Outdoors, action and adventure

Tagged gray whale from Russia stops short of Cabo San Lucas

For a while it seemed as though the remarkable odyssey of a tagged whale from Russia would include a visit to waters off Cabo San Lucas on Baja California's tip.

But Varvara, a Western Pacific gray whale whose cross-ocean journey began at Sakhalin Island off Russia's eastern shore, appears to have stopped short of Land's End by about 60 miles, before turning back to the north.

Her position as of Monday, according to an update issued by Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, was at the northern end of Magdalena Bay (see graphic).

Magdalena Bay is one of a handful of bays or lagoons utilized by about 20,000 Eastern Pacific gray whales for nursing and mating, after a long migration from Arctic feeding waters.

Varvara's journey is the longest and most significant of any tagged whale from the critically endangered Western Pacific gray whale population, because it provides more evidence that at least some of those 130 or so whales are also migrating to Baja California lagoons.

Varvara's trip follows that a year earlier of Flex, a male Western Pacific gray whale who surprised scientists when he crossed the Bering Sea and joined with Eastern Pacific grays during their southbound migration. The tag worn by Flex, however, stopped transmitting off southern Oregon.

Last summer, scientists David Weller and Amanda Bradford presented a paper showing that four Western Pacific gray whales, cataloged as part of a photo-identification study, had turned up in Baja's renowned San Ignacio Lagoon.

Despite this mixing, the Western Pacific population is considered genetically distinct.

-- Pete Thomas

Note from the Marine Mammal Institute: "This research was conducted by A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) and Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute in collaboration with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, Kronotsky State Nature Biosphere Reserve and the Kamchatka Branch of the Pacific Institute of Geography. The research was contracted through the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with funding from Exxon Neftegas Ltd. and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd."

Condor Kirk's epic Pacific Crest Trail hike in 3 minutes (video)

Hiking enthusiasts who followed Kolby "Condor" Kirk's 1,700-mile trek along the Pacific Crest Trail last fall are sure to appreciate the compilation of images and footage he crammed brilliantly into a short video uploaded last week to popular acclaim.

It shows Condor, a.k.a. The Hike Guy, at various points along the trail, his many expressions helping to illustrate both feelings of satisfaction after completing a long leg, and the toll a hike of this magnitude can exact (Condor lost 90 pounds during the five-month expedition).

 

The adventurer from Bend, Oregon, took up the quest after losing his job and subsequently gained widespread notoriety in hiking circles. He began at the Mexican border and did not quit until he had hiked most of the length of California. Finally, sapped of strength and energy, he wrote on his Facebook page:

"Well, my friends, I have found my northern terminus. After hiking for hours through 18 inches of snow in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, I came to the realization that I have found my limits."

The Pacific Crest Trail runs 2,650 miles between the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders.

Stated a  KCET report after Condor's hike came to an end: "While Kirk did not finish, he and many others will tell you that it's not about finishing, but the journey. Congrats, Condor! You're an inspiration to us all!"

Woman survives 365-foot plunge after bungee cord snaps

Would you go bungee jumping after watching the accompanying video? It shows Erin Langworthy's 365-foot plunge over and into Africa's  Zambesi River, after her bungee cord snapped.

 

The Australian tourist suffered extensive bruising and a broken collarbone but described her survival as "a miracle," according to some reports. 

The harrowing incident occurred New Year's Eve after she had taken the bungee leap of faith from the Victoria Falls Bridge.

There may have been enough tension in the cord before it snapped to slow the descent and prevent more serious injuries, or death.

But for Langworthy, 22, the ordeal did not end after a violent landing that made her feel as though "I'd been slapped all over."  The rope was still secured around her legs and it kept getting snagged as she was being pulled through rapids.

She gasped for breaths while repeatedly trying to untangle the cord from rocks. She ultimately swam to the river bank.

"When I was first pulled out of the water, they put me on my back, and so all the water that I’d inhaled meant that I couldn’t breathe," she told Australia's Network Nine television. "So I made them roll me onto my side, and that’s when I started coughing out water and blood."

