Azores : Stormy weather

Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles

On Tuesday high waves and strong winds were prevailing, but given that the weather forecast for the whole week was looking grim, we decided to give it a go in the morning anyway and find a bit of shelter north of Faial. Quickly, it became clear we were not going to venture out very far from the coast; our balancing skills were put to the test, no railing on the boat was left unexplored and all waterproofs were deployed, for the data sheets, gear and expeditioners.

Against all odds, our observers managed to spot a group of common dolphins in the high waves. Later, we came across a pod of 40 bottlenose dolphins joined by 20 common dolphins surfing the waves, bowriding and clearly more at ease with the rough sea conditions than us. We observed several calves of both species, another highlight, and managed to get good photo-ID shots. It was an adventurous morning and we thank our skilled skipper Norberto for sailing us back safely to the harbour. A rainbow over the sea surface was an extra bonus, as well as a nice ‘after-sea’ drink at the legendary sailor’s ‘Peter Café Sport’.

Wednesday, we had an early start leaving the harbour at 08:00 trying to put in a few hours of monitoring before the weather map turned ‘purple’ with wind gusts up to 90 knots and 5–6 metre waves. We ventured eastwards of Faial and then up north and found part of the same bottlenose dolphin pod seen the day before. The graceful Cory shearwater and yellow-legged gull seemed to enjoy gliding in strong winds and are always a pleasure to watch. They accompanied us back to shore, where the team did some more important photo-identification work, while the stormy weather intensified outside.

Thursday, the team enjoyed a windy day off and set out to explore the fascinating landscape of the landmark volcano Capelinhos, the last one on the island of Faial that erupted between 1957 and 1958, creating new land ‘terra nova’ 65 years ago. This site is a good reminder that each single Azorean island is merely the tip of a huge underwater mountain chain on the mid-Atlantic ridge.

Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles