A Whale of a Tale

Written: 2014/01/05

Com'on, you had to expect at least one post to be titled that, didn't you?

I feel it's fitting for today's post because today was my first day out on a "Research On Board" trip.  These kinds of trips are when the research intern (that's me), tags along on a whale watch cruise.  These are obviously hosted by PWF and are open to the public.  For the most part, we hang out in the helm with the Captain, which is nice because we can generally avoid the public (years in retail will teach anyone to avoid the public when possible).

It was different than I expected.  I guess I didn't quite realize how much work and data needs to actually be collected because it's A LOT.  It might just seem that way to me now because today was my first time, but it was almost overwhelming.  We continuously need to do scans of the water (360º) every 15 minutes for the entire 2+ hour cruise, recording numerous pieces of data via several pieces of equipment.  On top of that, if we have an encounter with a whale (which is specifically defined) then we have to take even more data while maintaining our 15 minute interval scans.  Today, Jack and I were getting trained by Shannon but normally it's just one intern on the cruise. (Side bar: If you feel so inclined, here is the link to the scientific research that has been done/what I am currently doing).

 Besides the heart pounding I experienced while trying to obtain all the necessary data, we saw some amazing whales!  There were several that hung out around the boat for a while!  It was beautiful to see them up close again.  It's been a while.  The weather was great and the water was beautiful blue.

After the cruise, we then immediately return to the office and download all the data into spreadsheets.  Spreadsheets galore! I'll be an Excel expert by May.  Usually, we'll do two trips a day, but today was an odd day and we only had one, but it was a good one.

Another thing we briefly worked on was for an event in February.  February is one of the busiest months here for whale season.  February 14th is World Whale Day!  As you can imagine, it's a HUGE event.  There is also a Run/Walk for the Whales going on February 1st.  I am excited about this because we'll be talking/teaching the public about plastic pollution.  YAY!  I can't wait to spread the knowledge.  I am actually VERY excited to be able to talk to people and open their minds to what an incredible issue it really is.  We'll be brainstorming ideas about that tomorrow. Eek! :-D

After work, a few friends and I went to the beach for a quick dip and watched the sunset.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of that.  It was a nice way to unwind.  That was followed by some turkey burgers and pasta salad at the hostel.  Not a bad day at all.

Alas, once again, I am exhausted.



DISCLAIMER: My views are personal and do not represent the views of Pacific Whale Foundation or any person or entity affiliated with Pacific Whale Foundation.