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Seeing, hearing the beaked whales Seeing, hearing the beaked whales
(about 20 hours later)
The Blainville beaked whale is seen around the CanariesEnvironment correspondent Richard Black joins researchers on board the yacht Song of the Whale as they look and listen for whales around the Canary Islands.The Blainville beaked whale is seen around the CanariesEnvironment correspondent Richard Black joins researchers on board the yacht Song of the Whale as they look and listen for whales around the Canary Islands.
Beaked whales are probably the least understood large mammals on the planet, but sound can help us track their mysterious movements.Beaked whales are probably the least understood large mammals on the planet, but sound can help us track their mysterious movements.
SATURDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER: FAIR AND FOUL WINDS SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER: ENTERING THE FRAME
Our departure from La Restinga, the charming little port village on the south-eastern tip of El Hierro, came sooner than anticipated.
So much sea - and so little to see
Rather than leaving this morning, as I had expected, Song of the Whale left harbour last night. It was a beautiful moment, with wisps of elfin mist the only thing between us and the stars.
Half an hour after leaving port, the team played out the 400m-long (1,300ft) cable with underwater microphones that is our tentative link to the cetacean world.
Passing up my chance to listen on the night shift - that will come later - I turned in just after midnight.
Waking this morning, and looking over to the fantastically rugged coast of El Hierro on our right, it was as if we had hardly moved.
And, indeed, we hardly had. Beaked whales are not to be pursued; we go where they are known sometimes to turn up, and hope they do.
A night's listening had yielded just a single visitor.
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On the look out for beaked whales
Later on in the day, I took my first watch up on the A-frame, the tall structure just behind the wheel that gives would-be whale-spotters a wider view of the ocean surface.
I spent an hour up there this time; a normal shift on Song of the Whale during daytime is four.
Apart from the occasional shearwater jack-knifing over the sea, there was no sign of life.
Earlier in the day, a small group of dolphins had flicked out of the water up ahead; but of Cuvier's and Blainville's beaked whales - our main quarry - there was nothing.
I chatted with Claire Lacey, a former Song of the Whale intern who, in her own words, simply never left, and works full time for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw).
Many of her friends, she said, wanted to come along on these trips assuming they were "fun fun fun" all the way.
"Once they realise you can't smoke and you can't drink when you're at sea, they become a bit less keen," she said.
Beach parting
Writing on the beach - before the sun went downI am writing these words from a small black sand beach somewhere in the south of El Hierro.
On board Song of the Whale, video producer John Galliver and I attempted to set up the kit we use to send back video clips, as the yacht hove to a few hundred metres from shore.
Even the small swell in what was reputed to be a "calm spot" was too much for our satellite link.
The solution was to take John and me to shore in the small inflatable dinghy - which then went back out to the yacht.
Now, the bytes of video are streaming silently up into the sky.
Night is falling, and a huge dark cloud hangs overhead, glowering as if it would fall between boat and shore and maroon us here.
In a sad commentary on modern priorities, we have two laptop computers, a digital camera and a portable satellite dish.
But nothing with which to light a fire or chase off wild beasts.
If no other entries for this diary materialise, gentle reader, remember me well.
SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER: FAIR AND FOUL WINDS
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Meet the team onboard Ifaw's research ship, The Song of the WhaleMeet the team onboard Ifaw's research ship, The Song of the Whale
"No-one told us about this.""No-one told us about this."
The headline, strapped across the front page of one of the Canary Islands' main newspapers above a picture of a pylon felled by the power of wind, summed up my thoughts exactly.Song of the Whale is based at La Restinga this summerThe headline, strapped across the front page of one of the Canary Islands' main newspapers above a picture of a pylon felled by the power of wind, summed up my thoughts exactly.Song of the Whale is based at La Restinga this summer
My first view of these fabled holiday islands was a glowering skyscape over roiling coastal seas - more like Skegness in February than a sub-tropical archipelago famed for its climate.My first view of these fabled holiday islands was a glowering skyscape over roiling coastal seas - more like Skegness in February than a sub-tropical archipelago famed for its climate.
Locals were clearly surprised - "once-in-every-five-years weather", as one described it.Locals were clearly surprised - "once-in-every-five-years weather", as one described it.
All this might have raised concerns had I been here for the sun and sand.All this might have raised concerns had I been here for the sun and sand.
But in the context of spending a week aboard a whale research yacht, the implications were a bit more alarming.But in the context of spending a week aboard a whale research yacht, the implications were a bit more alarming.
Conditions are a great leveller in the whale-spotting game.Conditions are a great leveller in the whale-spotting game.
One scientist told me he once spent all but three days of a scheduled 60-day aerial survey sitting at a Greenland landing strip with fog preventing take-off.One scientist told me he once spent all but three days of a scheduled 60-day aerial survey sitting at a Greenland landing strip with fog preventing take-off.
Beaked whales are difficult enough to see at the best of times. Would we spot them at all in this gloom?Beaked whales are difficult enough to see at the best of times. Would we spot them at all in this gloom?
Would we even be able to get out of port and go to sea?Would we even be able to get out of port and go to sea?
On a more personal level, every time I venture out into this great natural environment that I spend so much time writing about, I have a suspicion that the hardy beings who spend their lives here see me as a softy Londoner with cappuccino for brains and a stick of organic asparagus where my backbone should be.On a more personal level, every time I venture out into this great natural environment that I spend so much time writing about, I have a suspicion that the hardy beings who spend their lives here see me as a softy Londoner with cappuccino for brains and a stick of organic asparagus where my backbone should be.
Having nearly vomited all over the last research boat I went on - albeit with severe provocation from bouncing Bristol Channel seas and a lobstery smell that seemed to invade the air's very molecules - how would things go out here, in these choppy days that no-one had told me about?Having nearly vomited all over the last research boat I went on - albeit with severe provocation from bouncing Bristol Channel seas and a lobstery smell that seemed to invade the air's very molecules - how would things go out here, in these choppy days that no-one had told me about?
Rays of hopeRays of hope
But sometimes, with the weather as with games of chance, you get the breaks. THE SONG OF THE WHALE Take a tour of the research vesselBut sometimes, with the weather as with games of chance, you get the breaks. THE SONG OF THE WHALE Take a tour of the research vessel
And as video producer John Galliver and I made the hop from Gran Canaria to the tiny island of El Hierro, the clouds parted, a sun fit for holidaymakers came through, and - as if the light carried an anaesthetic charge - the sea's fury abated.And as video producer John Galliver and I made the hop from Gran Canaria to the tiny island of El Hierro, the clouds parted, a sun fit for holidaymakers came through, and - as if the light carried an anaesthetic charge - the sea's fury abated.
Now, after a drive through El Hierro's jagged landscapes - testament to the brutal beauty that volcanoes raise - John and I are on board Song of the Whale in the peace of La Restinga harbour.Now, after a drive through El Hierro's jagged landscapes - testament to the brutal beauty that volcanoes raise - John and I are on board Song of the Whale in the peace of La Restinga harbour.
This pretty village has been the base for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) research yacht all summer. This pretty village has been the base for the Ifaw research yacht all summer.
For skipper Richard McLanaghan, La Restinga is ideal, as the elusive beaked whales are "just around the corner" - although one suspects the beach, the bar and the peace here must help.For skipper Richard McLanaghan, La Restinga is ideal, as the elusive beaked whales are "just around the corner" - although one suspects the beach, the bar and the peace here must help.
And tomorrow we sail, to look and listen for the creatures.And tomorrow we sail, to look and listen for the creatures.
Do you have a question about beaked whales or the research project? Send us your questions for environment correspondent Richard Black using the form below.
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