Beam Reach

Lure of the sea

A full moon sets over Haro Strait.

As a co-founder of the Beam Reach program, I have a great drive to make the second season successful. So I have to admit I was nervous and had a lot of questions in mind as I drove up from Seattle for a first visit during the third week of the fall program. How were Jason and Donna faring during their initial weeks as instructors? Had our admissions process selected a group of students who could learn and live together? Would I still feel excited about my plan to go to sea for a week this fall with a new baby and her lovely family beckoning from Seattle?

I gathered data to answer these questions during the busy week. Lecturing on marine geology and physical oceanography of the Salish Sea gave me a sense of the students’ inquisitiveness and academic endurance. Participating in a peer-review of proposal drafts gave me insights into the students’ mutual respect and Jason’s and Donna’s talents as facilitators and collaborators. More insights into each student’s curiosities and demeanor came when we asked questions after great guest lectures from Dave Bain, Jeff Nystuen, Lynne Barre, and Peter Westley, and short talks by Brad Hanson and Robin Baird. I think I may have increased anxiety unnecessarily when I reviewed what methods of provisioning, living, and researching worked (and didn’t) last year during the sea component, but the group persevered, tackled all the logistical tasks with amazing teamwork and efficiency. I was astonished that shopping for $800 worth of provisions took us only two hours!

By the end of the week, all of my concerns had dissolved. Jason and Donna have formed a resilient teaching partnership and they are well on their way to pioneering a team-teaching culture at Beam Reach. They have already derived ways to coordinate their efforts and be more efficient than Val and I were during the pilot program. Their best innovations, I think, are lunchtime meetings for lesson planning and mentoring 3 students each, rather than all students together. As a teaching team, we still have ideas to try (Skype conferencing may help coordinate between on-campus instructors and intermittent teachers, like Val, me, and the guest experts), but Jason and Donna are clearly excelling as they implement and improve the Beam Reach curriculum.

It was a real treat for me to meet Beam Reach class 061 in person. I met Peggy and Rena on the ferry as they returned from a respite in Seattle. Erin, Emily, Colleen, and Juliette introduced themselves as class started on Tuesday morning. I was immediately impressed with their amiable personalities and the progress they had made (in just 2 weeks!) on drafting their research proposals. They had already figured out how to shop, cook, and clean together, and I could sense that as a group they had the potential to survive the intensity of going to sea together for an extended period. In fact, after just a day or two, I was confident that I wanted to go to sea with them — and that’s a critical measure of the effectiveness of our admissions process! Our challenge as a school is to admit students who will be challenged enough to grow, but not so challenged that they compromise unduly the experience of their peers or instructors. There’s a lot of sea time and stress ahead, but my first impressions suggest this group will flourish together.

So, I will go to sea again, but I realize now that I’m lured for many reasons. Haro Strait surprised me during my visit by tantalizing me anew with mystery and beauty. Strange sounds surged from the hydrophones and kept me peering from the bluff, rocking Cora for hours. (I’m now in agreement with Val that the “heavy breather” is the local harbor seal.) Wild currents pulled my imagination into the realm of vortices, temperature profiles, and estuarine flow theory. The resident orcas were strangely elusive, making me wonder if they were reacting to the unusually high fraction of the Fraser fall-run Sockeye that is reportedly returning via the northern end of Vancouver Island. As the full moon set over Haro Strait and I sang my son back to sleep, I realized that my own curiosities about the ocean have been left unsated too long. I’m enthusiastic about this class and I’m clearly still lured by the sea itself.

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9/13/06-Aboard the S/V Gato Verde

When I thought about what I’d be doing when I finished my MS degree, being a member of the Beam Reach instructor team was not necessarily what I expected…it’s more that I just didn’t think a program like this would be a possibly, nor that I would find something like this in the Seattle area. It has been a joy to be involved with Beam Reach. I have been able to match my interests and excitements in teaching, research, outdoor adventures, whales, and being on the water all in one program. Who knew?!

