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JOURNAL ENTRY II
Geoff Green
(Posted Sunday Aug 22, 8:45 am ET)
August 21, 2004
3:20pm
Our mission to see Puffins this morning was a great success. The sea conditions allowed us to launch the Musculus (our inflatable) and set off for a close up look along the cliffs of Ile aux Perroquets. This tiny island at the western end of the Mingan Islands is home to a classic old Lighthouse (now automated like most of the lighthouses of the world), and to several hundred Atlantic puffins.
We carefully approached the reef-encircled island and soon spotted lots of puffins and black guillemots. The adorable little puffins were an instant hit with the students.
The sounds and smells of the islands and sea were also a wonderful part of the morning experience.
After lunch we departed the Mingan Islands and crossed the Jacques Cartier Strait towards Anticosti Island. A few afternoon naps were necessary for some to make it through the afternoon!
We're presently off the northshore of Anticosti Island cruising west looking for whales. The conditions are perfect but so far no luck with the whales. We've seen a few seals and seabirds (razorbills, murres, gannets) but it's been remarkably quite. This is just part of the mystery we're faced with, and what the researchers, including Richard Sears, are trying to understand. Where do the whales go and why? In that respect, it is just as important to know where the whales are not, as where they are. It's like trying to complete a puzzle with only 10 percent of the pieces.
Hopefully, our expedition will help contribute to the ongoing advances to the understanding this puzzle. The students have started regular whale watches, which will continue for the next 9 days during every waking hour.
By dinner tonight we will pass the western end of Anticosti, and then we'll sail during the night northwest to Banc Cod. First thing in the morning we'll resume the search!
Everyone on board is doing great and our group is really coming together. It is great to see the personalities emerging, friendships being formed, and the learning in action!
Geoff
JOURNAL ENTRY I
Geoff Green
(Posted 9:00 am ET)
Saturday, August 21st
5:30am - Sunrise, Sunrise… in the Mingan Islands.
The 5:00am wake-up paid off in spades this morning with a magical sunset and mirror reflections in the glass-like waters of Quarry Bay.
For the Phillip, Jeff and Jackson who are sleeping in the stern cabin, it was quite a wake-up call this morning, since they are directly above the main engines and steering apparatus! You've never seen three teenage boys get up so fast!
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Why get up at 5:00am you might ask? Will for a magical sunset of course, but also because we have just hoisted up the anchor and are proceeding west to l'Iles aux Perroquetes (Islands of Parrots). Are there parrots there? Sort of… It is the summer home of thousands of puffins! We should arrive there around 7:00am to begin another day of adventure and exploring.
Yesterday was a great day pure and simple. In the morning, Phillip, who is Mohawk, conducted a Sweet Grass Smudge Ceremony on the stern deck to purify the spirit of our expedition, and bring good luck to us all. It was a very special experience. This was followed by a Safety Briefing and ship tour by our Captain Guy Gaudin. Then it was off to MICS for a behind the scenes visit with the research and naturalist team. Thank you to the MICS team for sharing their time and knowledge with us!
We returned to SEDNA for lunch and then it was time to set sail!! The fog had lifted and blue skies invited us to explore the Mingan Islands. Anchor up and we were off! "Students on Sedna" had officially launched… after many years in the planning! Yee hoo!
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About 15 minutes later someone shouted "Whale off starboard!" A Minke whale to be exact. Then another, and another… over the next 2 hours we spotted about 10 Minkes, as well as many seabirds, harbour porpoise, and spectacular scenery all around.
We arrived to Quarry Island at 4:00pm and dropped anchor in the protected bay. We took half the group to shore for a hike, and the other half on a Zodiac cruise around the islands, and then later switched the two groups. Both excursions were wonderful experiences. During the Zodiac cruises we had several close-up encounters with Minke whales, including one with the whales feeding. At one point as we drifted in the calm waters in the Mingan Channel a Minke surfaced about two meters away from us!
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Watching all those whales feeding built up our appetites, and our hungry group celebrated our huge day with a feast of Lasagna and Garlic bread. Sooooo gooood…
At our re-cap and briefing we discussed our day and answered questions. It was a big day and by 10:00pm hit the bunks hard for a well-earned sleep.
Gotta go. Iles aux Perroquets is in sight. Stay tuned.
Geoff
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General Information:
About 40 islands lie within the reserve, part of the Eastern St. Lawrence Lowlands natural region. With the islands and smaller islets paralleling the mainland, at an average distance of about 3.5 kilometres, the archipelago stretches some 150 kilometres along the north shore of the St. Lawrence. The grottoes, fossils, cliffs and monoliths are all part of the island's unique landscape, this diverse environment providing habitats for a wide variety of plant life and wildlife both on land and in the sea. The archipelago is a wildlife sanctuary for seabirds, seals and whales. Nine species of whales are attracted by the abundance of plankton and fish in the island waters. Minke whales travel in groups of two to five close to the shore where they can be observed, while farther out, common porpoise, the blue whale, humpback whale, and the fin whale feed at greater depths.
The most extraordinary feature of the islands is their dramatic topography. Limestone- based, unlike the exposed Canadian Shield of the mainland, the bedrock has undergone repeated cycles of lifting and submersion, with the latest rising-up occurring at the end of the last glaciation. During the last major ice age, 20,000 years ago, the Mingan Archipelago was covered by 2.5 kilometres of ice. As the glaciers began to melt, the ocean level rose covering the islands with 85 metres of water. Very slowly the islands lifted until about 7,000 years ago when they broke the surface. With the shifting of the earth's crust, the limestone bedrock which came to the surface as a huge plateau soon eroded to form splits and cracks. Further water erosion split up these rocks to form the archipelago. On the south side of the islands is a complex network of arches and grottoes that contain a rare collection of fossil remains of over 200 marine organisms, a treasure trove of major scientific significance. Here is also found the largest concentration of monoliths, or sea stacks, in Canada. Created from friable rock more than 450 million years old, they are still being eroded by waves, changing sea level, wind and severe weather.
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