In Search of Giant Squid
I talked Ingrid, Lee, and Maria into coming along today, as it was predicted to be a fine day....By wake-up at 0515 it was...really raining. It kept up hard. Fortunately Maria drove us to the dock. But, with walking the dock and waiting for the dinghy and the motor quitting a half-dozen times before we got to the boat, we were thoroughly drenched, with no replacement clothes. Soaked and cold is one thing, but once we got out of Kaikoura Harbor and rounded the point, we were really into it - a very "mixed sea" that tossed the Mystique, top-heavy and narrow-beamed as she is, in every direction but steady and flat!
That uncomfortable motion claimed a couple of victims. The weather
held quite miserable until early afternoon. Then it turned bright and
sunny, the rain and wind disappeared into oblivian and we enjoyed a
glorious afternoon and evening.
At one point we were cruising slowly
back toward the buoys when I saw what I thought was a strange-shaped
log with black broken branches sticking straight up out of the sea.
Closer examination revealed 2 self-satisfied seals sunning themselves
on their backs, floating along with bellies up to the sun and fins and
flippers stuck up in the air!
With the sea flattened out we saw a
number of whales all around us at a distance. One pair that I tracked
for some time had one male that must have been well in excess of 50
feet, a big fellow! (Subsequently I learned...that my estimate was off
by at least 10 feet!)
Bird life is really abundant - lots of petrels, shearwaters, gulls and
albatrosses.
According to Gary there are 5-6 species of albatrosses
here: the Wandering Albatross is magnificent and huge - even the dull
brown-grey unmolted juveniles. The Black-brows are stunning with their
eyes "made up" with heavy mascara. For the first time, again because
of the calm seas, I saw a number of smallish, perky, black and
mottled-white jobbies, skitting around on the surface, paddling like a
white-water canoeist, and stabbing the surface of the water with quick
jabs. They turned out to be Cape Pigeons, according to Gary and they
feed on surface plankton and "krill".
By the time the Mystique was approaching her anchorage....it was a
lovely, clear, cool evening, and after a great lamb dinner prepared by
Capt. Nigel, we headed ashore in the inflatable. The night sky was
coal-black and brilliantly star-studded. There to the south, right
over the dock, shown the Southern Cross constellation, visible only in
the southern hemisphere. This was and is a prominent celestial
navigation constellation and is a striking part of the New Zealand
national flag.
Smithsonian Giant Squid Overview Page
gene carl feldman / gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov