November 27, 2005

10 more days to go! Can't believe I am only about halfway done with this trip. Still, there are a ton of animals I am still hoping to see, so that is good I guess.

Today is a good day. We are finally working again. We got into that storm system that was looming near by, so Friday and Saturday we could not work at all. Once it gets higher than a Beaufort 5, you cannot accurately find animals in the whitecaps. So . . . we just waited.

Yesterday we were rolling pretty bad, anything that was not lashed down crashed to the floor. We are about 200 miles offshore, and inshore was actually worse conditions, so we just decided to wait it out. I am totally bruised from banging around while we were rolling. Last night I finally was able to get some sleep. I think I succumbed to shear exhaustion. Friday night a sleeping pill did not even do the trick. I pile stuff around me in my bunk to try and stop my body from rolling all over the place!

But, today is sunny and the winds are dying down!

Thursday, I finally got to go out in the small boat! I was on the phone with my parents when the animals were spotted (the captain allowed us all a 10 minute call home on the iridium phone), and Jessica the crusie leader found me. We launched on grampas (Risso's dolphins), which are actually some of the bigger dolphins out there with large dorsal fins. The older animals are all scratched up, to the point where they appear white underwater.

There were 5 of us on board the small boat, and we were trying to get close enough to get a biospy sample. Unfortunately grampas are very skittish and sly, and every time we would get close they would disappear. We even tried "Rodeo Style", which is literally charging into the group as fast as you can. Well, that did not work. Finally we figured out that if we got in front of them, slowed down, and waited, then they would come up to us. We tried a few times but were unable to get a sample. We did get good pictures though, including them breaching (which is not very common for this species). A tropicbird flew directly overhead. Then the sun was setting, so we had to go back to the boat. It was great to be off the big boat for a while and so close to the animals.

To get back on though, we pulled up next to the David Starr Jordan, and needed to climb this ladder hanging off the side. Well, of course I timed it wrong, and did not have the right grip, so I didn’t make it! I was hanging on to the ladder as the small boat fell away. People on the small boat grabbed me and pulled my back on board, but I landed straddle style on this metal pole. Ouch! I made it on the 2nd try. I was worried I would be badly bruised, but luckily you wear a survival suit in the small boat, so I had a little extra padding.

Or, is that from the dessert they put out at every meal?

Love, Shannon

Shannon says...

"...anything that was not lashed down crashed to the floor... "

Shannon on deck with the Farallones in the background.

The David Starr Jordan

Click here to learn more about the boat Shannon calls home for the next three weeks.