couldn’t find any orcas. Nate was our capitan
today and he finally said we were going to look into Rosario Straight and if we
didn’t see anything we would head back.
 |
| Captain Nate |
 |
| Alannah, Christina and Annie keeping an eye out for whales. |
 |
| Forest and Kalia enjoying the view. |
The orcas must have heard that we were about to head home because there they were. Though they were not as close as yesterday
and didn’t feel as personal they did have a majestic mountain backdrop. It was saddening how many whale watching boats came running
though, at least a dozen from all directions.
Poor guys never asked to be celebrities and now get the paparazzi
treatment where ever they go. Happily
regulations keep getting stricter in regards to distance boats must keep and
maybe some people are being inspired to help conserve and protect these awe
inspiring creatures.
After they passed we headed back to the marina. Annie managed to spot a single lone male out
the window and we stopped and watched him for a while. Nate got on the radio with a whale watching
boat nearby who pulled a quick u-turn but also was able to tell us that this
was a local J-Pod whale not a transient.
Apparently J-Pod was pretty spread out today and maybe this gentleman
was heading back to the comfort of his family.
After we
returned I wandered about for a bit.
I am a product reviewer for Brenthaven and fate smiled on me as they have teamed up with Kona and created waterproof messenger bags and backpacks. Brenthaven is super fast and my shiny new waterproof messenger bag was
already here. It looks amazing and big enough for everything. I am excited to try it out
it has lots of pretty cool features like side flaps that have magnets for a better seal and a built in bike light.
I chatted
with Shad about his project with anemones and learned a lot more about them and
their symbiotic partners. He is investigation
how much light two types of the same genre want to be subjected to. He took a long outdoor tank and built a mesh
top that goes from full sun exposure to full dark in increments, the anemone
are in the tank and he photographed all of their starting point, 10 mm apart
staggered between browns and greens and will measure their movements in
response to the light manipulation. I should get some pictures.
We all
chilled out for a while and cancelled our beach fire hotdog and smores night
due to inclement weather. I met up with
my friend AJ for a few beers in town and some dinner. I am one sleepy monkey now and it
is time for bed. Happily our morning
meetings are over and I turned off my alarm clock for a day.
Tomorrow I
am dedicating to finishing my bags unless the weather is total crap and to
reading as much of he materials Dr. Dinnel provided as possible.
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