Well, we were both up bright & early this morning. Darcie was up for last minute packing & Kel for the news that the projected path of Ernesto has shifted to the east. This means that Bimini is now much closer to the center of the dreaded “cone of error.” Thus, boats must be moved into the mangroves & supplies collected. It is comforting to know that even if Ernesto does come close to the island, the impact should be minimal. We’ll keep you all updated! Until then, Kel &
Category: Bimini 2006
An eye on Ernesto
As we keep an eye on Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ernesto, we’re also trying to cram in fun before Darcie heads home. Today we tried to tidy the house (still without running water) before our Bimini family joined us for dinner. The dinner was only a small way to show our appreciation for all they do for us while we are here on the island. It was nice to have (almost) everyone together. Tomorrow morning Darcie must begin her journey home.
A day off with kayaking
Yesterday Kel’s brother arrived safely (finally!). We’re so happy to have him here for the weekend. After the morning’s phone call, we went for a leisurely kayak across the harbor. We tucked ourselves behind a cluster of mangroves & dined on gourmet peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (no jelly for Kelly!). We watched small snapper swim around our feet & even saw a young lemon shark pass by. Today we had a successful Trip 50. Leslie (#80) & her calf friend joined us again &
Spotteds & Bottlenose together again!
Today was a great day. Except for the fact that Kel’s brother’s flight to the island was postponed until tomorrow morning… Shortly after 17:00, we came upon a group of three spotted dolphins; Nemo (#76), Leslie (#80) and a temporarily recognizable calf. Nemo did not stick around, but Leslie & the calf were joined by another young C3 & we were able to observe them in the water for quite some time. And it doesn’t stop there!
Bottlenose from the boat
Today’s boat trip included a snorkel stop at beautiful “3 Sisters,” a favorite of ours. But, before we reached this destination, we saw a group of 10 bottlenose dolphins. Since the passengers had already seen quite a bit of the bottlenose, and another tour boat had been with this dolphin group for some time, we decided to continue on. Although we never did see dolphins again, it was a great day out at sea.
AMAZING
Today we did our weekly presentation/talk with passengers. It has been a great group & we truly enjoyed the conversations today. Then, it was off to the boat! The weather still looked threatening at times, but we pretty well successfully avoided storms. The day began with bottlenose outside the harbor (again!), but they moved away from us pretty quickly. After the snorkel stop, we encountered a different group & had by far, the most amazing in-water encounter with bottlenose to date.
On the rough side
After the morning phone link with the aquarium, it was time for video logging & boat time! The day began with bottlenose just off the beach. After observing this group from the boat for about 10 minutes, we decided to leave them for snorkeling & in search of spotteds. The group snorkeled at Rainbow Reef. After traveling through a bit of rain, we came up on a group of at least 10 spotted dolphins. Included were: Buster (#04), Vincent (#11), Tina (#14), Lil’ Jess (#35), Swoosh (#36) & Billy (#64).
Data morning & Meet & Greet afternoon
Today’s would be dolphin trip was cancelled due to quite a bit of storm activity. After doing data entry all morning, we did have the week’s orientation with passengers & they seem like a great group! We do (of course) hope that the weather calms down for the rest of the week…. Until next time, Kel &
Wow.
Today was very busy with two water entries & lots of spotteds. Included in the group were Finn (#09), Tina (#14), Split Jaw (#22), Lil’ Jess (#35), Swoosh (#36) & Nemo (#76). There were also a few adults, a juvenile & a calf that we’ll have to ID when we review the video. Tomorrow will be our day off for the week allowing us for another full dolphin week beginning on Sunday! Until then, Kel &
Final day of the dolphin week
Today began with work emails & video logs & ended with a nice day on the boat. Immediately outside the harbor we saw 3 bottlenose dolphins, including Tt #13 & a very small calf (Tt = Tursiops truncatus, the scientific name for the common bottlenose dolphins). Later we encountered Romeo (#10), Split Jaw (#22), Lil’ Jess (#35) & Billy (#64). We did not get to swim with this group but we did observe them from the boat for over an hour & a half. The day ended with a quick “swim-by” of 2 spotteds.
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