At sea to Richards Bay, South Africa
Early morning fog was dispersed by the rising sun as we slowly awoke to a day at sea in the Indian Ocean. As the fog dispersed it soon became clear that it was not simply the lack of visibility that limited bird sightings from the bridge – there were simply very few birds out there. We have made the transition into the warmer (23¢ªC) southward flowing waters of the Agulhas Current. These waters are relatively nutrient poor and do not support as much life as the colder waters to the west, hence the lack of seabirds.
During the day keen eyes from the bridge and decks made some interesting sightings, such as a group of bottlenose dolphins that interrupted a relaxed deck lunch. One shy albatross made a brief appearance along with the now more expected Cape gannets and swift terns. The officers on the bridge were kept busy trying to find the path of least resistance through the Agulhas Current which at times was four knots of current against us as we made our passage along the coast towards our stop for tomorrow, our last in South Africa, at Richards Bay.
Early morning fog was dispersed by the rising sun as we slowly awoke to a day at sea in the Indian Ocean. As the fog dispersed it soon became clear that it was not simply the lack of visibility that limited bird sightings from the bridge – there were simply very few birds out there. We have made the transition into the warmer (23¢ªC) southward flowing waters of the Agulhas Current. These waters are relatively nutrient poor and do not support as much life as the colder waters to the west, hence the lack of seabirds.
During the day keen eyes from the bridge and decks made some interesting sightings, such as a group of bottlenose dolphins that interrupted a relaxed deck lunch. One shy albatross made a brief appearance along with the now more expected Cape gannets and swift terns. The officers on the bridge were kept busy trying to find the path of least resistance through the Agulhas Current which at times was four knots of current against us as we made our passage along the coast towards our stop for tomorrow, our last in South Africa, at Richards Bay.
