Weather for July 22:
Wind: W 11 to 34 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Foggy in morning, Partly Cloudy after 09:00
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-18 C
Weather for July 23:
Wind: W 12 to 32 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Fog patches in the morning, Partly Cloudy after noon
Sea: up to 1′ chop in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-16 C
Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, sampling the salinity and temperature of the seawater, and running the desalinator with solar power to produce freshwater.
End of Shift:
I have enjoyed reacquainting myself with Race Rocks over the past two and a half weeks. The solar power was a sufficient source of energy each day to charge the batteries, power the island, and produce freshwater from the desalinator. I got out in the station boat, which is always a highlight to see the island from the perspective of a sea lion. Most importantly, for the second summer in a row I learned to live harmoniously with the very territorial nesting gulls.
This is my sixth shift I have done as Ecoguardian over the past nine years, for a total of almost nine months. My shifts have ranged from two weeks to four months. I have visited here in ten months of the year, with the exception of June and September.
Tomorrow I am heading home to Vancouver to get ready for two weeks in the Northwest Territories, where I will be canoeing in Nahanni National Park Reserve.
I look forward to returning to Race Rocks sometime soon to explore the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of this amazing place.
Photo highlights from the past two days:
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- Wispy evening clouds over Olympic National Park, in Washington.
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- 30 sea lions on Middle Rocks on July 23. They are mostly Steller sea lions with a few California sea lions mixed in there. The numbers of sea lions have been climbing steadily over the past few days.
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- Two harbour seal mothers and their pups
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- A mother harbour seal and her pup hauled out on South Seal Rocks
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- Pigeon guillemot with an eel
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- Gull chicks
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- Gull chicks
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- This photo of a bird’s-eye view of the island was taken by Nick Townley on March 25, 2022, when he flew over Race Rocks in a Coast Guard helicopter on a return trip from a relief lightkeeper shift up the coast at Pachena Point. Derek, the Ecoguardian, and Greg, the Seafront Coordinator, are on the jetty with the boat Second Nature.
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- This photo was taken by Nick Townley from a Coast Guard helicopter on March 25, 2022. All the islands of Race Rocks can be seen looking from the west. From left to right the island are: West Rocks, North Rocks, Turbine Rock, Middle Rocks, Great Race Rocks, South Seal Rocks, and South Islands.