Langworthy was treated at a clinic before being evacuated to South Africa. She had been with Safari Par Excellence, which had boasted a long safety record.

Gray whale greets scuba divers off Laguna Beach (video)

 

Pacific gray whale sightings have begun to surge off Southern California, just in time for today's official start to the whale-watching season. But marine mammal enthusiasts are still excited about a sighting logged more than a week ago by scuba divers who captured rare underwater footage of a juvenile gray whale off Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach, Calif. (The video, filmed by Rebecca Ziegler, is posted above).

If you look closely at the footage you can see barnacles and lice—the telltale markings of a gray whale—on the young whale's head.

About 20,000 Pacific gray whales migrate each fall and winter from Arctic feeding grounds to lagoons along Baja California, where calving and nursing occurs.

The whale in the video appeared to have been curious about the bubble-blowing divers. Juvenile gray whales often travel by themselves and can be more adventurous than adult male and pregnant females, who are trying simply to reach the lagoons as quicly as possible.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, director of the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project at Point Vicente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, said this could be a record December in terms of gray whale sightings.

Man wearing jet-wing joins fighter planes over Swiss Alps

It must be exciting to pilot a fighter jet, but imagine strapping a jet-powered wing onto your back and flying alongside the sleek and speedy aircraft.

Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy accomplished this last week above the Swiss Alps, having joined two Albatross fighter jets, in formation, for a brief flight before parachuting with his custom-built wing suit to the ground.

 
The suit the former Swiss fighter pilot  designed weighs about 120 pounds and has a span of about six feet. It's controlled via hand-throttle and can reach speeds in excess of 130 mph. He joined the fighter jets after jumping with his wing from a helicopter.

Rossy, 51, is nicknamed "Jetman" and is the only man to have flown with a jet-powered wing. He first accomplished this in 2006. He first flew over the Swiss Alps in May of 2008. He later flew across the English Channel and last May he soared over the Grand Canyon.

After his brief flights -- they generally last about 10 minutes -- he parachutes with the wing to the ground.

He hopes eventually to be able to achieve the ability to take off and land from the ground.

Teen sailor Laura Dekker safely crosses Indian Ocean

Dutch sailor Laura Dekker, 16, has successfully crossed the Indian Ocean and has made port in Durban, South Africa, her agent announced Monday.

Dekker, whose is on a controversial quest to become the youngest person to sail around the world, had kept her Indian Ocean route a secret because of concerns about piracy. She has been sailing aboard a 38-foot sailboat named Guppy.

Lyall Mercer, Dekker's agent, stated in a news release that the sailor endured periods of harrowing seas during her crossing from Australia to South Africa. "Every sailor knows the Indian Ocean is a dangerous place, but Laura did it in style and this is a credit to her professionalism and ability," Mercer said.

Southern California's Abby Sunderland was rescued from the Indian Ocean in June of 2010 during attempt to become the youngest to solo-circumnavigate the planet in a sailboat.

Australia's Jessica Watson, who completed a non-stop circumnavigation in May of 2010, just days before turning 17, is unofficially the youngest. ("Youngest" records are no longer kept by governing agencies.)

Dekker, who turned 16 during her layover in Darwin, Australia, has now crossed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. She must still round the Cape of Good Hope and sail to Gibraltar, up the west coast of Africa, to complete her odyssey.

Mobile cage lets divers cruise alongside great white sharks

Lawrence Groth of Shark Diving International has posted a video showing intimately close encounters with great white sharks aboard the company's self-propelled shark cage, which has a pilot  in the back and a photographer up front.

The contraption was designed and built by Groth to help film crews obtain footage f the apex predators in the pristine waters of Guadalupe Island, 165 miles west of Baja California, Mexico.

Though the video is promotional, it also contains amazing white shark footage from arguably the world's top white shark-diving destination. The mobile cage is appropriately named Pelagic Explorer, and as you can see, it puts shooters close enough to capture every detail, and in what seems relative safety.

Now if the cage should break down in the company of great whites? Presumably, Groth has contingency plans.

