[CINC] Condor on Friday March 11

[TARA BROWN]

Hi friends,

Great report, Valerie

I just want to add that "tsunami" means "harbor wave" in Japanese.
The intensity and intervals get smaller and smaller, but the gray whales knew to 
be away from the shore to avoid the surge!
And that's why we waited outside the harbor, because they was not enough slack 
between surges (so powerful across the Pacific Ocean) to tie up the crane 
easily.

Best wishes,
Tara Brown




________________________________
From: Valerie Olson <vfolson at cox.net>
To: cinms <channel_islands_naturalist_corps at rain.org>
Sent: Fri, March 11, 2011 11:00:00 PM
Subject: [CINC] Condor on Friday March 11

Hi All,

3 Grays ... a little shy and some flukes
3 Common Dolphins


And the big story for the day ... the tsunami ...

The harbor was as I have never seen it,  like a river, surging in and out, about 
3 feet (plus and minus), every 3 minutes or so.  The only way we could exit into 
the Channel was by Captain Mat using all four of the engines.  During the day we 
heard that:

•  The bait barge and a buoy had broken loose. (Bait barge was gone when we 
finally got back into the harbor in the afternoon ... had broken in half  ... 
expect it had sunk.)

•  Sail boats had been barred from departing the harbor because they did not 
have sufficient power to get out.

Our 40 or so passengers included a group of international students from UCSB.  
We had a rocky ride all day and many were very sick.  Needless to say, they were 
all anxious to get back to the dock early.  But it was not to be.  When we got 
to the outside of the harbor ...

•  The surge was coming every 1-2 minutes and there was not enough time between 
surges to get back in.  This had been going on for quite some time.

• The crane that services the dredge had broken loose from its moorings and was 
a danger to any traffic in the harbor.

•  The Harbor Patrol was even having trouble coming out to give us reports.

We waited (and waited) patiently outside the harbor  (while they tried to secure 
the crane) and Captain Mat finally got us in (with a patrol boat escort) around 
3:40.


It was a day that will not be soon  forgotten.

Valerie Olson, Tara Brown and John Kuizenga (PID)
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