Everybody ready for the jump! This was taken earlier in the season.....
It seems there is some prophetic tendency in my blog. As soon as I mention the word drought and no rain, the heavens open up. It has rained for most of yesterday and last night. This morning it is still raining and the met is forecasting rain for the rest of the day with possible heavy falls for the afternoon. Clearing is expected by tomorrow midday only, or so the met office says anyway…
As if the lack of sharks is not enough, the rain has put out even the last flicker of hope we have had of finishing the season on a high. Of course, everybody is trying their best to keep busy and not think about it too much. It is the usual thing. The end of a great season is approaching and when dreams have been realized it is no wonder that no one wants to say goodbye.
From a statistical point of view this has been the second best season ever. Even if the end has been slow we had a lot of sharks. We saw 42 sharks in just one flight, twice! In total Neil and I spotted 594 sharks from the air while the boat crew had 395 in water encounters. The numbers of experiences are just too many to remember and without the daily recording of the interns almost all would be lost. Meticulous detail of each and every encounter is kept – sharks are sized, sexed, photographed, accompanying fish noted and counted, peculiar markings, behaviour, time of day, area, swimmers in the water among other things are all noted on water proof sheets of paper. Afterwards all details are entered into the computer for easier and more in depth and detailed analyses later on. Add to that the data Neil and I gather from the air and the data sets become pretty impressive to say the least.
The MCSS functions as a team. Without the team effort there will be no success and no progress or reward. Breaking previous records is not just the doings of Mother Nature but also great teamwork from the interns. Of course, I am not saying they are all angels – by no means! :) But they worked well together and this year, once again the team excelled. They will be taking with them treasured lessons and experiences.
In the meantime, we are wet but thankfully on the ground!
Wish you were here!
:)
It seems there is some prophetic tendency in my blog. As soon as I mention the word drought and no rain, the heavens open up. It has rained for most of yesterday and last night. This morning it is still raining and the met is forecasting rain for the rest of the day with possible heavy falls for the afternoon. Clearing is expected by tomorrow midday only, or so the met office says anyway…
As if the lack of sharks is not enough, the rain has put out even the last flicker of hope we have had of finishing the season on a high. Of course, everybody is trying their best to keep busy and not think about it too much. It is the usual thing. The end of a great season is approaching and when dreams have been realized it is no wonder that no one wants to say goodbye.
From a statistical point of view this has been the second best season ever. Even if the end has been slow we had a lot of sharks. We saw 42 sharks in just one flight, twice! In total Neil and I spotted 594 sharks from the air while the boat crew had 395 in water encounters. The numbers of experiences are just too many to remember and without the daily recording of the interns almost all would be lost. Meticulous detail of each and every encounter is kept – sharks are sized, sexed, photographed, accompanying fish noted and counted, peculiar markings, behaviour, time of day, area, swimmers in the water among other things are all noted on water proof sheets of paper. Afterwards all details are entered into the computer for easier and more in depth and detailed analyses later on. Add to that the data Neil and I gather from the air and the data sets become pretty impressive to say the least.
The MCSS functions as a team. Without the team effort there will be no success and no progress or reward. Breaking previous records is not just the doings of Mother Nature but also great teamwork from the interns. Of course, I am not saying they are all angels – by no means! :) But they worked well together and this year, once again the team excelled. They will be taking with them treasured lessons and experiences.
In the meantime, we are wet but thankfully on the ground!
Wish you were here!
:)
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