Serving the South Coast Of Oregon
Outdoors Page Updated: Saturday, April 16, 2005 9:37 AM PDT
Outdoors Page Updated: Saturday, April 16, 2005 9:37 AM PDT
Soaring to new sights
Hoping to catch sight of gray whales near Coos Bay,
from left, crew member Gary Davis, South Slouth
Manager Mike Graybill and Shoreline Education for
Awareness volunteer David Bone peer out to sea
during a trip last weekend aboard a locally-owned
charter boat, the Miss Linda.
Hoping to catch sight of gray whales near Coos Bay,
from left, crew member Gary Davis, South Slouth
Manager Mike Graybill and Shoreline Education for
Awareness volunteer David Bone peer out to sea
during a trip last weekend aboard a locally-owned
charter boat, the Miss Linda.
World Photo by Christopher Arns.
By Christopher Arns Outdoors Editor
About five miles out to sea, Mike Graybill was
discussing the finer points of whale watching, when he
suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.
"I see a blow!" Graybill shouted, while wildly pointing off
to starboard.
Nine heads whipped around, their owners dashing to
the front of the boat. Binoculars were snatched to nine
pairs of eyes and eagerly trained on a faraway speck
of water.
Sure enough, a puff of surf exploded about 200 yards
off the starboard bow. A barnacle-covered form slowly
broke the surface, its back lazily breaking from the
frothy steel-colored sea.
Several seconds passed. The beast slowly arched its
back as it swam north, beginning a plunge back into
the deep. Its flukes - the animal's broad tail - flipped
upright in salute.
It was an impressive sight, especially for several
passengers along for more than a pleasure cruise. The
unique voyage, conducted last weekend aboard the
Charleston-based Miss Linda, was actually a seminar
for naturalist interpreters, known as docents, from
Shoreline Education for Awareness, a Bandon
nonprofit.
Graybill, manager of the South Slough National
Estuarine Research Reserve and avid birdwatcher, was
onboard training the docents for pelagic, or seagoing,
duty. Usually, the docents, who are nonpaid volunteers,
take up posts at tourist destinations like Shore Acres,
Cape Arago or Coquille Point.
But thanks to new partnerships with charter boat
operators, like Bob and Shirley Pedro, owners of the
Miss Linda, the docents will accompany local tours as
an educational resource for ecotourists.
"A lot of things you'll see, people haven't seen before
because you have to be on the ocean to see them,"
Graybill told the interpreters while the Miss Linda
chugged seabound.
Sure enough, one of the volunteers spotted a rare bird
- a pair of marbled murrelets bobbing inside the bay.
About 15 minutes later, the volunteers glimpsed two
more. "Jeepers, there's murrelets everywhere!"
exclaimed Graybill.
That kind of enthusiasm is what Joan Russell was
hoping the docents might learn. Russell co-founded
SEA in 1990 with her husband, Bill, to provide onsite
volunteer education for South Coast wildlife watching.
The couple hadn't thought of training pelagic docents
until they met Bob Pedro, who attened a SEA seminar
in January. Pedro, a member of the Coast Guard
Auxiliary, had just converted the Miss Linda from a
commercial fishing vessel to a charter boat catered
toward tourists and wildlife viewers.
So Pedro approached Bill Russell after the January
seminar and asked him about bringing trained
naturalists on board.
About five miles out to sea, Mike Graybill was
discussing the finer points of whale watching, when he
suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.
"I see a blow!" Graybill shouted, while wildly pointing off
to starboard.
Nine heads whipped around, their owners dashing to
the front of the boat. Binoculars were snatched to nine
pairs of eyes and eagerly trained on a faraway speck
of water.
Sure enough, a puff of surf exploded about 200 yards
off the starboard bow. A barnacle-covered form slowly
broke the surface, its back lazily breaking from the
frothy steel-colored sea.
Several seconds passed. The beast slowly arched its
back as it swam north, beginning a plunge back into
the deep. Its flukes - the animal's broad tail - flipped
upright in salute.
It was an impressive sight, especially for several
passengers along for more than a pleasure cruise. The
unique voyage, conducted last weekend aboard the
Charleston-based Miss Linda, was actually a seminar
for naturalist interpreters, known as docents, from
Shoreline Education for Awareness, a Bandon
nonprofit.
Graybill, manager of the South Slough National
Estuarine Research Reserve and avid birdwatcher, was
onboard training the docents for pelagic, or seagoing,
duty. Usually, the docents, who are nonpaid volunteers,
take up posts at tourist destinations like Shore Acres,
Cape Arago or Coquille Point.
But thanks to new partnerships with charter boat
operators, like Bob and Shirley Pedro, owners of the
Miss Linda, the docents will accompany local tours as
an educational resource for ecotourists.
