The last 24 hours have been pretty eventful on the BP Explorer scale it has to be said; as we approach what will hopefully transpire to be our last big gale of the leg (expected in the next day or so), we can celebrate breaking the 1,500-mile-to-Cape-Town barrier! Not only that, but last night's googah was followed by a spectacular wildlife display which more than made up for the bleak and empty water canvas which we have gazed upon for the last month. Until now its surface has been broken only by its own tempestuous waves, a couple of seals and an awful lot of kelp. As it turns out, however, there is life around us after all.
As Cop's watch exited the companionway for the 6-10 watch yesterday, they spied a whale some distance from the boat, repeatedly surfacing and diving at breakneck speed. As we all piled on deck to watch, the whale disobligingly exited the scene and we all trooped back downstairs to prepare for our bunks. Within minutes, however, a chorus of whoops and ooohs and ahhs drew us back on deck; there, literally right next to the boat to starboard, was a 40-foot sleek, grey form accompanying us effortlessly towards a misty sunset (these measurements have been verified by those with better spatial awareness than myself!). Within minutes there were two, and they re-appeaared time and time again, their heads rearing up through the grey waves to reveal a white underside, before they arched back below the surface once again, showing the small, upright pointed fins near their tails which have helped us to identify them as Sei whales (or, if not, then Fins).
The two Seis stayed close for quite a while, but they were undoubtedly in a rush. Like us, they had clearly decided not to hang around the Crozet Islands which now lie in our wake and slightly to the south of us. It seems like a sensible decision; the five islands and two reefs which make up the French-owned-and-occupied archipelago do not sound tempting! Characterised by cold, wet and cloudy weather, the islands endure rain for 300 days of the year, temperatures not exceeding 18°C and winds in excess of 100Km/Hr almost every third day. The 35 inhabitants who now live there are served by a Post Office, a church, a research station and memories concentrated largely on sealing on an immense scale and countless shipwrecks. A potted history of the islands makes interesting reading, but if our motley crew is going to get stranded anywhere right now it had better be in a Cape Town bar and nowhere else! We are on our way.
Naomi Cudmore
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