Troubled Waters
Pelagic expedition aboard a longline fishing vessel off the coast of South Africa - October 2011
I travelled to South Africa about the same time last year with a plan (long in the making and negotiating) to travel 160 miles out into the Indian Ocean / extreme eastern Atlantic on board a longline fishing boat. The aim was to get to the heart of the Troubled Waters story and witness the collision between seabirds and fishermen.
For a variety of complex reasons (generator failure, accreditation certificate held-up, etc) the plan failed. With thanks to the Birdlife office in South Africa a trip on board a trawler from Cape Town (see Archive page) was hastily arranged. It proved to be as dramatic and as important as anything I had anticipated and researched. Nevertheless, it was felt that as the longline element was so important to the seabird and albatross story, there should be another attempt to join the boat. So, with slightly different plan I went to South Africa in mid-October.
This time everything fell into place and I had an extraordinary and creative adventure. That story is currently being written and the illustrative material prepared and in due course some will be published and shown here - but most of the material is now focused on the book and exhibition launch in London in November 2012.
As a taster, I will post new images every so often.
Pelagic expedition aboard a longline fishing vessel off the coast of South Africa - October 2011
I travelled to South Africa about the same time last year with a plan (long in the making and negotiating) to travel 160 miles out into the Indian Ocean / extreme eastern Atlantic on board a longline fishing boat. The aim was to get to the heart of the Troubled Waters story and witness the collision between seabirds and fishermen.
For a variety of complex reasons (generator failure, accreditation certificate held-up, etc) the plan failed. With thanks to the Birdlife office in South Africa a trip on board a trawler from Cape Town (see Archive page) was hastily arranged. It proved to be as dramatic and as important as anything I had anticipated and researched. Nevertheless, it was felt that as the longline element was so important to the seabird and albatross story, there should be another attempt to join the boat. So, with slightly different plan I went to South Africa in mid-October.
This time everything fell into place and I had an extraordinary and creative adventure. That story is currently being written and the illustrative material prepared and in due course some will be published and shown here - but most of the material is now focused on the book and exhibition launch in London in November 2012.
As a taster, I will post new images every so often.
Humpbacks. Watercolour / mixed media, 42cm x 30cm
We followed the coast from Richards Bay northwards for most of the first day taking advantage of a strong current. Throughout that time we passed pods of humpback whales, each made up of about between 8 to 12 individuals. From each pod came a great deal of chasing and flipper slapping, tail lifting and breaching.
It seemed as if the close shore waters, in what is the early spring season, might be the display site for humpbacks. At one point I watched a pod rise up one after another cavorting in a tight formation as deftly as if they were performing dolphins!
We followed the coast from Richards Bay northwards for most of the first day taking advantage of a strong current. Throughout that time we passed pods of humpback whales, each made up of about between 8 to 12 individuals. From each pod came a great deal of chasing and flipper slapping, tail lifting and breaching.
It seemed as if the close shore waters, in what is the early spring season, might be the display site for humpbacks. At one point I watched a pod rise up one after another cavorting in a tight formation as deftly as if they were performing dolphins!
