A'hoy Land Lubbers

Now that I am back on dry land, I can finally post an update to my blog. I have been out-to-sea for the past week or so chasing herring and whales. Well, I was chasing whales and Fish and Game was chasing herring.
All told, it was kind of a lame trip. There were much fewer whales around than I had hoped and the weather was less than agreeable. Still, it's better than being stuck behind a desk.
February 17: Day 1 - Leaving Port
The weather was beautiful for our departure from Kodiak and I had high hopes for the week ahead.

The purpose of this trip was for Fish and Game to assess the herring biomass that overwinters in a couple of bays on the west side of Kodiak Island. I often tag along on these surveys so that I can document any whales that may be taking advantage of a winter food source. I collect photographs and biopsy samples from any whales I see.
Didn't get much work done on day one because by the time we reached our destination, the sun was going down and it was beginning to snow.

Feb. 18: Day 2 - Finally getting down to business
A decent day, except for the biting cold. Hey...what can you expect for Alaska in February?
We did some whaling and only came across one lone bugger.

This is a whale I have seen in this bay in the past.

The F/V Resolution...our main research platform for the week.

Mark, a biologist for F&G who also happens to be my husband (pretty handy, huh?), driving the "whale chasing" skiff.

Yeah, they're cute, but they are meaner than hell. We affectionately call them "rat fuckers."
Later that night we caught some herring in the snow and then sampled them for genetics, age, sex, and disease. I helped out, but not until I was done with my workout! Yep, that's right. The boat had a trainer on board. I would have absolutely lost my mind if not!

Totally listening to triathlon podcast, by the way


Feb. 19: Day 3 - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Very, very boring day. The wind picked up and we couldn't do much. I didn't even take any pics this day.
I did do some strength training in the dry hold, though.

Feb. 20: Day 4 - Still windy and bloody freezin'
No whales to be seen and very few herring to catch. It was blowing like mad and the only thing we managed to catch was a crab pot.

Feb 21: Day 5 - OK....I've had enough.
Too bored and too cold, so I bailed. I got Mark and Birch to skiff me over to the nearby village of Larsen Bay so I could hop on a mail flight back to Kodiak. Beautiful flight home.

Whew...ok, that's it for now. Thanks for putting up with the departure from triathlon.
More soon!