Our first three weeks were content-packed, from a student’s learning perspective to a teaching and preparation perspective for Jason and I. And now, in our fourth week, we sit at anchor aboard the S/V Gato Verde watching as the first hints of pink color the clouds to the west. We’ve had a wonderful and adventurous first few days introduction to sailboat living. After my previous several month sailing experiences in the South Pacific aboard the mono-hull S/V Resolute, catamaran living is pretty cushy! I am amazed at the incredible amount of space, comfort, and ease of sailing the green cat. It’s been so fun to watch the students haul their first mainsail, lower the anchor, and help tack. I can’t wait to see them enact their research plans, too!

We have also guided discussions about how we impact our environment and the ethics of being human players in an ocean ecosystem, connected to larger global economy. Each student must decide what ‘sustainability’ means to them, consider their individual ecological footprint on natural resources, and act on their choices. From dietary preferences, where to pump out wastes generated on the boat, and how much water to use when cleaning dishes, we are confronted with these decisions on a daily basis, particularly when living in a self-contained island of resources like a 42 foot boat.

I have learned so much already from each of the students, Jason, the rest of the support staff, and this experience. My biggest joys have been moments interacting on a 1:1 basis with each student—we have a fantastic group of individuals with different experiences, aspirations, and knowledge. Jason and I have a great, dynamic working relationship, with wonderful support from Scott, Val, Leslie, and now Todd. Can’t wait to see how the rest of our adventure goes.

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First orcas!

I saw my first Orcas this past Thursday!!! They were transients, and over a mile off, but still visible w/o binocs. So Amazing – saw two spyhops… the first 1/3rd of the whales was the size of the NOAA research inflatable that was right next to it! And that little boat held 4 people! damn… I love it. I can’t wait to get closer and see some more whales. The residents are a tease!! They got in Friday afternoon and then totally bailed and went back out to whereever they’ve been that evening… so no chance to do any research or test any data sheets yet. I’m a little anxious, but what else is new? haha. Anyways, Whales are awesome. Harbor seals are adorable. Porpoises are nifty little torpedos and I haven’t showered in a week! (noone ever said research was glamourous!) Luckily, we’re on land for the majority of today, so we’ll be able to shower, do laundry, etc.

My friends from Spirit are reading this and thinking – Shower? After one week? talk about Spoiled! (Not to mention the coolest most baddass whales in the world.) Seriously though guys, I’m going nuts. Our captain doesnt like to coil and hang lines on this ship! that means there are messy. uncoiled. lines. ON THE DECK! EEp! I can hear Mr Mosely yelling at me from across the country. haha. On a cool note our relief captain Mike Dawson came aboard yesterday and he’s sailed Spirit, and Westward! So it’s good to have a tall shipper on board. And he knows Mr (now Captain) Mosely & Captain Flansburg, but doesn’t yell as much :).

Thats all for now! Wish me whales! haha muah

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Day 2

Wednesday September 13, 2006

Today was our second day fully at sea and our real first gloomy day. Everyone had to throw on an extra layer. Wind was good for sailing and we even got some pretty good waves that made the boat go up and down. We had fresh pancakes this morning from Jason and Peggy with Jason’s bread machine. My compliments to the cooks, but I would like walnuts in mine next time, thanks. We had our first dump of our dump today and that went faster than expected. I stood upwind. Soup was an almost must for lunch because of the ‘cool’ weather. I saw a harbor seal stick it’s head up around some gulls and if you can identify which gulls they were, more props to you. We also saw the NOAA group on their cool looking boat in their warm gear. Wish we had an opportunity to swap boats for an hour or so. They were on their way to Canada to tag the transients while we sailed along. We got our first attempt to drop our equipment in the water, ya that was interesting for everybody. We discovered if we saw whales tomorrow (which we have not yet seen) we could probably not get any real data. That’s fine with me because I am taking this as the test run it is. We were able to anchor in Mitchell Bay and I got the Internet for about two seconds and that was it. As fast, and I do mean fast, these last two days were the fresh breath of air I needed while I was drowning in the wealth of information. I actually got in some exercise, so to speak, while I am getting more familiar with the boat. It feels so good to just sit on the trampoline and feel the cool breeze pass over you and listen to the waves crash. I must say again, thank you mom.

