Silence Is Golden

I've blogged before about the different sounds one hears while living on a boat. I actually keep a pair of earplugs near my pillow because sometimes sounds keep me up at night. Most of the sounds can be quieted by adjusting lines and fenders. Lately, I've been reminded of a couple sounds that cannot be hushed: those of the shrimp and the croakers. I can't describe the sounds to you but I can tell you that, from time to time, I've spent hours searching the boat high and low, trying to pinpoint the cause of the "pinging" or the "creaking". If only the shrimps and the croakers could see me searching... they'd surely get a chuckle.

Here are a couple of videos that will give you a better idea of what they sound like... in reality, the pistol shrimp sounds a little less like a pistol and the croaker sounds a little more like a... um, well, it just sounds different through water and fiberglass, but you'll get the idea.

SeeFood Dinner

(Here's the direct link in case your internet has trouble loading, like mine does!)

Another Whale Tale

Just over a year ago, a baby gray whale (nicknamed Diego) made his way into San Diego Bay and spent a month swimming around and entertaining tourists and residents alike.  Yesterday, another gray whale was spotted swimming around our Bay near Shelter Island.  Hopefully, we'll get a chance to get some pics before he finds his way back out to the ocean and heads north.  Here's an article from the Union Tribune: Gray Whale

Hear No Evil

Living and working on a boat for the past year and eight months has gifted me with a keen sense of hearing.  At first everything sounded foreign to me. Over time I've learned what causes each sound, what sounds can be stifled, and what sounds I'll have to live with.  The sound of a dinghy banging against a fiberglass boat can be stopped by rearranging fenders or adjusting the painter.  The sound of a line slapping against a mast can be muted by tightening the slack in the line.  The vibrating hum that travels down the mast into the cabin can be lulled by adjusting the boom.  The whiny cry of the baby seagull can be quieted by throwing pennies at him. (Never throw food or you'll attract an even noisier crowd of gulls!)  I've spent countless hours listening and adjusting and readjusting... even getting up out of bed in the middle of the night in order to create some peace.  It's been quite a learning curve, really.  But I'm to the point now where I can tell pretty quickly what is normal and what is not. 

This morning, as I sat here working, I heard a new sound... that of a bird I didn't recognize.  I listened for a few minutes before my curiosity got the best of me and I had to get up to see just who this mystery bird was.  Once I got outside, it took me a few more minutes to find his hiding spot atop our neighbor's mast, and then it occurred to me that this is actually the second time I've heard this sound; the last time was at the boatyard when we did the haul out. 

Relentless

NEVER leave food unattended


Do Over


Butterfinger Breakfast


Calling All Gulls


(Please note: Objects in video appear closer than they really are.)

The Grunion Are Running

The grunion are running this weekend.
If you're in SoCal, check them out...

Information

Schedule

Saturday Morning on the Mooring Field

Here are a couple videos of a sea lion and some seafowl frolicking off the stern of our boat. Boy, that never gets old! Happy Saturday, everyone! :)

Another Whale Sighting

This morning as I was taking Lola to land for a potty break, I noticed a strange and beautiful sight on the surface of the water just a couple feet from the dock. A large school of tiny fish were pecking at the surface and jumping up out of the water. I stopped and watched it for a while, wondering what predator they might be trying to escape from. I thought of the lone grey whale that's been swimming around the bay, but quickly dismissed that idea since I believed that water to be too shallow for a whale. I watched a while longer, wishing I had my camera, and then took Lola to potty.

After her break, we climbed back in the dinghy and started to make our way slowly back towards the boat. I saw Ray (a neighbor) coming up to the dock in his dinghy and all of a sudden he let out a whoop! and a holler. I watched for a minute longer and the whale surfaced just past his dinghy! The whale must have swam right underneath him! I couldn't believe my eyes. I watched him surface a couple more times before I got back to the boat and called for Ben. We watched from the cockpit and saw him surface one more time, right between the mooring field and the dinghy dock. Then Ben hopped in his own dinghy to go whale-watching before he had to leave for school.


The whale has been spotted in the mooring field by numerous neighbors. This is the first time I've seen him that close to land. He has been dubbed "Diego" by San Diego residents and he's been swimming around the bay for at least 23 days now. Such an unbelieveable sight. A lot of people go whale-watching but I'm not sure many of them get so close to a whale as those of us who have seen him from our dinghies. Truly a humbling sight.

(Note: The pictures above are actually from our previous sighting, courtesy of Ben. We weren't quick enough with the cameras this time.)

Bringing New Meaning To The Word DINGHY

OK. So we were coming down the dock after a walk with Lola and some people were looking across the bay with binoculars. They said they could see the whale, just beyond the mooring field. (I should mention we walked Lola to Happy Hour... we like to kill two birds with one stone, as they say.) So we bravely decided to dinghy out and see for ourselves. Our mission was a success. This was my first "up-close" experience with a whale, so I wasn't sure I believed Ben when he said the whale wouldn't surface beneath our boat and capsize us. (As it turns out, he was correct. Whales are apparently very aware of their surroundings and don't bump into boats. Boats bump into them. But I am a hard sell when it comes to giant sea creatures swimming in the vast world beneath me.)

So here they are: pictures and a short video of the whale... S/he surfaced within about 10 feet of our dinghy. I was never quick enough to catch the spray. Just some shots of her/him coming up and going back under. I only wish I could have paid the Coast Guard helicopter to get some aerial shots of the two fools whale watching from their 8-foot dinghy. (Keep in mind the whale is about 30 feet long.)

(Note: For those of you lacking imagination, the whale is depicted by a black hump above the water or a blurry spot on the water's surface.)

Weekend Update

There is a gray whale cruising around the Big Bay... s/he has been here for the past 5 days. S/he's about 30 feet long, between 1 and 2 years old. Gray whales migrate from Alaska to Mexico and back every year so marine biologists figure s/he got a little sidetracked and decided to hang out in the bay for a while. Ben & I haven't actually spotted her/him yet. To be honest, I haven't even looked. Sometimes when the boat is rocking uncontrollably, I imagine her/him under there just toying with me. (Note: That is not my pic. I snagged it from msnbc.com. I'd add the link but for some reason I can never get that function to work properly on here).

TGIF (but Saturday would be better)

I'd like to whine about the 5 days I spent on the boat alone, but I'll spare you. Instead, I'll just say I rowed just under a mile each day. I lost about 4 pounds. And I cried for the first time in *oh-I-don't-know* a year. It's been a rough week.

On a positive note, I was able to snap some shots of these pelicans as they cruised by the boat. Interestingly, they appear more colorful through the lens than the naked eye. They are very timid and quite camera-shy. In the first photo, you can see his wings raised as he gets ready to fly off. The second photo, their backs are toward me. They see me and are attempting to duck and run. (HeHe). The pelican in the last photo is giving me evil eye. (I know it when I see it).