Cruise GU-04-01, Legs I, II and III
January 14 - March 12, 2004

This cruise took us away from our usual working area in the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean. Our transit took us within view of the north shore of Cuba and Great Inagua Island, Bahamas as we made our way to Silver Bank, Dominican Republic.

Silver Bank rises from the deep sea floor of the Atlantic to a depth of about 60 - 90 ft. The eastern side is fringed with coral heads which nearly break the surface. It is a well known breeding and nursing ground for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) some of which migrate from the north Atlantic. The high seasonal density of whales at this location is one of the reasons why Silver Bank was chosen as a site for this study.

A unique feature of Silver Bank, although man-made, is a large wreck of a freighter which ran aground in 1982. The POLYXENI was a Korean cargo vessel with a displacement of 2000 gross tons. Rumor has it that she was being chased by the US Coast Guard who suspected her of running drugs. Had she not run up on a large coral head, she might have made it through the bank and into safe water. However the wreck has been on the bank for all these years and she provided a very good landmark for navigation and for bearings.

Upon arrival at Silver Bank a suitable anchorage location was chosen and surveyed. After determining the anchorage and route onto the bank to be safe, GORDON GUNTER proceeded in and dropped the anchor. On days when the weather was good the ship deployed 3 small boats for surveying and taking biopsies. Each boat usually carried a coxswain, photographer, biopsy shooter, and data recorder. Photos were taken of the dorsals fins and flukes of the animals in order to identify individuals. The biopsies were taken using special bolts fired from crossbows. At the end of the bolt was a hollow tip that could obtain a sample of whale skin and blubber. The range of the crossbows is quite short, so in order to get reliable shots the boats needed to get in close to the animals. The coxswains were all skilled boat drivers who were familiar with driving in close proximity to the whales without being disruptive to the animals. On a full day the boats were out for about 10 hours, and the maximum number of biopsies taken in one day was 66. Each evening the boats were brought back aboard and the data was organized and the samples worked up.

Because Silver Bank is a breeding and nursing ground for humpback whales, we were able to observe some rather unique behavior displayed by these giants. There were many mother-calf pairs which were easy to see due to the small size of the calves; it was speculated that some were newborns. There were "competitive groups" of males who were aggresively bumping and charging at one another for the chance to mate with one female. Humpbacks are one of the more acrobatic and animated large whales and we saw many of examples of breaching, flipper slapping, and tail slapping (lobtailing), sometimes just several yards from the ship! (Photos courtesy of NMFS) (Click on image for larger view)

Fluking before a dive	More flukes	A pair of flukes	Pectoral fins nicely frame the Polyxeni wreck
The head of a humpback engaged in a competative group	Full breaching whale	Nice altitude	A breaching pair of whales
Breach and wave!	More breaching	One flukes while another breaches	A flipper raised in the air
A whale near the ship	Blowholes visible on top of this whale's head	Profile of a humpback head	A biopsy dart is visible in this shot
"RIII" and passengers near the Polyxeni	"BOB" being deployed off the stern	The "Grey boat" is manned and ready!	Nice sunset and the mothership

During the inports in San Juan, the crew and scientists were able to get away and enjoy the sights of Puerto Rico. Old San Juan was full of cobblestone alleys, old world architecture, and Spanish forts. A few people went out to El Yunque, the rainforest in the northeast corner of the island with lush forests and high mountain peaks. During the first inport the largest cruise ship in the world, the Queen Mary II, anchored in the harbor which caused great excitement (and traffic) in Old San Juan. (Photos courtesy of Mike Levine, NMFS, Tony Martinez, and Glenn Zapfe) (Click on image for larger view)

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GUNTER in San Juan harbor with the Queen Mary II in background	The ship reflected off the windows of the cruise ship terminal	ENS Didier with the San Juan welcoming perro	Colorful row of buildings in Old San Juan
Greg Fulling at his sentry post	Old Spanish fort watchtower	Typical narrow road in Old San Juan	Rainforest plant
Rainforest wildlife	More rainforest wildlife	Yulia Ivaschenko walking down a path in El Yunque	ET Chris Churylo and ENS Didier helplessly lost in the rainforest
ENS Levine at the summit of a peak	ENS Didier at the mountain top

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