It was one of the most beautiful afternoons and an anxious one for me. The design of a demersal trawler struck my attention. It is such an incredible feeling that one needs to be actually onboard a trawler to begin to comprehend such a euphoria.
The smell of diesel and oil on the vessel couldn’t dampen the elation I had. The slight seasickness tried but without success to deter my excitement. The wobble movement and pitching of the boat were also not going to stop my excitement. In fact, nothing was going to stop me from enjoying my trip.
The sudden appearance of seabirds that were following the vessel just filled me with awe and I was left with nothing but an utmost admiration. The arrival of a ‘wandering albatross’ in two consecutive days made it much more special for me. It was a grandeur arrival, a gentle majestic glide just above our heads.
To be able to interact with at least 30 crew members who have different perspectives of nature and life, was such an awesome experience. They were friendly and very chatty people who harbour great enthusiasm in the work we are doing as ATF team members. We had two gifted and wonderful cooks onboard but one cook (an old man named Aubrey) was very chatty and made jokes that made us laugh every time we went down to the mess hall. It was this kind of experience that made me enjoy the trip and working on demersal hake trawlers.
Every flap of an albatross’ wings has left me with awe. It’s now more than 1 month later, but the impact of that encounter with the ‘’wandering albatross’’ has remained. Indeed, an inexpressible and very emotional experience that I will have to treasure for many more years to come.
In the photo Tshikana starts his first trip with the Albatross Task Force.
Hi- I've birded in S. Africa on the mainland and on pelagics off Cape Town - the seabirds are great :)
S