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And we're off

Tuesday September 12, 2006

Well yesterday we set off on a bright beautiful late afternoon and headed over to Shaw Island to moor overnight. Well there was too many boats so we headed out to Jones Island where they were even more boats, but we had to stay instead of island hopping in the dark. Peggy is my cabin mate and we unpacked our stuff in Cabin B. Juliette had an unfortunate accident when her brand new digital camera went overboard, just 20 minutes before we set anchor for the night. A moment of silence for the camera. Peggy and Colleen made a great green curry for dinner that was a recipe from the 2005 crew (thanks).

Today we went sailing and it was a lovely day. Once we finished cleaning the boat we learned some sailing terminology. Then it was about time for lunch. We were hoping to be able to sail by this time but the wind was lacking in the area. We motored out on the biodiesel engine and finally the wind came to help us out. I love the trampoline on the bow of the boat. It is so relaxing when the sun is gracing us with its presence. At one point I went to the back of the boat (stern) and saw Peggy steering the boat. So cool! It was then my turn and I jumped at the chance. It was a little scary after the last little boat I learned to sail was very ‘tippy’. This is more like a car and was much easier once you got the hang of it. I then was able to steer doing a tact because an aircraft freighter was headed our way. They weren’t able to tell which country it belonged to but it had a Canadian flag on top and the US flag was on the bottom, but the US was bigger. Who knows?

I was able to talk to Adrian today and it’s weird to think he is on the opposite side of the country on Capital Hill and I’m living on a sailboat in waters between US and Canada. Adrian, when you read this remember I am coming home with a new peg leg, eye patch and a Belted Kingfisher on my shoulder. Aaarrgghh! I became the pirate of the ship yesterday when I got something in my eye and couldn’t quite get it out for about 3-4 hours. I’m all good now. Can’t wait to get out there again tomorrow.

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Sail away…

Getting on the boat in a couple hours, after a crazy, nonstop week! Talk about exhilarating and exhausting! Tons of experts – David Baine, Robin Baird, Jeff Nystuen, Lynne Barre, etc etc etc etc! Phew! Great week overall and feeling pretty excited about my project. This update is rushed and lame, so I’ll end it here and wait till I have more important stuff to chatter about – like seeing my first orca!!!

Awooooo phftttbbb!

Send me your addy people. I’ll write you dorky postcards with inane whale stories 🙂

dream.of.orcas@gmail.com

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Week 2 & 3

I haven’t been staying up to date on my blog book, oops. This is not because there is a lack of things to write about but because there is lack of time to write about everything. The past two weeks a lot of things have happened lets see if I can remember it all… we have had many many many guest lectures that all gave very interesting talks. It’s really cool to have contact with them, bounce ideas off of them, and learn about their research. We went on a tour of the Center for Whale Research, played down at the dock with some hydrophones, and had a lovely potluck dinner down at smugglers cove. Labor day weekend, people scattered about to Seattle and Victoria. I stayed on Island and spent Sunday on the water with Kari and Soundwatch which was so much fun. Tomorrow we leave for the first 2 week excursion on the boat! I am so excited! We have spent the last few days, once it hit us that we were 54 hours away from boarding, running around making lists, buying food, packing, debugging equipment, downloading software, and building all sorts of things. Hopefully everything will go relatively smoothly… either way it will be great to be on the water and with the whales!

