My time at Shark bay has been an unforgettable adventure so far, but now our amazing research team is breaking up. While Kirk, Adriana and I are staying put to work for a few more months the others have all taken off to pursue other endeavors. Our captain and commander Jordy was the first to go. He was the one that put together our unstoppable team of researching superheroes. Next AnnaRose was off and back to Oregon for a cold but I am sure very happy reunion with the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Fanny, our own Swiss Miss was the last to go. She is making her way to Madagascar and to the next lucky group who was smart enough to hire her. We will miss you guys and all the great times we have shared together.
It was sad to watch them go but there is still much work here to be done here and our focus stays on the priorities. We have finished the set up of our sea grass exclosure experiment and are now beginning to record the progress of it. The winds are picking up every day and closing with it the window of our potential work time. You cannot dive a floating hookah system in large waves and you cannot find turtles in it either, but such is the nature of fieldwork. So we sit and we wait for that moment when the wind drops out and then we have to move like a kangaroo out of the bush and jump into action.
We have the system down now and in the case of a serious rush I think we could make it into the water in less then 30 minutes. That includes getting all the gear on the boat, fueling up and squeezing in a quick snack. Once we are on the water we all know what has to be done and the objectives are always quite clear. We still have yet to get to the sharking portion of the job but as the lowest priority that has been expected. I stay hopeful that we will have good enough weather in the next months for at least a few days day of sharking.
For now I wait and work on small projects around our field site. We are expanding the area and building a large framed roof to cover the vital bits, meaning the main caravan, which is home to all our electronics and important but temperamental equipment. We have turtle videos that must be watched and transcribed as well as ever increasing data to enter.
And now a few photos of the team.
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| Our crew + Chris at Guichenault (AnnaRose Adams) |
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| Thanksgiving with the Dolphin Girls |
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| Our crew + Chris - Jordy (Adriana Weil) |
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| Just the kids (Adriana Weil) |
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| Sunset cruise around the bay (Adriana Weil) |
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| A little yoga (Adriana Weil) |
Your living what most people can't even imagine, I love reading about it, and the photos are excellent.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you are part of a fantastic team.