The First 24 Hours...

So... I have officially survived my first day. In some ways, it feels like I’ve been here forever. I’ve already learned how to run the battery systems around the place and we went to a hydrophone today to check the levels there. Within the next 48 hours I will have learned everything needed to function here for a few days alone. Right now I am listening to some calls from 2008 that are downloading from DAT tapes onto a hard drive.

I must mention the events that took place yesterday as it was a perfect beginning to the next two months. We were on our way over to the lab from the cabin when all of a sudden I saw fins milling about around fifty meters from the boat. We turned off the power not a moment too soon as half a dozen pacific whitesided dolphins (PWD's) raced away from the much larger pod to check us out. They spent about fifteen minutes gracefully gliding under and beside the vessel, jumping in the air and surfacing so close that I could feel their breath below me as I stood on the bow. Such curious creatures these dolphins are.

The lab itself is a creation beyond words. You have to see it to appreciate it! Since I am the only intern for a while, I don’t have to camp by myself. That can wait till the other interns get here. Rather, I sleep near the lab, ready hop into it if anything comes over the speakers. In every building there is a setup broadcasting the sound from the hydrophones so that we can hear it wherever we are. In the next few days I am training myself to wake at every dolphin or orca call heard during the night. Once summer starts and we have set watches (when more people arrive) that won’t be necessary, but with so few around now, it is an essential skill.

Last night I slept on the deck out front of the lab and watched the luminescence crash against the shore with each wave. Twister, the humpback (HB), swam by into the sunset along with a few Dall`s porpoises. We were hoping that he would swim by during the night. The dolphins were chatting around 02:30 and the moon beautifully illuminated the bay. Unfortunately today was rainy with little action on the hydrophones. Even Twister didn`t show up. I got acquainted with `the car`, the aptly-named little boat that feels like driving a car on the water when you`re in it. Well... that`s all for now. Hoping for more action tomorrow and a nice day!