Sponsored in cooperation with the Earthwatch Institute

Near Abaco Island, The Bahamas

As you lean over the edge of your boat you come face to face with a living fossil—the dense-beaked whale, a deep-diving species that flourished during the Miocene, 13 to 25 million years ago. Diane Claridge and Kenneth Balcomb (both of the Center for Whale Research) compare the experience to "a herpetologist being able to study living dinosaurs." What we know about beaked whales is mostly from a few carcasses that washed ashore, but one Earthwatch team spent hours with these animals around their boat. It is only one of the 20 species of cetacean you are here to study, but it is among the sweetest finds. You can’t help wondering what those ancient eyes see in yours.

You are here to make Bahamian history. Together with your team of inspired individuals you are identifying and censusing the diverse populations of marine mammals in this rich corner of The Bahamas. From your data on the abundance, distribution, and seasonality of whales and dolphins, the government will establish historic policies on marine mammal conservation. As the world’s oceans become increasingly polluted and exploited, such inventories are critical in key marine-mammal habitats like the Bahamas. Balcomb and Claridge already have the support of yachtsmen and fishermen in noting whale and dolphin sightings—primarily spotted and bottlenose dolphins and humpback, pilot, sperm, and killer whales. But for the amount of detailed data they must collect, your more focused help is invaluable.

A native of Nassau and graduate of the Florida Institute of Technology, Claridge has volunteered for the last decade as a research biologist for the Center for Whale Research, which Balcomb founded and directs. She has served as park officer at the Bahamas National Trust’s Pelican Cays Park and now is sought after as a nature guide. Balcomb leads the ever-popular Orca project in Puget Sound (see opposite page), and has been pursuing whale research since 1964. He is an accomplished cinematographer and prize-winning wildlife photographer. Together, Claridge and Balcomb make an inspirational team and a veritable floating encyclopedia of cetacean lore.

• 1 9 9 9. and. 2 0 0 0. T E A M S
Team VII: Jun 21-Jul 1 • VIII: Jul 5-15 • IX: Jul 19-29 • X: Aug 2-12 • XI: Aug 16-26 • Year 2000, Team I: Jan 18-28 • II: Feb 1-11 • III: Feb 15-25 • IV: Feb 29-Mar 10 • V: Mar 14-24 • VI: JUN 6-16 • VII: Jun 20-30 • VIII: Jul 4-14 • IX Jul 18-28 • X: Aug 1-11 • XI: Aug 15-25 • Max team size: 8

• M E M B E R S ' . S H A R E . O F . C O S T S
from US $1,695 • £1,060 • Aus $2,595 • YEN 198,900

• R E N D E Z V O U S . S I T E
Sapodilly’s Restaurant, Marsh Harbour, Abaco Cay, The Bahamas

• V O L U N T E E R T A S K S

Teams divide into rotating boat and shore crews with complementary tasks. Spotting and identifying whales and dolphins is your prime task on the water, skills based on the experience you gain over the first few days. Once you’ve sighted a pod, you keep track of the group while staff photograph identifying marks. With one hand on the gunwhale, you may videotape social behavior while another teammate tape-records details of behavior and environmental data. Every move goes like clockwork, based on your field training. You’re out on the turquoise water four to eight hours on your boat days, returning around 5:00 p.m. Meanwhile, the shore crew scans the seas from the lighthouse with high-power binoculars and helps transcribe cassette tapes, enter data, monitor the VHF radio for other boaters’ sightings, and, occasionally, develop ID photos. In free time, the ocean and beaches beckon for snorkeling, swimming, and kayaking. But you’ll have to enjoy it all by yourselves: this end of the island is almost uninhabited.

• F I E L D . C O N D I T I O N S
You will stay in rustic dormitory-style accommodations in the houses at the Hole in the Wall lighthouse station, built in 1836 and now a historic monument. One house has a private room for a couple. You can enjoy the grand four-seater outhouse, or the one indoor toilet for those who crave the familiar. There are two indoor showers and one outdoor shower; electricity is solar-powered and limited, so leave the blow-drier at home. Meals are communally prepared from the fruits of the island and your team’s imagination, and are rotated along with clean-up duties.