"A lot of things you'll see, people haven't seen before
because you have to be on the ocean to see them,"
Graybill told the interpreters while the Miss Linda
chugged seabound.
Sure enough, one of the volunteers spotted a rare bird
- a pair of marbled murrelets bobbing inside the bay.
About 15 minutes later, the volunteers glimpsed two
more. "Jeepers, there's murrelets everywhere!"
exclaimed Graybill.
That kind of enthusiasm is what Joan Russell was
hoping the docents might learn. Russell co-founded
SEA in 1990 with her husband, Bill, to provide onsite
volunteer education for South Coast wildlife watching.
The couple hadn't thought of training pelagic docents
until they met Bob Pedro, who attened a SEA seminar
in January. Pedro, a member of the Coast Guard
Auxiliary, had just converted the Miss Linda from a
commercial fishing vessel to a charter boat catered
toward tourists and wildlife viewers.
So Pedro approached Bill Russell after the January
seminar and asked him about bringing trained
naturalists on board.
Photo by crewman Kriss Anderson
"He stood up a little straighter and a little taller and
asked if we wouldn't mind having their docents
onboard," remembered Pedro. "I didn't say it like
this, but I was like, 'Uh, yeah!' Having
professionally-trained naturalists onboard would be
an asset for my business."
For Russell, it seemed like a perfect fit."(Pedro) is
busy driving the boat and he doesn't have time to go
out and help people understand," said Russell, who
didn't accompany last weekend's voyage. "There's a
lot to see.
"The joint venture, between a former commercial
fisherman and nonprofit naturalists, represents a
new twist for marine-based business. Pedro
estimates fishing quotas are 5 to 10 percent of what
they were 13 years ago, when he bought the Miss
Linda.
"As times are changing, I believe there are
opportunites for fishermen that want to get out of the
fishing business, or are forced out of the business,"
said Pedro, who sold his commercial fishing licenses
last year.
And the docents were happy to oblige. The voyage
proved educational for docents Bea and David
Bone, who live in Medford but volunteer for SEA
about twice a month.
The Bones had done whalewatching trips before, but
having Graybill along gave them a fresh perspective
- especially when it came to identifying local birds.
"They weren't sitting still, like the birds on land," said
Bea Bone, also an Oregon Parks whale watching
volunteer. "Now, you have to watch behavior, the
altitude and the shape, not just the color.
Sometimes, that's hard to see in this light.
"But the docents did see plenty of birds last
weekend. Back at port, Graybill again rounded up
the volunteers and asked what birds they saw
aboard the Miss Linda.
Just at that moment, Graybill again abruptly stopped
mid-sentence, this time pointing at the sky.
"Look, a bald eagle!" he called out, as the majestic
bird soared above Charleston's marina.
It was a fitting end for a voyage taking aim at new
sights - and new heights.
asked if we wouldn't mind having their docents
onboard," remembered Pedro. "I didn't say it like
this, but I was like, 'Uh, yeah!' Having
professionally-trained naturalists onboard would be
an asset for my business."
For Russell, it seemed like a perfect fit."(Pedro) is
busy driving the boat and he doesn't have time to go
out and help people understand," said Russell, who
didn't accompany last weekend's voyage. "There's a
lot to see.
"The joint venture, between a former commercial
fisherman and nonprofit naturalists, represents a
new twist for marine-based business. Pedro
estimates fishing quotas are 5 to 10 percent of what
they were 13 years ago, when he bought the Miss
Linda.
"As times are changing, I believe there are
opportunites for fishermen that want to get out of the
fishing business, or are forced out of the business,"
said Pedro, who sold his commercial fishing licenses
last year.
And the docents were happy to oblige. The voyage
proved educational for docents Bea and David
Bone, who live in Medford but volunteer for SEA
about twice a month.
The Bones had done whalewatching trips before, but
having Graybill along gave them a fresh perspective
- especially when it came to identifying local birds.
"They weren't sitting still, like the birds on land," said
Bea Bone, also an Oregon Parks whale watching
volunteer. "Now, you have to watch behavior, the
altitude and the shape, not just the color.
Sometimes, that's hard to see in this light.
"But the docents did see plenty of birds last
weekend. Back at port, Graybill again rounded up
the volunteers and asked what birds they saw
aboard the Miss Linda.
Just at that moment, Graybill again abruptly stopped
mid-sentence, this time pointing at the sky.
"Look, a bald eagle!" he called out, as the majestic
bird soared above Charleston's marina.
It was a fitting end for a voyage taking aim at new
sights - and new heights.
| Miss Linda Boat Charters Passenger, Research, Dive & Supply Vessel Serving the Oregon and Pacific Coast From Charleston / Coos Bay |
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