Today I retired the Rubber Duke, which is an enormous platform boat, with a winch and large amount of equipment used for pulling krill out of the water. It is a beefy, gem of a boat and I will miss crawling around it, filling it's air and hoisting it's cranks. Weighing in at over 3200 lbs with a variety of priceless scientific instruments, lifting it from surging ocean to the boathouse deck is an operation fraught with peril, even with our sturdy track vehicle, the Skytrak.
This last week has been a good one, involving all the enjoyable experiences, projects completed and things learned that go into making a good run. Last weekend I had a whale experience that made me remember the immensity of our universe. On Monday, hunting whale with a group on the water, I came across a mom and calf, swimming around, bobbing up and down. Flopping their tails and blowing their holes. They came very close, directly under our boats, spying us.
Today again, out on Hermit Island replacing the SAR cache I noticed a group of two or three whales swimming around a series of shoals. Around me was a mine field of roaring fur seals. Asleep, they look so much like the surrounding rocks I had to be extremely careful not to trod on them. Also, there were penguins, skuas, and my favorite of all the Antarctic birds, the blue-eyed shag.
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