A Whale of a Good Time

Sunday, 8 September (Part V)
Aboard M/V Sea Spirit — Skoldungen Fjord, Greenland
Position @ 1230: 63°17’ North / 40°09’ West

Leaving Bernstorff Isfjord behind, we traveled just a short distance south to Skoldungen Fjord.  This is the same fjord we visited yesterday.  On that occasion, we went in the south arm of the horseshoe shaped channel and landed on an island to visit a ghost town by the same name (post here).  This time, we went into the northern arm.

It was 12:30p and we were short on time.  So, looping around the island to exit the fjord through the south arm was not an option.  Instead, Alex offered two walks — charging and medium-fast — and a zodiac cruise.   You know how I feel about fast-paced walks that don’t allow for much time to stop and smell the ‘tundra’.  We chose the cruise.

View from our veranda before we disembark for the zodiac cruise.

If you think this is going to be another post about icebergs, you would be wrong.  Although I will start off by giving you a closer look at the big berg in the above photograph … it has too much character to leave out of this blog post.

And I have to share with you a blue berg we came across just before we shifted our focus from the ice to something of the mammalian order.

This post is mostly about whales.  Or rather, one humpback whale that Jimmy said he’d started tracking while he was still on the bridge.  Always up for a good whale encounter, we readily agreed when he suggested going up the fjord a bit to see if we could find it.

Jimmy’s expertise paid off, and soon we were enjoying the company of a humpback whale that wasn’t in the least bit shy of us.  In fact, it would disappear by diving for a short while, only to return each time even closer to our position.  There were only two other zodiacs in the vicinity, and we all stayed with the whale as it moved around, coming up for air frequently, and fluking for us several times.

The whale’s white side saddle, clearly visible through the water, …

… and the footprint (flat circular surface) it left behind helped us to keep track of it.

Our best fluking experience this afternoon was … hmmm, what’s the word I want?  Ah yes, spectacular!  And it happened just 50-60 feet (15-18 m) in front of us.  Photographically, our zodiac wasn’t in the optimum position, but that didn’t take away from the encounter — not even a little bit.

Mui’s 23-second moving picture of two of the three flukings.

When Dr Chris, who was in one of the other zodiacs gave us a virtual high-five across the water separating us, we knew he’d hit the jackpot with his photos.  We thank him for sharing them!

What a spectacle with which to conclude our last landing in Greenland.  A WOW moment to be sure!

At 3:00p,with the last zodiac secured on deck 3 aft, Captain Peter set course for our debarkation port — Reykjavík, Iceland.  We later learned that we had approximately 500 NM to reach our final destination — a trip that would take us about 40 hours to make.

When 4:00p came around, armed with a cup of hot chocolate laced with a wee bit of Bailey’s, I went to the Oceanus Lounge to listen to Jimmy’s lecture about the Seals and Walrus of the Arctic Ocean — seals fall into two categories: the Phocids (true seals) and the Otarids (eared seals … such as sea lions and fur seals); walrus fall in between the two.

We knew exactly when the ship exited the fjord into the open waters of the Atlantic.  Conditions were calm by ocean standards, but the ship’s movements changed noticeably.  Not enough, however, to keep us from returning to the Oceanus Lounge at 6:30p for the daily recap and briefing.

The big question on everyone’s mind was the forecast for the Denmark Strait.  After all, we had a long sea transit ahead of us.  Alex’s announcement that it would be a good crossing with following winds and seas was met with cheers.  Sam then spent a few minutes telling us about the birds we might see tomorrow — great shearwaters, northern gannets, and even possibilities of Atlantic puffins.

Dave came next with some stats about the Sea Spirit: built in 1991 in Copenhagen, by an Italian builder, and registered in Nassau; top speed of 14.5 knots (17 miles/27 km); first served as Renaissance V, and then went through a series of name changes, ending up as the Sea Spirit for Quark in 2010; carries a crew of 60+ men and women from 20 different nationalities.

In response to questions from the passengers, Jimmy came up to the podium to give us his thoughts about this afternoon’s whale encounter.  His best guesstimate is that it was a 30-50 year old male, about 45 feet (14 m) long, and weighing about 40 tons; from the Atlantic stock of whales.

