Surprise Offshore Trip

Ultimately, this remarkable trip happened because of a family, The H.’s from Darien Connecticut.

The H’s spend their summers in Newport, and they sent their boys to the Norman Bird Sanctuary summer camp, where they shined down at 3^rd Beach. Over the course of the summer, I lobbied the family to start up a salt-water tank, and they did.  At the end of the summer, I contacted the Norwalk Aquarium to see if they wanted some of our fish. They did too, and it was the H’s who delivered the fish to the aquarium. The aquarium was very grateful for the donation. Now the aquarium is our friend.

Jump forward to last Wednesday, when the aquarium’s Jack Schneider called me to see if I wanted to go offshore with them on a Sargassum seaweed collecting trip, I readily accepted.

Early the following morning, I met Jack and two fellow Norwalk aquarists in Galilee, to board the sport fishing boat “Snappa,” noted as the shark cage boat that I used to go out on many years ago. “Snappa “ is owned by Captain Charlie Donilon.

 

Snappa

 

From left: Jack, Joe, Kerry, Captain Charlie

 

I was so excited, because of the hundreds and hundreds of trips I have gone offshore, this was the first time I have gone on a dedicated marine specimen collecting trip. Plus there was no public that I had to narrate to, only three other marine biologists.

As we got underway, in addition to being a beautiful and sunny day, seas were calm. We steamed south directly for Cox’s Ledge at a fast clip- 16-knots. I’m not used to going that fast. The aquarium brought lots of collecting gear while I brought my extender net and a small dip net.

 

 

My net: ship's colors on the day

 

Soon we started seeing pelagic birds; red-necked phalaropes, greater shearwaters, Wilson’s storm-petrels, and an adult Northern gannet.

We found some floating Sargassum seaweed, and collected some. In it was a small gray triggerfish, smaller unidentified fry, and some of the specimens associated with the gulfweed community; gulfweed shrimp, portunis crabs, and gulfweed nudibranchs.

Gray triggerfish

 

We left the weed patches and although we got about 30-miles offshore, wespent the next few hours with little results. Eventually I recommended that we return to where we had had the Sargassum earlier, and here we found the mother lode, where we spent the next couple of hours gathering and collecting. In addition to more triggerfish, we also collected some orange filefish and a solitary planehead filefish. We also found a Frisbee with some goose barnacles on it.

Jack sorting through a tub of Sargassum

 

Orange filefish

 

Planehead filefish

 

Goose barnacles on frisbee

 

 

 

Then it was time to go in. One final treat.

 

In all, about thirty of these common dolphins surrounded us.

Great day. Thanks H's.

Captain Charlie and Joe in wheelhouse