Check it out!!
This whale loved showing off its tail, which is actually called its flanks!
Again, during my marine mammal watch, 2 humpback whales came by the port (left) side of the ship and then looped around to follow us. These 2 whales stayed a safe enough distance away that we did not need to shut down the seismic equipment, which was great for everybody. The geophysics group only has until tomorrow at midnight to finish all their research before they turn the command over to the corals group. We did our last dredge this morning in an area Ian called skinny seamount. Our final dredge did produce great results. It was a very full dredge that collected many andesites and dacties. The scientists were very satisfied with their final collection of rocks. We are currently collecting seismic image and magnetics data as we travel to the west toward Pirie Bank.
Our final dredge was done on that skinny seamount between the 2 banks, and now we are traveling west to Pirie Bank.
Once we get to Pirie Bank the geophysics group will finish up their data collection. The corals group plans on heading the ship further southwest to Elephant Island. As we travel further south and west I hope our luck of excellent weather continues.