One last fluke from this afternoon’s whale encounter.

There was no dessert in the dining room tonight!  Fear not, we didn’t have to go without a sweet treat.  Rather, there was a dessert buffet in the Club Lounge to sate our sweet tooth (or should that be teeth)!  Can you say death by chocolate?  And to go with it, there was a trivia game titled How Well Do You Know Your Expedition Team.  We didn’t do too bad in matching up the quirky hints with the right team member.

Don’t ask me why I didn’t take any photos myself?
I probably had other things on my mind — like which chocolate dessert to taste.

Tonight, we put the clocks one hour ahead.  That means we get one hour less sleep.  Good thing tomorrow is a sea day — we can sleep in!

We Have Whales … We Have Icebergs … At Sea to Disko Bugt

Friday, 30 August 2013 (Part I)
Aboard M/V Sea Spirit — At Anchor in Disko Bay, Greenland

Stats posted @ 0900
Position: 67°46’ North / 54°35’ West
Distance traveled: 127.4 NM since Kangerlussuaq
distance to next point: 199 NM to Ilulissat
temperature: 45F / 7C

Quote from the Daily Program:
“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.”
Helen Keller

Today was the second day of our Greenland Explorer expedition voyage, the “planned route” for which is shown on the map to the right.  (We’re doing the itinerary in reverse; mentally turn the arrows around.)

We have arrived at our destination and are anchored for the night just off Ilulissat in Disko Bugt (Disko Bay).  That means that currently the plans are on track.  It’s still early in the voyage, however, so we’ll have to wait and see if there are any jiggles in the days ahead.

When we did our Antarctic voyage with Quark in 2007, there was a disclaimer that came with the itinerary we selected: “Embracing the unexpected is part of the legacy — and excitement — of expedition-style travel, and a measure of flexibility is something we all must bring on the voyage.”  I imagine the same disclaimer holds true for this itinerary.  We’re prepared to be flexible should the occasion arise.

I suppose I could just say that we had a grand day, add a few photos, and be done with this post.  Much as the bed beckons me to curl up and go to sleep, I’m not going to take the easy way out.  So, here’s the story of our day at sea — at least part of it.

Captain Peter had said last night that once we transited Kalaallisut Fjord, and got into the Davis Strait around 1:30a, we would be feeling the ship rockin’ and rollin’ a bit.  He was right on the money.  When I woke up to the motion of the sea and looked at the clock on my bedside table it was 1:45a.  Smiling to myself, I pulled the covers back up over me and let the M/V Sea Spirit rock me back to sleep until it was time to get up at 6:00a.  Even with the stabilizers deployed, the ship’s movement was considerable, but not nearly as bad as it could have been.  Happy that our ‘sea legs’ were functioning and that we wouldn’t have to break out the Scopolamine patches to ward off sea sickness, we got ready for the day ahead.

Today’s day at sea is taking us up the Davis Strait to Ilulissat in Disko Bay.

One of Quark’s “green efforts” is the elimination of the daily schedule delivered to the cabin every night with the turn-down service.  So how do you find out about scheduled events, you ask?  Simple — turn on the TV to check the electronic schedule.  And that’s how we found out that breakfast was being served at 8:00a — a bit later than we like, but to be expected on a day at sea.  Bundling up, we went to check out the light breakfast served outside on Deck 5 aft.  As it was cold, overcast, and drizzly, we scurried back inside this morning, but we’ll be taking advantage of this al fresco dining option when the weather permits.

No breakfast on deck this morning, but I did get A shot of a Northern Fulmar.

The lecture series, presented by members of the expedition team, began shortly after breakfast.  First on the agenda was the mandatory zodiac safety and landing guidelines briefing in the Oceanus Lounge.  A pre-requirement for being able to participate in landings, we didn’t need the threat of a roll call to ensure our attendance.

Already familiar with both zodiac procedures and the guidelines of AECO (Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators), we didn’t learn anything knew.  Nonetheless, it was a valuable refresher; and it was nice to know that Quark planned to abide by the rules — not that we would have expected anything less from a veteran company of polar travel, which promotes sustainable tourism with minimal impact on the lands and local cultures visited.

