First Day on the Water

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For my first day on the water, we got up at 5 and after breakfast headed out with the boat to the boat ramp. The weather was overcast and quite chilly, so we all brought warm clothes with us. Through out the day I realized that I needed it and wore a fleece, sweatshirt and my rain coat. Daniele had Katarina put the boat in the water while Guidos and I sat in the boat and got all the gear ready for the day. After Daniele and Katarina hopped in the boat, we were off! The harbor is gorgeous, with multimillion dollar ships and a breath taking view of the Whitsunday Islands. Out of the harbor we headed south for a while. Eventually we ran across a few bottlenose dolphins. However, as they are not the main focus species of the study, we only stayed with them long enough to get a few quick biopsy samples and then headed out. As humpback dolphin and Snubfin dolphin are the main focus of the study, bottlenose dolphin samples are not necessary. To get a biopsy sample, a dart is put into a gun that resembles a rifle. The dart then hits the dolphin and takes a very small plug of skin. The plug is then dropped into nitrogen, frozen and analyzed later.
After seeing the bottlenose, we decided to head back north to an area where the team spotted dolphins the day before I got here. It was a pretty long ride and Daniele and I were able to chat a bit. He filled me in on a little bit more about the project and more information about what we will be doing for the next few weeks. When we eventually got to our destination, we slowed down to about 8 knots and cruised the coast back south. Maybe an hour or so later we finally spotted a few humpback dolphins. We were able to get one biopsy sample, but the humpback are not nearly as friendly and evaded us quite easily. An hour and a half of chasing them was all we could handle, so we soon left then and kept following the coast back to the harbor. Approaching the harbor, we saw plenty of boats of all shapes and sizes and even a sea plane that was circling the harbor and touched down once before taking off again.
Back in the harbor Daniele had me back the trailer down the ramp to get the boat. It took me a little bit, but I was able to do it in the long run, and with more practice I will be a pro in no time. Once on shore we realized that we were unable to raise or lower the engine, and after visiting the local mechanic it was realized the trim engine had died. Finally home we spent a little while cleaning the boat off. I noticed that the trees were full of lorikeets, and after a few minutes they all swarmed to the bird feeder. One even landed on my head! Katarina and I soon realized they were extremely friendly, and had no problem crawling all over us and eating out of our hands!
For my first day on the water, it was pretty cool. Still a little bit jet lagged though, but that should pass within the following few days. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be much nicer, and we are going to have to get at the boat ramp extra early to ensure we get a parking spot!

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