Category Archives: Marine Vessels

Post for Canada Day

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Low southerly winds under 15 knots for most of the day. Sky partly cloudy with sun. Barometric pressure dropped steadily all day.

Tour boats: 6                                                                                                                            No whale watchers.

I found another oyster catcher nest on the south side of the island. There are two chicks that look like they’ve hatched in the last two days, and one egg that hadn’t hatched as of yesterday evening. There are only two elephant seals (the big males) on the island right now. They both swam and were sparring in the water on the south side of the main island. For the last two nights, the younger male has stayed in the water until well after dark.

Left the island from 1630h-1930h yesterday evening to pick up a visitor.

River Otter visit this morning

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Clear day (despite forecast for a thunderstorm). Low winds below 15 knots today, dropping to zero midday. Strong wind warning in effect for tomorrow.

Several cargo ships passed through the strait today, a well as a few military ships.

Left the island this afternoon to pick up groceries and a visitor (which is why there are not exact numbers for passing watercraft).

This morning a river otter was running along the deck from the crane to the jetty. A juvenile bald eagle was sitting on the west side of the main island for a few hours this morning.

Male elephant seals sparring

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Overcast in the morning. Clear all afternoon and evening. Winds got up to 30 knots last night but hovered around 15 for most of the day today. There are strong wind warnings in effect for tonight. The barometric pressure has been falling since noon.

There have been an increasing number of boats this weekend. For today:

-5 recreational fishing boats passed through the reserve

-8 whale watching boats, including a 29m fibreglass catamaran from Spirit Orca Adventures

-1 sailboat

There were also two more float planes that passed overhead today early afternoon.

The pigeon guillemots are mating. I saw the first hatched gull today that looked like it was a couple days old. The gulls are still occasionally mating, though. A series of sparring matches occurred between the male elephant seals today. There are three larger ones right now and the largest two fight (especially when entering and exiting the water on the jetty). The second largest was also attacking the third largest in rank near the boat shed today.

June 20th

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Clear. Westerlies all day with speed averaging around 20 knots.

1 cruise ship passed by in the morning

1 tour boat

3 cargo ships passed through the strait throughout the day

1 helicopter passed over the reserve at 1300h

Business as usual on the reserve today:

-Another female elephant seal has arrived, bringing the current count to 5
-A California sea lion was hanging out on one of the south islands
-The pair of Caspian terns was back again today

Friday Night Vessel Scramble in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

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This evening as  I write this, 6 cargo ships (bulk carriers and container ships), a ferry and a cruise ship are all underway around Race Rocks Ecological Reserve and out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (as viewed on http://ais3.siitech.com/VTSLite/AView.aspx.) The wind is from the West at 50 km/hr. The total length of these outbound vessels if they were placed end to end is 1861 metres (1.861 kilometres or 6,105 feet which is 1.156 miles. )

SHIPS-at-RR-2014-06-06 at 8.17.30 PM

Ships within 4 km of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve at 8:00 pm on June 6

ocean-hawk There is also this 186 metre inbound ship called the Ocean Hawk ,     And this is how close they get to Race Rocks: Rosedaleand ships2014-06-06 at 7.53.59 PMYou can see other posts about our concern for the oil spill threat in the Race Rocks Ecological reserve here:  https://www.racerocks.ca/category/ecology/oil-spill-risk/

frontierLeadertankerOn this page we profile Marine Vessel Traffic Images which show how close they are to the Animals of Race Rocks

 


Click on the photos below by Courtney Edwards-taken from Race Rocks :

Swiftsure day 2

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Clouds with rain. Light winds. Force 3-4
The barometer has levelled out as of this evening. Strong westerlies forecasted for tomorrow, but for some reason today I just don’t think the forecast is right.

12 tour boats
2 halibut boats

The Swiftsure boats were steadily passing by all day with their colourful spinnakers flying in the light winds.

Business as usual in the reserve today. 3 Bald eagles in the am, two of the juveniles have really light coloured mottling. The Elephant seals are mostly behind the boat shed. ~20 California Sea lions have camped out on the rocks East of the jetty. The Canada Geese are roaming the island in a slightly angry and aggressive pack. The gulls are getting a bit defensive about their nest sites, which means they are starting to attack me as I walk around the island. Lots of jellies in the water by the jetty at high tide.

-finished bathroom mini-reno
-finished spring cleaning Keeper’s House

 

Swiftsure Race

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Strong Westerlies all day. Clear skies. Force 6. Barometer took a turn around midday and started to fall. Forecast is for the wind to ease a bit tomorrow. 26 tour boats 1 dive boat 4 halibut boats on the edge of the reserve 1 boat jigging on the East edge

Swiftsure2

A busy day on the water

It was a busy day on the waters of the Juan de Fuca today, with way more humans than usual out on the water because of the Swiftsure sailing race. The Swiftsure boats passed by this morning, along with plenty of spectator boats, and several marine tour boats. Most boats went between Race Rocks and Bentick Island, and a few went on the South side of the reserve. There were about 6 tour boats going in and out of the reserve as the sailboats passed by. The first boat on the return run to Victoria (from Cape Flattery) just passed back by Race Rocks; flying a spinnaker and going crazy fast.