Click the image to read the AECO guidelines for yourself. 

This mandatory briefing was followed by the equally mandatory muster drill, which was postponed to this morning due to our delayed arrival aboard the Sea Spirit yesterday.  As many times as we’ve attended one of these drills, we still take the next one seriously.  So, when the signal was sounded, we donned the bulky evacuation life vests and headed to the Oceanus Lounge, our muster station.  Though we didn’t have to get in the lifeboats, we were escorted to the boat stations to complete the drill.

Even the expedition team members must attend the muster drill.
L to R: Dr Chris, Sam, Christine, and Fabrice.

At 11:30a, Laurie, the expedition historian, invited us all down to the Oceanus Lounge for his talk entitled From Stones to Satellites.  The lecture was described in the daily program as “The ebb and flow of the various stone age cultures that lived in the most northerly places in the world during the last 4,000 years, leading to the present satellite age.”  Laurie covered the cultural history of the area from the Arctic Tool Tradition to the Thule, the immediate ancestors of the Inuit cultures of Greenland.  It was a concise, but fascinating summary of the peoples that inhabited Greenland, and helped to solidify in my mind some of the same information I had read in the pre-expedition booklet sent to us by Quark.

Lunch was to be served at 12:30p, but was delayed slightly by the appearance of humpback whales nearby.  Captain Peter slowed down the ship as we all ran outside with our cameras to take photographs and enjoy the presence of these mammoth creatures of the oceans.  A species of baleen whale, humpbacks were once hunted to near extinction.  The population has since made considerable recovery around the world thanks to protective measures that were put into place in 1966.  Always a joy to see them … and this time was no exception.

If you look closely, you’ll see a Northern Fulmar flying towards this humpback whale.

Showing its fluke is often a sign that the whale is diving deep and won’t be seen for a while.

Whales, whales everywhere — what a treat!

The main topic of conversation at lunch was the whales, of course.  The open seating lunch was served buffet style with a wide variety of choices; including soup, which was served by the waitstaff.  Having spotted icebergs on the horizon while on deck for the whales, we didn’t dally long in the dining room.  Icebergs or not, however, first we had to get outfitted with very stylish (not) footwear from the Quark footlocker.

OK, OK … here’s an example of the icebergs in close proximity to the ship.

Wellies (aka gum boots) are an essential part of the well-dressed Arctic traveler’s daily attire.  While some prefer to bring and wear their own boots, we prefer to use the weight and space they would take up in our luggage for other things.  So we’re perfectly satisfied with borrowing them from Quark.  After lunch, we were called to the Oceanus Lounge by deck and fitted with boots to wear for the duration of the voyage.  Now we’re all set to go ashore when we have our first landing tomorrow.

Back to the icebergs.  As many who know us are aware, we are infected with the “ice virus.”  I’m not talking about some computer virus that you can scan for and remove from your computer.  No, this is a deep-seated, very serious virus that is impossible to eradicate.  It’s tentacles go deep into one’s being and it begs to be fed with periodic trips to polar regions.  We were infected when we caught our first glimpse of glaciers and bergs in Alaska in 2001.  We were truly hooked after our 2007 visit to Antarctica, and have been feeding it since then with our trips to the Arctic.  That being the case, there was no doubt that as more and more bergs started popping up on the horizon, we were going to be front and center on the Club Deck to enjoy the mammoth ice sculptures calving off the equally mammoth glaciers streaming down from the Greenland Ice Cap — the second largest after the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

(After looking at the photos I took today, I found the deep blue color of the ocean distracting … hence the B&W treatment.)

(This next photo I didn’t process entirely as B&W.  Rather, I desaturated all but the iceberg itself as I wanted to retain the clear blue streams of ice criss-crossing the berg.)

Safely navigating the ship past these gianormous bergs, Captain Peter continued deeper into Disko Bay where we suddenly found ourselves face to face with an ice belt.  What’s that?  You’ll have to wait to find out in part II of today’s blog …

Video: A Whale of a Good Time

Friday, 20 August

Captain, There Be Whales Here

Friday, 20 August: Part III

Spock: To hunt a species to extinction is not logical.
Gillian: Whoever said the human race was logical?

