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Ahoy Whalewatchers!
Last night we passed Macquarie Island some 150nm on our port side as we continue our southerly passage to the ice edge, which is now at about 65 degrees south. Every eight hours as we have steamed towards the Antarctic Continent the acousticians have been deploying sonobuoys to good effect - we are receiving regular blue whale calls which appear to be coming from a group of whales which may be on the ice edge about 100nm from the western edge of our study area. These calls would appear to be being heard over a distance of some 6-700 nm (about 1300km) away. From a scientific standpoint this is quite an achievement and is early evidence that using passive acoustics to track whales over long distances may be effective.
The weather continues to provide a challenge to all onboard. Overnight the breeze eased somewhat, but this afternoon the wind has picked up again and we are in for another lumpy night. Spirits remain high onboard however and everyone is keeping themselves occupied.
Until tomorrow,
Regards Chris, Margaret, and the VWhales Team
Chris Galloway
Voyage Leader
VWhales 2013
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.