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Almost there

As the hours until our departure dwindle, we are all both excited and nervous. What will the boat look like? Where will we sleep? What will we eat? How will we collect data? And, how is this all going to work!?! The past few days and the upcoming hours until we push off have been about answering those questions. We have now bought all our supplies and food, tested the hydrophone array in the water and tested out a few computers. As far as science goes, we’re right on track. For the sustainability side of Beam Reach, we toured Jason’s house on Friday afternoon. He has built his own house with a number of environmentally conscious decisions in mind. From the type of structure to the orientation of the house, he has tried to keep waste and unnecessary use of valued resources at a minimum. Not only is the process admirable, but the house was gorgeous! Following the tour we headed down to Smuggler’s Cove for a beach pot luck. Both Jason’s and Scott’s kids and parents were in attendance making for quite a homey and familial atmosphere-all of us students living on our own loved it!! Today was devoted to food organization and shopping, as well as equipment de-bugging, and tomorrow we’ll put the finishing touched on our group science plan and equipment list. Monday midday we set sail. As for now…I’m just about spent and ready for bed!! Stay tuned for updates on our first trial run at sea!

End of Week 3

Mon 9/4 Rena and I came back up from a lovely weekend in Seattle. We stopped at Deception Pass first, even though it looked like it was socked in. However, it was absolutley lovely and kind of a little taste of what it will be like on the water. On the Ferry we ran into Scott and Liam; we were still working on our proposals (materials and methods) and they were off exploring.
Tue 9/5:
Scott gave a talk on Physical Oceanography and introduced us to the CT device that we will use on one of our service projects. Then Dr. David Bain shared a powerpoint about his cooperative research project called “Landbase Study: Effects of vessel traffic on behaviors of N. and S. resident killer whales. He was also very helpful in explaining hydrophone arrays and different configurations.

After lunch, we went down to the dock to see how David and Val calibrated their hydrophones. We also redid an experiment where a common J-pod call (Call S-1)was played in the water. Then we recorded the call at four different distances to measure the attenuation.

We all went into town for dinner and met a friend of mine who works for Save our Wild Salmon. We all had the opportunity to share our research projects and learn more about Columbia and Snake River salmon. Quite fun!

Wed 9/6

Jeff Nystuen, applied physics professor form U.W. came up to give on a talk on PALS, passive aquatic listening devices. It was pretty cool to see him get so excited about what he does. He deploys these hydrophone/computers around the world, some attached to buoys, and others sunk below the surface of the water. It randomly records sound bites and he is able to detect wind, rain, anthropogenic sounds like vessel traffic, and biological sounds possibly whales or dolphins.

Peer Review from 2:00-5:30
It was good to hear everyone’s projects and list the different types of equipment that we will need on the boat. We are preparing for our group science plan that will come later this week. I’m glad to know that many of our observations and data collection procedures are very similar. I am getting excited to be on the water with them.

Thur 9/7
Our two guest speakers today were Lynne Barre and Brad Hanson. It was great to see both of them and hear more about the ESA listing process, conservation plan, and next steps. Brad walked in with a pool net and shared that they are going to attempt to collect whale scat. Great stories of whale poo though which was a nice change of pace. Our afternoon went by so fast; advisor meetings and then we started the conversation about sustainability on the boat (fuel, water, waste, etc.) We realized that we only have 54hr before we go on the boat. Yippee!
Fri 9/8
It was a delight to have Peter Westley, UW grad student, share with us some general salmon life histories and the work he has been doing up in Alaska. His enthusiasm was quite contagious and you could definitely tell he loves what he does. That was followed by Robyn Baird and his work with TDR’s (time depth recorders) with transients and residents. I was totally fascinated with the dive information and day/night patterns. I think I’m going to his article for my journal club next week. Lastly, we ended tonight with a lovely potluck over at Jason’s new house. We learned more about sustainable living on an island, but it was quite cool to get the tour. He and his family have built this house from the ground up and it is gorgeous! We took our goodies down to the beach and met both Jason and Scott’s families.

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Quickie

So as of today my extent of wildlife has been Fred, our resident field mice, Bambi outside our cottage, crows, turkey vultures, one bald eagle, one osprey, commorants, unknown passeriformes and harbor seals. I will add more later.