First Day on the Boat! - No Great Whites

February 5, 2013

                It was my first day on the boat searching for great white sharks. I assumed we would go to a spot known to see many sharks, but for our first day we went to a location that previous interns referred to as a hit or miss. Today, we missed. We went out from 1-5 p.m. but unfortunately were unable to attract anything. We were familiarized with the boat, equipment and what our tasks on the boat will be, but didn’t get the chance to utilize our newly learned skills. I chummed for a couple hours, did some environment records and played the role of shark spotter for a little. It’s a little rough up there in the crow’s nest but I did just fine as far as not getting seasick.

                Actually, I didn’t get seasick the whole time. In fact, while I was chumming, there was hundreds of fish swimming around the boat. I managed to catch four of them with just a bucket (one on the first try and three on the next). We passed by seal island, which is a lot closer to shore than one might expect. The location we went to was called Railway and today it did not produce a single great white. We saw plenty of fish and one smaller local shark, but nothing substantial. I have still yet to see my great whites. Hope it happens soon.

                I went to another dolphin location this morning and got to learn how to use a theodolite for tracking marine life. It was super sensitive to movement and quite annoying when trying to align it just right, but the other interns and I were eventually able to get the hang of it. We were also given a presentation on how to identify the various species we might come across. I’m excited for my first viewing. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things.

                I’m extremely sun burnt today even though I put sunscreen on in the morning. Apparently you have to put in on multiple times a day in Africa. Live and learn I guess. I work in the aquarium tomorrow studying the movement of sharks with an impending storm on the way. I’m excited for that. Also, Luke Shoemaker emailed me his Skype name so I can officially start making a presentation for him and his class. I hope he likes it, I told him to wait a couple of weeks before we can do it to allow me to gather as much material as possible. I tested the underwater camera Shannon gave it and it worked like a charm. Hope I can just keep my hands steady when a great white is swimming toward me.