Today was one of the few days we didn't see any killer whales. Fortunately we had many humpback (Megaptera novaeangliaea) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) at the mouth of Laredo Channel near Campania Island. It was my first sighting of fin whales and we even had a mother and calf travelling together! It was a gorgeous day in the waters of the central coast!
This afternoon we had a fire/lifeboat drill. After grabbing our lifejackets from our cabins we met on the back deck of the ship and then moved to our muster stations for a few of us to practice putting on the immersion suites. Since it was so hot three of the crew/scientists got into the water in the immersion suits and we let them huddle and drift away from the boat. We soon learned how difficult it can be to see a group of people from a distance even when they were huddled together in their bright immersion suits! It was also quite entertaining for us on the ship as we watched a humpback whale tail lobbing multiple times off the port stern of the ship while our overboard crew bobbed around off the port side. They could have had a real close encounter!
Fin whale blows in the early morning light
The very long backs of fin whales
...and finally you see the fin!
Two fin whales travelling together in Laredo Channel
Mark and Tabitha doing some spotting
View from the 'Monkey's Island'
Katy heading down the ladder in the immersion suit during the fire/lifeboat drill
And some decided to jump from deck!
A good way to cool off this hot day!
huddling together for safety!
Where we stopped to do the drill...there was a very active humpback whale off the port quarter while the crew who went overboard were hanging out off the starboard!
The immersion suit crew drifting in the channel...shows how difficult it can be to spot them even as a group in bright colours in calm seas!
The aft deck of the CCGS Tully
Above 2 photos: Tabitha and my cabin (mine was the bottom bunk)
Above 2 photos: cool wave action!
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