| After more unworkable weather
than I care to remember, we finally got a break on Monday,
13 November and Cape Town Pelagics ran a trip for the lucky
folks who could rearrange their schedules. There were no cetaceans
seen, suggesting that the bulk of the Southern Right Whales
have already moved south. We headed into the deep and Skipper
Rob Lawrence was able to get a fix on a trawler. We approached
as it had finished processing its catch, and caught the tail-end
of the usual flock. All the usual species, except Atlantic
Yellow-nosed albatrosses, were in attendance. The most obvious
change since our last trip was the complete absence of Great
Shearwaters. We stayed with the trawler for an hour or so,
and were rewarded when the tori-lines were pulled in and the
winches started up. The already-sated birds did not come in
the expected numbers, but we nevertheless had hundreds of
birds around us as the net was brought to the surface. Shortly
thereafter the trawler moved off at pace, and an unscheduled
and unwelcome north-westerly wind sprang up. With no real
options, we turned for home, with everyone on board well pleased
that they were on the first trip this month.
|
