Befriending the Leviathan – The Gray Whales of Baja California

How easily we draw the line that separates us from the wild. Presuming that our ability to name the creatures of this world somehow separates us from them, and worse yet gives us dominion to do with them as we please.

Yet out of all the places in the world where we have abused animal life as a resource, none tell a more magical tale than the lagoon of San Ignacio in Baja California where the California Gray Whales have suffered both slaughter and revival.

Beginning in 1845, these whales were found to be easy prey for the bold whalers that chose to hunt them. Injuring the newly born calves, the whalers knew that the mother would seek to help her young, thus dooming herself to die under the heft of their spears. Such hunting was easily accomplished with the known breeding grounds with water too shallow for the whales to dive and escape.

Without conscience, the slaughter brought the California Gray Whales down to the brink of extinction with population estimates at only 250 whales remaining in the North Pacific at the time. Luckily, Mexico stepped up and became the first country to enact protection over these magnificent and intelligent creatures, and over the last one hundred plus years the whales have been recovering and greatly adding to their numbers.

With the fortune of visiting the lagoon aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion, I was privileged to encounter these marine mammals in the very place that they are born. In the shallows water, the mother’s exercise their young against the current to prepare them for the five thousand mile journey to the feeding grounds of Alaska.

Once known as the Devil Fish for how fiercely they fought against the whalers, the Gray Whale mothers now, unbelievably, encourage their calves to approach. Out of all the marine mammals encounters that I have enjoyed, this one takes the prize.

Petting the calves as they rolled and rubbed our zodiac, I was close enough to look into their eyes, see the newly growing hairs that remind of the heritage that we share, and even get my hat blown off when they exhaled.

Words have no place in trying to describe the experience, thus I share some of the images I was able to capture with hope that the reader will be as endeared to them as I am, and perhaps visit such a place for themselves one day.

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All photos © Paul North (unless otherwise noted)

Diving Antarctica's Worst Environmental Tragedy

January 28, 1989 – The Bahia Paraiso, an Argentine Polar Transport vessel, requested access to Palmer research station, an American research outfit set up to conduct studies in Antarctica. The tourists aboard were eager to delay their route to resupply the Argentine station in order to see how operations were conducted.

Sadly, after their visit, not two miles away, the vessel ran aground near Janus and Delaca islands causing, undoubtedly, the worst environmental disaster to ever happen in Antarctic waters. Though none aboard were lost, more than 600,000 liters of diesel fuel and other petroleum products were put into the water affecting nearby penguin and cormorant colonies, as well as inflicting untold damage on the invertebrates and algae ecology upon the ocean floor.

February 21, 2015 – I dive into the water next to the remains of the shipwreck wondering why I had never heard of such a catastrophe. More than 25 years later, even after a multi-national clean up effort, an oil slick still remains like a dark halo surrounding the upended vessel. It does not take much research to understand the limits of our news cycle, for at the same time a catastrophe of exponentially worse proportions was occurring in the northern hemisphere. The Exxon Valdez running aground in the Prince William Sound of Alaska which decimated the herring population, wild salmon, sea otters and countless other life forms that live in those rich waters.

Wreck diving has grown into quite a spectacle of late. Much work being done to remove all environmentally harmful products before purposefully sinking vessels in order to create an artificial reef for marine organisms to colonize. Such sites draw many a tourist down into the water to poke and prod, enjoying the revival that often occurs, and though I have enjoyed many of these experiences myself – none are as jarring as the ghost of ship never to meant to sink.

The story of the Bahia Paraiso is blurred, as if often the case in tragedies, but what is certain is that Palmer Station hailed the vessel warning that it was unwise to follow the course they were on. They informed that the channel was narrow with rocks rising, but it appeared the captain was not in a listening mood.

When arriving at the dive site, the damage was quite clear with several holes ripped into the keel. As the waves washed over them, they spouted like the blowholes of a large whale. Descending upon the wreck, I immediately noticed that the superstructure had been crushed. All but the hull remained with sponges having long colonized the remains to create homes for whatever creatures cared to move in.

Finding no available entry into the vessel itself, I set out to explore its surroundings with my dive partner – Ashley Knight. What lay on the bottom was a small museum of modern seafaring.

A fire hose uncoiled, likely with the hope of minimizing the fatal damage done.