From the Movie, “Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home”

OK, OK … before all the diehard Star Trek fans get on my case, I admit that Scotty actually said “Admiral,” when he called up to Kirk to tell him that he had successfully beamed a pair of humpback whales aboard the Klingon Bird of Prey. I’m taking some artistic license here since it better fits our situation.

Leaving the Orcas behind in the Shelikof Strait, we continued our crossing to Kodiak. Along the way, Dall porpoises joined us for a bit, but they were so fast that I decided it was best to put the camera down and just enjoy their antics. But when we encountered whales a short while later, all bets were off and the camera came out again.

It was a sighting of fin whales in the Kupreanof Strait that brought us back on deck first. There were several of them, and unlike the ones we’d seen on the first day of our boat trip, they stuck around for a while.

Growing to 88 feet (27 m) in length, the fins are the second largest of the whale species. They’re also the second largest living animal on earth after the blue whale. As was the case with most of the large whales, they were hunted to near extinction; they remain on the endangered species list. They rarely, if ever, show their flukes when diving. (For more info, click here.)

Most experts consider the fin whales of the North Pacific to be a third, as yet
unnamed species. The other two species are the north Atlantic and
the Antarctic populations.

While we were enjoying the company of the fins, their more acrobatic cousins — humpback whales — showed up. A member of baleen whales, the humpbacks are smaller than fin whales. They grow only to a range of 39–52 feet (12-16 m) in length. They are found in all of the oceans and migrate long distances between their feeding and breeding areas (the ones we saw are members of the population that feeds in Alaska and breeds in Hawaii). The humpbacks were also hunted to near extinction. Though they’ve made a remarkable comeback, they remain on the endangered species list. (For more information, click here.)

This is one of the most common views one gets of a humpback whale.
(note how much smaller the dorsal fin is compared to that of a fin whale)

At first there were just one or two whales. Soon though, there were so many blows, near and far, that I gave up trying to keep track of the count. They were on all sides of the boat, exhibiting all kinds of behavior. They slapped their pectoral fins, showed their flukes in shallow and deep dives, and best of all … they fed using a method known as bubblenet feeding.

Unlike fin whales, humpbacks display their fluke when they dive.

Have to admit that I didn't even see the puffin in front of
the whale until I looked at the photograph on the laptop screen.

The birds scavenge whatever the humpbacks churn up to the surface.

A deep dive usually is a sign that the whale will be gone for a while.
This time, though, I think this is just a prelude to bubblenet feeding.

So, what is bubblenet feeding? Here’s a description from a lesson plan I found on the National Geographic Expeditions website:

… (also known as lunge feeding), in which a group of whales works together to capture large schools of herring.

Each whale has its own role in the process: one blows bubbles around the herring school to keep the fish from escaping, others vocalize to scare or confuse the fish and help bring them to the surface, and others herd the fish together and upwards. Once the fish are at the surface, all the whales lunge upwards with their huge mouths wide open and try to gulp as many herring as they can.

I have to admit that I was so entranced with seeing humpbacks bubblenet feeding that I forgot to take pictures at first. Luckily, they repeated the behavior several times and I was able to remedy that lapse.

With its mouth open, the humpback becomes a giant scooper.

OK, so again, I converted the images to black and white, but here are a few that I kept in color as the details were getting lost in the conversion. (See if you can find the puffin scampering out of the way as the whale closes its mouth.)

Glimpse of the baleen for which the species is named.
the baleen functions like a sieve, allowing the whale to filter krill,
plankton, and small fish from large mouthfuls of seawater.

The ventral pleats expand, allowing the humpback to take in copious
amounts of water when it is feeding.

Bye, Bye!
(last shot as this whale dived under the single star)

As the whales moved farther away, we moved on, too. Eberhard had his heart set on photographing puffins in the golden afternoon light, but it wasn’t to be. By the time we arrived at the rookery, the birds were long gone.

a lone puffin resting after a fishing expedition.
(yes, i managed to get a bit of a reflection too)

Even though spending time with the whales meant that we missed the opportunity to photograph the puffins, I have no regrets. We got to see some of our favorite whales displaying a behavior that neither Mui nor I had seen before. As the MasterCard ad says, “Priceless!”