August 18, 2009
Dispatches from Ranger: Dolphins!
As promised, I’ll be bringing you regular updates from the Ranger expedition to the Canary Islands. Here’s one from last weekend. -Emily Almerimar-Chipiona Voyage. Saturday, August 15, 2009 By Silvia Garcia Sunny, calm during the morning, and strong gusts of wind in the Strait. Last night we left Almerimar bound for Chipiona which will take us about 30 hours of sailing. Going through the Strait has entailed sailing with the sails up because of the gusts of wind we have come across after coming from a completely calm Alboran Sea. Of course, in the Strait, we have sighted numerous cetaceans, normally family groups, of both long-finned pilot whales and common dolphins and striped dolphins; a mixed group of common and striped dolphins swam alongside the ship’s bow for quite awhile. On several occasions there were some babies and juveniles in these groups. We also came across a huge ocean sunfish (Mola mola) sunning, and a good-sized patch of sargasso (Sargassum vulgare) adrift, uprooted from the ocean bottom by a storm or aggressive fishing gear.