Tour Boats

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Clear. Light West wind. Force 3
Barometer is falling.

23 tour boats
1 dive boat
3 recreational boats passed through

I think the marine tourism season has come into full swing in Victoria. Around 1530 about 10 tour boats passed through the reserve from the West heading back to Victoria. At one point there were 5 boats in middle channel.

There was 16 Elephant seals on Great Race today. They did their usual routine where they are in the water first thing in the morning and then make their way back ashore. Most of them a lying behind the Boat Shed now. Then around midday most of them head back down to the water to cool off. A few of them spent the whole afternoon in the shallows by the jetty.

Albatross..?

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Strong Westerlies, clear skies. Force 4-5
Barometer is falling again, with a strong West wind warning overnight.
The Washington Marine text forecast has not been updating since yesterday.

4 tour boats
3 halibut boats on the edge of the reserve

RIP Farley Mowat: acclaimed Canadian author, and ardent environmentalist.

I saw another pair of Canada geese with a single gosling today. There are now 3 goslings in total. I realized the other day that there are no Black Turnstones around any more, I guess they’ve gone North for the summer breeding season. There is a pair of Oyster catchers setting up shop on the steep slope East of the jetty, I hope they make a nest there where it is easy for me to observe them. The Cackling goose and White Fronted goose are both still on Great Race. The animal highlight of the day was a mystery bird. It was up really high above Great Race when I first came out this morning. It was mostly white underneath and was clearly an offshore bird because it had that albatross-esque silhouette. It made a really awkward, throaty sound, almost like a heron. On the Race Rocks species page the only offshore birds list are the Sooty Shearwater and the Laysan Albatross. The Shearwater is ruled out because it is grey underneath, so my best guess is that this morning I saw a Laysan albatross.

-Trouble shooting temperature issues on inverter 1
-Finished leak repair on outside of Science house door
-Washed Keeper’s house windows

Ships Currently in the Area of Race Rocks, and the Associated Hazards

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Shipping in the Strait of Juan de Fuca poses the greatest risk to the ecological integrity of the Race Rocks Ecological reserve. The risk of chronic oil spills increases directly with the Number of vessels in the waters. Chronic oil is a greater risk to marine life around the world than are the disastrous large spills, but the risk from both will increase if tanker traffic is allowed to proliferate in the Strait of Juan de Fuca:

These tagged posts detail the risk to this and other Marine Ecological reserves on southern Vancouver Island: https://www.racerocks.ca/tag/oil-spill/

frontierLeadertankerOn this page we profile Marine Vessel Traffic Images which show how close they are to the Animals of Race Rocks

 

 

The live tracking image below shows the ships, their size and other details that are in the Strait around Race Rocks right now.

Either go to this site and create a username and password to access:

or use the more restricted map below:


View Larger Map

Problems with Marine Vessels and their risk for Race Rocks:

It has always been a concern that Race Rocks is located in a very vulnerable location in the Entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There is a need for regulations preventing the dumping of bilge and sewage from ships, and an emergency plan in the event of disaster from marine shipping.Shipping  Prshipwreckoblems:
The history of shipping in the past in the area is grim evidence that accidents happen. A fuel or chemical spill in the Strait of Juan de Fuca would have an untold impact on the biodiversity of the Ecological reserve.shipwreckMajor Marine Vessel Casualty Risk and Response Preparedness in British Columbia
Prepared for Living Oceans Society
Sointula/Vancouver, BC Canada
by EnviroEmerg Consulting Services Cowichan Bay, BC CanadaGovernment of Canada Announces Ballast regulations, June 2006
Cruise Ship Problems:
Screen Shot 2014-04-01 at 9.35.14 PMSee the following reference link on potential problems from Cruise ships and how they can be rated for environmental safety with the Cruise Ship Environmental report card.Cruise Ship Dump Raises Alarm
Louise Dickson, Times Colonist
Thursday, May 08, 2003The accidental dumping of raw sewage into Juan de Fuca Strait has renewed calls for stronger environmental regulations governing cruise ships.Norwegian Cruise Lines has confirmed that its ship, Norwegian Sun, dumped about 62,000 litres of raw sewage into American waters near Port Townsend, southeast of Victoria.
Victoria’s Cruise Ship Industry: Economic Benefits and their Environmental ImpactsBy: Elliot Houlston and Carly Daoust , 2005″Being that a cruise ship functions like a small city, it will pollute like a small city as well. In one week’s time a single cruise ships empties 210,000 gallons of sewage (human waste), 1,000,000 gallons of grey water (water from sinks, bathing and washing), 8 tons of solid waste (paper, plastic, cardboard, food waste) and 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water8. Some hazardous wastes such as photo chemicals and used paint are produced also. These are only the water pollutants created by cruise ships. There are many air pollutants as well.”Dirty Waters: Cashing in on Ocean Pollution 18 January 2010 in DC BureauBy David Rosenfeld
Return to Index of Environmental Disturbances to the ecosystem at Race Rocks