We finally departed from Santander for the island of Gran Canaria about eleven in the late evening on 25 Jan. Within a few minutes of leaving the port, we could feel the motion of the four to five metre swell in lower Biscay. Still it was good to be back at sea. We awoke the following morning back to find the seas had calmed down enough for the upper restaurant to be reopened. However, steady rain stopped us surveying. Chris spent some time looking from the shelter of the cabin's balcony, but he had only saw a Gannet and a few Kittiwakes for his efforts. The swell had picked up by lunchtime and the upper restaurant was closed again to the passengers.
Fiona surveying from the back of deck 10: It wasn't a brilliant viewpoint as it wasn't possible to see the first thirty degrees or so either side of the bows. But it was better than nothing when the top decks were closed
Me surveying from the back of deck 10: Photo taken by Chris Whitell and the copyright remains with Chris
On a positive, the rain had stopped and the back of deck 10 was open for us to get out surveying after lunch. This location doesn't allow us to see the bows and consequently, the quality of the survey data isn't as good as it would have been on the top deck. But we gave it a go anyway. By the end of the day, we had seen a few more Gannets, Kittiwakes, a few unidentified Auks, but no Cetaceans. It had been a frustrating day for surveying, but at least the seas had calmed sufficiently, to allow us to keep moving towards Gran Canaria.
A team photo of the ORCA surveying team: Myself, Fiona and Chris
The sea state was a worry as it didn't need to get much worse to get to sea state seven, when we would have to stop surveying: The four to five metre swell didn't help the surveying conditions
We were travelling South about twenty to thirty miles off the Portuguese coast, on our second morning at sea. The top decks were still closed, but at least the back of deck 10 was open and we managed to get out surveying for the morning. Finally, I saw our first Whale blow, which was an achievement in the four metre seas. At one point, I was talking to Chris when a Grey Phalarope flew up from the water and flew past a Kittiwake, before it dropped back on the water. This was one of two I saw on the cruise.
These two islands came into view just before lunch: I think they must be the Berlengas Islands
After lunch, the swell had increased to about six metres with the sea state increasing to seven. We have too stop surveying when the sea state reaches seven, as we would just miss too many sightings. However, we returned to the back of deck 10 to watch from there and hope that seas would calm a bit: unfortunately, they didn't. With little passing birdlife and no Cetaceans, I took the opportunity to take some photos of the sea conditions.
We had a six metre swell in the afternoon: Fortunately, the 236 metre long Spirit of Discovery is a very well-stabilised cruise ship and the motion didn't feel too bad at the back of deck 10
The waves produced some good photo opportunities
Sometimes the tops of the waves broke with a great display of spray
I'm glad we weren't on a small boat given the conditions
In these conditions, every photo taken is guaranteed to be unique
The thirty knots wind was whipping up the spray
One of the things I like about being at sea is how the lighting changes the look of the sea. These two photos were taken ninety seconds between them and they have been processed with the same settings. It goes to show how the sea colour changes depending on the sunlight.
Note how blue the water looks
As soon, as the sun starts to go behind the cloud, the sea has changed to grey
Our third morning at sea saw us about one hundred and fifty miles West of the Southern-most tip of Portugal at first light. While there was still a six to seven metre swell, the sea state has moderated a bit to sea state six, which allowed us to resume surveying off the back of deck 10.
Chris surveying off the back of deck 10: The top decks were still closed
There were still challenging sea conditions at times
The swell calmed a bit in the afternoon to four to five metres and a sea state of five. Late on it reduced further to a sea state of four. We saw a few Gannets and Kittiwakes, but no Cetaceans, during our full day of surveying. we ended the day East South East of Madeira and halfway between Madeira and the African coast.
The photo doesn't do this justice: There were greyer seas under the clouds, compared to the bluer seas in the sunny sky
We weren't going to get a nice sunset
I had mixed feelings on our final morning at sea as we approached the city of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. When we left Santander, the Captain had hoped that we would arrive around breakfast time. However, due to the rough seas, we were running about half a day late and wouldn't dock until lunch time. This would limit my Birding time on the island, but at least we could get some surveying in as we approached the island. On a positive, we awoke to a three metre swell and only a twenty knot wind. There were fewer white caps, although it was still a sea state of four to five for most of the morning. But it seems almost flat calm compared to the previous few days. A real bonus was all, the top decks were open for the first sea day on the cruise and we had our first opportunity for a proper survey from the top deck.
The deck crew had put out the deck chairs, but they clearly weren't expecting many passengers
By mid-morning, we finally saw Gran Canaria in the distance.
Gran Canaria appeared in the distance
Despite the improved conditions, we failed to see any Cetaceans or Birds in the first half of the morning. Chris and I were discussing the white marks on the island, just after I took this distant photo of Gran Canaria. I assumed they were housing, but we were struggling to confirm that due to the distance. While I was looking at the island, I saw some distant splashes and finally some Dolphin bodies in the splashes. They were a long way ahead of us and I soon lost them, before Chris could get onto them. We didn't pick them up again. They were our first Dolphins of the cruise.
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin: They had a slim, compact appearance with a narrow based and curved dorsal fin, a dark cape with a paler streak heading back towards the dorsal fin and fading out near it. They are a very variable species, but these individuals look similar to ones I've photographed in Canary waters in the past
About thirty minutes later, there was a larger pod of around thirty-five Atlantic Spotted Dolphins which passed down the port side. They carried on swimming and didn't come in close to enjoy the bow wave. Finally, we had seen a decent pod of Dolphins.
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin: The just swan past and quietly surfaced every now and then
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin: They are a small, compact Dolphin and can grow to about 2.3 metres long. Although, they are about the same length as Short-beaked Common Dolphins, then didn't seem to have their bulky appearance
We carried on surveying until we saw the pilot coming out to meet us. The upper restaurant was about to open, so it was time to head down for a quick lunch and hope we would be able to get off the ship soon after we docked. Fortunately, the Captain told us that the ship will be in port till late evening. I only had the afternoon to get up to the high Conifer forests on Gran Canaria and look for my first Tick of the year: Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch. At least I could drop the car off in the dark, if needed. I will cover the afternoon in my next Blog Post.
