At Sea en route to Ascension Island
With 350 miles to go to Ascension Island and the nearest point of the African mainland lying over 700 miles to the northeast, we are truly out in the deep blue sea. Last night after a fantastic deck dinner we crossed the equator and entered the southern hemisphere. A short time later we passed over some of the most extraordinary bottom topography in the region. The Romanche Fracture Zone is a jumble of underwater canyons as deep as 7000 meters - some of the deepest water in this part of the Atlantic. The Pillsbury Seamount, rising to a mere 800 meters, soon followed this.
Dawn broke with a much lighter trade wind than we had experienced for the past two days. Our marine mammal sightings thus far have been outstanding – Pilot whales, Sperm whales and at least four species of dolphins, and each day more and more watchful eyes are drawn out on deck in the hopes of something exciting. During breakfast the cry went up – dolphins off the port side! This turned out to be the largest group we’ve seen with at least 150 animals steaming along at a steady nine knots. They moved towards the ship, rode the bow wave, moved away again, then back again. The sight of dozens of animals simultaneously hurtling clear of the water was breathtaking. Despite the visceral enjoyment we derived from the show, we are a curious species not overly fond of mysteries. Inevitably the question arose – what are they? Alas, if we had only one naturalist on board the matter would soon be put to rest. But we have many, guest and staff alike, and debate soon raged. Guide books were consulted, range maps assessed, opinions flew. It became a fascinating example of how differently each of us remembers what we saw. After well over an hour we left the dolphins, or they left us, and we retired indoors to examine the evidence. This in the form of digital photographs taken by John Bowers and immediately downloaded onto his laptop. His photograph skill combined with the latest technology enabled us to reach consensus. We added another species to our list, as the animals pictured here are Short-snouted Spinner Dolphins.
With 350 miles to go to Ascension Island and the nearest point of the African mainland lying over 700 miles to the northeast, we are truly out in the deep blue sea. Last night after a fantastic deck dinner we crossed the equator and entered the southern hemisphere. A short time later we passed over some of the most extraordinary bottom topography in the region. The Romanche Fracture Zone is a jumble of underwater canyons as deep as 7000 meters - some of the deepest water in this part of the Atlantic. The Pillsbury Seamount, rising to a mere 800 meters, soon followed this.
Dawn broke with a much lighter trade wind than we had experienced for the past two days. Our marine mammal sightings thus far have been outstanding – Pilot whales, Sperm whales and at least four species of dolphins, and each day more and more watchful eyes are drawn out on deck in the hopes of something exciting. During breakfast the cry went up – dolphins off the port side! This turned out to be the largest group we’ve seen with at least 150 animals steaming along at a steady nine knots. They moved towards the ship, rode the bow wave, moved away again, then back again. The sight of dozens of animals simultaneously hurtling clear of the water was breathtaking. Despite the visceral enjoyment we derived from the show, we are a curious species not overly fond of mysteries. Inevitably the question arose – what are they? Alas, if we had only one naturalist on board the matter would soon be put to rest. But we have many, guest and staff alike, and debate soon raged. Guide books were consulted, range maps assessed, opinions flew. It became a fascinating example of how differently each of us remembers what we saw. After well over an hour we left the dolphins, or they left us, and we retired indoors to examine the evidence. This in the form of digital photographs taken by John Bowers and immediately downloaded onto his laptop. His photograph skill combined with the latest technology enabled us to reach consensus. We added another species to our list, as the animals pictured here are Short-snouted Spinner Dolphins.
