CSR_16 (August 29th - September 4th)

It is the end of August and perhaps we should start thinking about the fact that some days of bad weather can slow down a bit the research in the Ligurian Sea. Of course, when stuck in the harbour, it's frustrating as we know that there are dolphins and whales out there and that we happened to see them just the day before, but as Sir John Lubbock once said, “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky is by no means a waste of time”. In fact, despite a couple days of strong NW wind holding back the Pelagos R/V in the harbour, life on board wasn't bad at all. The crew was just wonderful and it was incredible to see how people of such different ages could interact, and share emotions, just thanks to their passion for the sea and for cetaceans. During the days spent out at sea, at first a pod of bottlenose dolphins with a tiny small newborn awkwardly mimicking the mother swimming at the surface, then three sightings of sperm whales and several sightings of striped dolphins accompanied the crew during the navigation. Life on board went smoothly and people were happy. So, just another great week went by in the Pelagos Sanctuary.

Alessandra, Eva, Claudio and Nino

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Un sentito grazie a tutto lo Staff di Tethys che mi ha fatto passare una esperienza veramente esaltante, esperienza che proponendo conoscenze scientifiche (grazie Nino, Eva, Ale,Claudio!), marinaresche culturali e ludiche (grazie Roberto!), ha unito persone di provenienze diverse ma tutte accomunate da questo interesse per creature marine affascinanti e, per me, sconosciute. Mi ritengo privilegiato perché le competenze e le capacità dello staff mi hanno reso partecipe di un progetto di grande importanza di cui conserverò soprattutto la passione trasmessaci dai ricercatori. La simpatia che si è creata fra i partecipanti ha senza dubbio contribuito a rendere molto gradevole la settimana, ma le attenzioni che ci ha riservato Tethys l’ha resa speciale. Ancora grazie a tutti.

Alberto, Italy

Following link is for participants of this week's expedition, showing the ship's route, pictures of some of the sightings and of some moments of the cruise which were memorable (or even not so...)

Ai partecipanti al turno è dedicato uno spazio con il percorso effettuato durante la settimana, le foto di alcuni avvistamenti e qualche immagine dei momenti da ricordare - importanti e non.