Whale watching in Bermagui

Image by Narelle Perroux

Join us on board for Whale Watching in October, 2014

Bermagui is S.V. Pelican1’s home base, and during October we are offering an unmissable opportunity to sail with us in search of the humpback whale on its southern migration. Spend 3 blissful hours sailing the pristine Sapphire Coast. Talk to the crew about their adventures and their whale research work, or just kick back on deck and enjoy.

When

Daily 10 am – 1 pm // Boarding 9.40 am.

Where

Departing from the long jetty in Bermagui Harbour

Cost

$60 per person // $50 per person concession, (2 adults/2 children), groups of 10 or more

Bookings

Essential – Contact Garry on 0425 727 553 // garry@svpelican.com.au

We are available for charter for large groups or special occasions.

What to Bring

Food and Drink – Morning Tea is Provided // Warm Clothing, sunscreen, hat, shades etc // Wear soft, flat, non-marking shoes or bare feet.

Please Note

In case of bad weather, trips may be cancelled with full refund. Wherever possible trips will be made under full sail.

All proceeds support Pelican’s Environmental Work.

Photo: Sandy Scheltema

The Mystery of Eels

James Prosek’s wonderful book about eels – Eels An Exploration, From New Zealand to the Sargasso helped deepen my own fascination with these magnificent creatures. Watching the documentary of his book this evening I see the story of Australia’s long connection with eels is missing, and particularly the cultural connection. See- http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-85/t1-g-t8.html
I spent the weekend on Gunditjmara Country, which is eel country/ Kuuyang country in Gunditjmara. Framlingham Aboriginal community had a celebration to mark 150 years and to share their past, present and future with the broader community.
Here is a link (click on photo!) to the film about James Prosek’s research in which he shares what little is known of these mysterious animals from an American, Japanese, Micronesian and New Zealand perspective.
They symbolise for me the powerful interconnections between land and sea and the almost unknowable mysteries that are implicit in their river to sea journeys. The eel had been and still is an important animal in Indigenous culture and helped the Gunditjmara sustain a way of life for thousands of years.

Seastars pocket guide – The Northern Pacific Seastar (Asterias amurensis)

Harry Breidahl ( marine scientist) talking to educators on board Pelican1  Photo: Natalie Davey

The Two Bays project  (now in its 9th year) has as many arms as our relatively recently introduced marine pest Asterias amurensis, commonly known as the Northern Pacific Seastar.  Much of the 2014 program included knowledge-sharing about threats to our Two Bays- Port Phillip and Western Port – of which this seastar plays a starring role. Pictured here is Harry Breidahl talking to a group of educators wishing to increase their knowledge of marine education, taking part in a PD day on the first day of Two Bays 2014. In the foreground are a couple of Asterias waiting for dissection, as part of the Two Bays curriculum. The curriculum has been developed from the program itself and unites local knowledge (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) with the basic tenants of Ocean Literacy .

Parks Victoria has put out a good guide for identifying and understanding the  Northern Pacific Seastar which is helpful  for teachers, students and citizen scientists.

12782 PV Seastars pocket guide update_FA_re-supplied_no-bleed

Itinerary for Two Bays 2014

 

Photp by Chris Hayward- Parks Vic ranger

Two Bays 2014 Itinerary

Above is the link to the Two Bays 2014 daily schedule

The Old Flag and the Sea

Pelican1 has sailed over 64,000 NM (Nautical Miles) doing sea projects, many of these with traditional owners working in Sea Country. For 10 years we have been flying the same Aboriginal Flag from one of our stays. I have felt very fortunate to be working and helping create sea projects on Pelican, particularly when we’re travelling in Sea Country with TO’s (Traditional Owners). Pelican is a wonderful vessel, built to carry many people in relative comfort, allowing groups to journey to Sea Country that is very remote. The picture below was taken at White Sands, Cape York. The Wuthathi elder, pictured below, was making a trip there from Lockhart with three families. The Wuthathi have been part of this Country for an extraordinarily long time and have managed in recent times to protect this amazing place from sand mining. White Sands is situated near the very tip of Eastern Cape York.

The first image shows our now very tattered flag flying in the winds on Port Phillip Bay. Almost as far South as you can travel from Wuthathi Sea Country in Australia. It has also been flown in Tasmania, which is as South as the Australian continent extends. Those sea miles were creating going up and down our coastline many many times.

For the last couple of years we have been meaning to buy a new flag for the boat, but we all get so busy and then all of a sudden we are starting the next project and welcoming Aboriginal people on board and hauling up the sea-loved flag again.

But not this year’s Two Bays. I have finally bought us a brand, spanking new flag!

Information about the Two Bays 2014 program.

Two Bays 2014

 

Link above to PDF information about the program.

Connecting to Sea Country and More – Two Bays story

Photo: Chris Hayward- Parks Victoria ranger

Linking traditional knowledge and scientific findings was one of the key elements of Connecting to Sea Country aboard the Pelican1 in 2013. As a marine scientist I have always been fascinated by the Aboriginal oral tradition recounting past times when Port Phillip Bay was dry and their ancestors hunted kangaroos and emu on grassy plains before a great flood filled the Bay. it is not so often that indigenous stories and scientific findings go hand-in-hand, but in this case the scientific evidence correlates closely with the stories that have been handing down over many generations.

Recent scientific findings now show us that around 2,800 years ago the entrance to Port Phillip Bay became blocked, cutting off the Bay from Bass Strait. As a result, the Bay sried out to create a grassy plain described in Aboriginal tradition. Around 1,000 years ago the blockage at the Heads broke down and the Bay was quickly filled in a castastrophic flood.

What better way to learn about these amazing events than aboard the Pelican1 on Port Phillip Bay with those long lost grassy plains just below us.

By Harry Breidahl

Harry Breidahl with Aunty Carolyn Briggs (Boonwurrung elder) on board Pelican1.

Photo: Natalie Davey

A day on the bay- Calling all teachers and marine educators

Are you ocean literate?

Join the Pelican crew for a day out in the bay for teachers and marine educators. The event is part of the Two Bays 2014 program. PDF  invite attached below A day on the bay

Two Bays 2013 schedule

Photo of a Banjo Shark taken in Western Port by Richard Wylie, when onboard for the Catholic Primary Schools immersive classroom day.

Schedule_for_Webpage_2013_Nat_fina1l.pdf

 

Two Bays and an Inlet begins- 2013

Carolyn Briggs, Boonwurrung elder welcomes the first school group aboard Pelican1 on the first day of the Two Bays program. Aunty Carolyn has become central to our approach in delivering a deep time perspective 

Our annual program in Port Phillip and Western Port bays has begun. We started this year in Western Port with Grades 5/6 kids from Catholic Primary schools in Melbourne. We have partnered with the Catholic Department of Education, through Simon Lindsay (Head of Science Curriculum) over the last few years to develop innovative ‘Hands on Learning’ in the Marine world. 

Pelican1 beomes a moving ocean classroom for learning about Caring for Sea Country and a vehicle for connecting with the marine life that flourishes beneath the surface. My favourite quotes from the school kids participating over the two days were ” I have never learnt in such a fun way” and ” I loved snorkeling and seeing creatures I have never seen before.”

We are very fortunate that our ways of working happen to coincide with one of the most gifted marine educators that I have met- Harry Breidahl. He has come on board to deliver the marine science component of our educational work.