Since 2007, teams of dedicated volunteer ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyors have been invited on board Saga cruise ships to provide guests with incredible wildlife experiences through delivering presentations, running deck-watches, and generally being on hand to talk about any wildlife seen on the trips. ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyors collect vital data on the whales and dolphins they see during these trips, whilst also being out on deck to help guests to spot and identify the marine life they are seeing for themselves.
In February, Terry, Sara, Connie and Duncan boarded the Spirit of Discovery for what proved to be an exceptional few weeks sailing to Norway and the Arctic circle. Team Leader, Terry, shares the team’s experience:
On Sunday 22nd February the ORCA team met at Portsmouth International Port ready to board Saga’s Spirit of Discovery to cruise to the north of Norway, into the Arctic circle. Once we were on board the team participated in the obligatory muster drill, followed by the introductory meeting with cruise director Resty and his team, and an opportunity to meet the other members of the entertainment team on board.
The first day of the trip was a sea day and the team spent the morning and an hour after lunch, on deck 14 running a watch and collecting data with guests. They were joined by several guests, some old friends, and some new. There were no sightings recorded. That afternoon, the team’s Wildlife Officer, Sara, delivered her introductory talk in the Playhouse Theatre. The talk was well attended and well received. As well as the 200+ guests who came to the talk, we know that there were many others who watched the talk live on the cabin TVs or watched the recording later.
The second day of the trip was also a sea day and this was a busy day for the team, with scientific surveys from the bridge of the ship in the morning and afternoon. In between our surveys the team hosted tables at the solo travellers’ lunch, which was great fun and an opportunity to meet excited guests.
We were conducting distance sampling surveys from the bridge of the Spirit of Discovery using the ORCA Survey Protocol. The data collected during these surveys enables ORCA to look at cetacean population density, abundance and any trends in difficult to reach offshore areas. While three of the team conducted these surveys from the bridge, the fourth team member stayed out on deck 14 with guests, helping them spot any whales, dolphins or porpoises recorded.
During our morning bridge survey Sara was on deck 14; in the afternoon Duncan replaced her. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side, deteriorating through the afternoon until fog severely restricted visibility and the waves became more substantial. Whilst it is disappointing not to see the animals that we hope for, surveys conducted which result in no sightings do provide information of vital importance.The second day was also the first formal evening of the trip, and the team attended Captain Vojvoda’s reception.
Our first port of call was Bergen in Norway. We docked before daybreak, so we couldn’t survey on our way in, and poor visibility and rain meant that we were unable to make use of the little daylight that we had available at sailaway. However, on our next sea day we had our first sighting of cetaceans! Shortly after midday Sara recorded a minke whale, which surfaced briefly near to the ship. One brief view was all that we managed, and the whale wasn’t seen again. A little later Duncan recorded a fin whale off the starboard side, it showed itself blowing another 3 times as we passed by.
Our second port was Narvick in Norway. The team were on deck shortly after sunrise and it was snowing! Although the snow stopped it remained cold, with a stiff wind on the bow of the ship. The scenery was spectacular. We remained on deck surveying until we arrived at Narvick at 11.45 but recorded no cetacean sightings. However, as we arrived, with a crowd on deck 14, we were treated to a glorious view of a white-tailed eagle, which flew from a nearby mountain and soared low in the sky, directly over the deck.
After departing from Narvik we spent the afternoon surveying from deck 14 as we sailed down the fjord. We had no sightings, but did have a fantastic view of a juvenile white-tailed eagle, flying beside deck 14. The next day was another sea day and our best day of the cruise. We were blessed with good weather all day, and a lot of exciting sightings, which were enjoyed by many guests who were with us on deck 14 for several hours as we recorded our data.
There was a large pod of white-beaked dolphins and several smaller pods, some of which approached close to the bow of the ship, we recorded a total of 194. We also recorded multiple whale blows, some of which were confirmed as humpback whales, and one sperm whale. There were also thousands of birds present, including a huge line of mainly gulls and gannets following a fishing boat. It was an extraordinary sight. As if the day couldn’t get any better, that evening we were woken by an announcement from Captain Vojvoda, alerting us to a wonderful display of the northern lights!
Our next few port days took us to Honningsvag, Alta and Tromso. The scenery was stunning but we had strong winds to contend with during our surveys out on deck, and unfortunately we recorded no cetacean sightings. Then we had another sea day, but the poor weather meant that all decks were closed. The team spent their day in the Britannia lounge, chatting to guests and the whales and dolphins they had recorded during their surveys earlier in the trip. We left the arctic circle that evening.
Our final port of the trip was Alusund in Norway. The approach to port was, once again stunning, and there was another white-tailed eagle soaring off the mountains. The next day was a day at sea, and we had two more bridge surveys scheduled during this time. The morning was foggy with very poor visibility. The team recorded no cetacean sightings, but had an interesting selection of birds circling the ship. This included flocks of starlings, blackbirds, oystercatchers and a single woodcock. Although the weather cleared for the afternoon, there were still no cetacean sightings recorded during the team’s surveys from the bridge.
Heavy fog during the last sea day meant the team were unable to conduct our surveys from the bridge. Instead, Duncan hosted an entertaining quiz in the Britannia lounge, and Sara presented her round-up talk in the afternoon, to an enthusiastic crowd. The fog persisted through the night, evidenced by the sounding of the ship’s fog horn! The next morning we docked back in Portsmouth.
The team would like to extend their thanks to Captain Vojvoda, his officers and crew, and to Cruise Director Resty Sacedor and his entertainment team.