A Marine VHF Radio Telephone.

The broken valve to a tank of pressurized gas.

Equipment used to lower the safety boats, aiding in the survival of all onboard.

Even a portion of the minimized name of the vessel painted upon the bow.

The breast bone of a penguin long dead.

This large, misshapen piece of metal had me stumped.

Thus I brought the footage to Captain James Griffiths and Ice Officer Piers Alvarez of the National Geographic Orion and was informed that this was a piece of pig iron - a large, heavy and inexpensive way to give weight to the keel of the vessel. Most probably dislodged when striking the rocks at speed.

Perhaps, most curiously found was a lost cassette tape with any identifiers long worn off by the salt water’s corrosion – leaving one to wonder exactly what song was playing when the vessel ran aground.

As is the case with most wreck dives, we resurfaced with many unanswered questions about what circumstances had caused such a disaster. Visiting the nearby Palmer Station though, we had long conversations about species recovery in the decades that have followed. Nature always seems to find away, even with the amount of obstacles we put in its path.

My First Dive in Antarctica - Neptune's Bellows

December 2014 - 62°58′37″S 60°39′00″W

After a two day crossing of the Drake Passage, the National Geographic Explorer came upon Deception Island. Part of the South Shetlands archipelago and one of the safest harbors in the Antarctic, the island fooled whaling boats for many years. Causing them to sail on by without knowledge of the narrow entry and the safety therein.

The islands hidden nature is caused by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. Known as caldera, you may already be familiar with this geological phenomenon if you know of Oregon's Crater Lake. But whereas that is filled with crystal blue fresh water, Deception Island is open to the changing tides of the Southern Ocean.

Joined by my team of divers, Oscar Johansson and Jesper Westermark, the Baker and Head Chef onboard our vessel, we set off to dive the narrow entrance to Deception Island known as NEPTUNE'S BELLOWS. With a strong current and 30F water (-1C) it was not a place for any tomfoolery. Not to mention the potential traffic of large ships passing through.

Whereas Antarctica itself is considered a desert we quickly found that not to be the case underwater. Large Frond Tang (Kelp) stretched up to 8 meters curtaining down from the vertical walls leftover from the volcano's collapse.

Barely an inch of the islands substrate was visible. Covered entirely by sponges competing for real estate.

It was not until the late 1800's that we even realized that sponges were part of the Animal Kingdom. Now, the more we study them the more we learn how vital the role they play is in filtering our ocean's water. Here we see a magnified close up I was able to capture off of Haida Gwaii last summer. Note just how many canals there are for water to pass through which feeds the sponge and cleans the water simultaneously.

Descending to 92 feet, we found all manner of invertebrates. The most interesting being this isopod measuring nearly 5 inches as he reached out with antennae to see who was obstinate enough to put a camera in his face. Many more Antarctic dives to be posted, but there is nothing like the first!

Website Launch - FollowNorth.com

Greetings,

My name is Paul North. This website launches my effort to share the explorations and adventures of diving in some of earth's most remote and wondrous marine ecosystems.

With the privilege of working with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic as an Underwater Videographer and Naturalist, my job is to film what I find on my dives and present the natural history of the experience to the guests on-board.

2015 is well booked. Antarctica. Baja California. Alaska. Iceland. Greenland. The Canadian Arctic. Fiji. Tahiti & Easter Island.

Lots to explore on the site currently. Recent trips to Antarctica, Baja California, and Alaska are posted now.

FollowNorth.com

The blog is featured on the website and will update often with stories of marine wildlife encounters.

To begin, a link to Diving Alaska - a video collaboration using my footage and the music of the very talented composer - Vin Gast

Follow along to join me in the experience.

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Inhale. Exhale. Evolve. - 2014 in Review

Greetings, my name is Paul North and I work as Undersea Specialist with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic filming and photographing some of our earth's most vibrant underwater ecosystems. 2014 has been a year of great adventure and the coming year looks to be much the same. What I hope to share with this blog is a continued view toward our ocean as a whole.

Increasing our understanding of the creatures inhabiting these waters is the only way to strike back against the damage already done. Thus here I will be sharing photos, videos, and the natural history of my encounters. Follow with me in 2015 as I venture from Alaska to Antarctica, Fiji, Tahiti, the Arctic & beyond searching for life and meaning within the water.

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