Saturday 28th 2015
Rough seas
today with 6 meter swell. Making slow progress on western transect, average
speed a steady 4 knots. Estimated time to complete this leg of the survey was
30 hours. With little option we decided to shorten the next two transects to
ensure we are not out when the force 10 hits the next evening.
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Waves
crashing over the bow of the Tridens.
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....
meanwhile somewhere below deck, I (Helen) spot a common dolphin outside my cabin
window. In quick(ish) response I grab my camera and make for the bridge.
Unfortunately I was too slow to even see them again, let alone get any
photographic evidence (three flights of steep stairs is a real challenge in
rough seas). Will have to try harder next time! However, the local seabirds (mostly
gannets and fulmars) are always keeping us company on our voyage and always
look far more content with the waves than some of us on board look in these
conditions.
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| A gannet named Janet floating above the waves |
As for fish
there were very few marks seen on the echosounders throughout the day and
therefore no fishing was carried out.
Sunday 29th March 2015
After an
uneventful night on acoustic watch, the morning offered a stunning dolphin
display....at least for those who were awake. A pod of around 100 common
dolphins (Delphinus spp) surrounded
the boat and swam with us for about half an hour – something which is always
nice to see.
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Common
dolphins jumping in the Tridens wake.
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As the
weather is predicted to get much worse over the next few days we headed for
Loch Duich on the west coast of Scotland to do a calibration of the acoustic
equipment. The conditions in the Loch are ideal for calibration of the EK60
echosounders. Deep water (50 – 105 m), small swell, little to no tidal current,
relatively sheltered from the wind and very few fish below us (fish can
interfere with the calibration as they often swim across the place in the beam
we are interested in).
Once
successfully calibrated, we will stay at anchor and spend the night in Loch
Duich. We will head to either Kyle (132 km west of Inverness or 20 km from the
Tridens) or Stornoway (Isle of Lewis) tomorrow morning and wait out the bad
weather. We’ve already researched the local pubs in the area.
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Flying the
Scottish flag as we enter Loch Duich for calibration.
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The crew are
hard at work erecting the calibration booms.
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Will we fit? It’s a
narrow passage en route to the calibration site further down the loch.
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| Being chased by rain and snow down the loch |
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Everyone
settling in for a night of calibration.
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