On the 21st February I met with CFCA's bird survey team at 3:00am at the Forestry Division Compound in St. Joseph for the long ride down to Cedros where we were to meet our boat. We arrived before daylight and had time to streach our legs from the long ride before we all climbed aboard the research vessel. It was a smaller vessel than the one we use to survey around Saut d'Eau but everyone was able to fit comfortably. The sea was much calmer on this side of the island as we were within the Gulf of Paria (beaufort 2-3 with very low swell) but became rougher (beaufort 3-4 but still very low swell) as we made our way further from shore. One of the coast guard men informed me that dolphins are rarely seen in this area and those that are seen have been seen closer to shore in the calmer waters. We circled the island slowly and I kept watch for cetaceans as the bird researchers continued there work. There was an area of rocks a little way from the island and a long line of oil platforms and wells, which I was told are not all operational at the moment, but no cetaceans in sight. On the transit back to the dock it was impossible to keep a proper watch for whales and dolphins due to the speed of the boat and the spray. This problem was discussed with the survey leader and we will aim to travel at slower speeds in transit to the islands to improve our ability to do CCARO's cetacean surveys throughout the boat trip.Two views of Soldado Rock