Lottery registration open for Yosemite's Ostrander Ski Hut

Cross-country skiers and snowshoers considering making the 10-mile trek from Badger Pass to the Ostrander Ski Hut in Yosemite National Park are advised that the lottery registration period for the winter season ends on Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.

The immensely popular hut, at the end of a physically demanding but truly spectacular trek, is a rustic two-story stone building at the edge of Ostrander Lake at 8,500 feet. It provides overnight accommodations for $42 Mondays through Thursdays, and $52 Fridays through Sundays.

"Along the routes to Ostrander, there are places of solitude and awe-inspiring views of Half Dome, the Clark Range and Mount Hoffmann," says Mike Tollefson, president of the Yosemite Conservancy, which is handling the registration lottery. "The ski area around the Ostrander cirque offers many unique ski trails, including multiple descents off Horse Ridge."

Adds longtime hut-keeper Fritz Bagget: "It's truly a unique experience to be in real wilderness in a national park during winter. Imagine open granite bowls stretching from ponds and lakes to peaks and steep ridges--it’s very special."

Accommodations are limited and in high demand so applicants are chosen via a random lottery system. Applications must be submitted to the Yosemite Conservancy by the deadline and, beginning Nov. 28, remaining reservations can be made by calling 209-379-5161. For lottery and registration information, visit the Conservancy website.

The hut will be open from mid-December through early April.

-- Image of Ostrander Ski Hut is courtesy of Hugh Sakols

Giant marlin landed off Cabo San Lucas after 28-hour battle

Some reports stated that a blue marlin landed Sunday is the largest billfish ever caught off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, weighing an eye-popping 1,213 pounds. Others claimed the behemoth fell short of "grander" status, weighing only 972 pounds on a marina scale.

Whatever the weight of the billfish, it was an extraordinary catch, especially considering that the struggle played out for nearly 28 hours, giving this yarn a Hemingway quality that seems more like fiction than fact.

The angler credited with the catch is Richard Biehl of Traverse City, Michigan, but he had help from the crew aboard the 31-foot yacht, Go Deep, which was plying the Pacific Ocean north of the resort destination on Baja California's tip.

After an offshore marathon that began Saturday morning at 8:20 and ended close to noon Sunday, those aboard the yacht either resembled or felt like very old men of the sea.

"That was the hardest thing I ever did in my life by far," Biehl told Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg, who on Monday evening published the first detailed account of the remarkable episode. "I’ve shot bull moose and trekked out with 200 pounds on my back and it doesn’t even compare."

Nobody knew what was in store when the marlin attacked a trolled lure at what is known as the 95 Spot, and sped toward the horizon. They were targeting much smaller striped marlin and using only 60-pound-test line -- far too light for giant blue marlin.

When the great billfish first jumped, about 400 feet from the boat, the crew guessed its weight to be about 700 pounds.

Word of the catch didn't spread until Monday, when many in town and in the billfishing community considered the catch to be a rumor. Then photos and sparse details began to appear on Facebook. One photo showed the weight at 972 pounds, but that did not tell the story.

Ehrenberg on Monday afternoon interviewed Capt. Luis Abaroa and his crew, and briefly spoke with Biehl. (Efforts to reach Biehl for this story, via cellphone, were unsuccessful.)

Abaroa told Ehrenberg that the marlin registered only 972 pounds because the hook of the electronic scale used to weigh the fish was not high enough for all of the fish to clear the ground, so a time-tested measurement formula -- using length and girth -- was used to determine the 1,213 pounds. The marlin measured 137 inches long, or 11.4 feet, not counting its bill or tail. It was 75 inches, or 6.25 feet around.

Weight records for marlin caught off Cabo San Lucas are not kept officially, but an 1,111-pounder caught in the 1980s is believed to be the heaviest.

More recently, in this era of high-speed reels and other technological advancements, overnight struggles with giant billfish have become increasingly rare.

Biehl, bemoaning the use of light line, fought the giant blue marlin by himself until about sunset, then  relinquished the rod to a deckhand. By then food and water had been exhausted and another vessel captained by Abaroa's brother, Frankie, was summoned via radio to deliver supplies.

The marlin leaped again, closer to the boat, as darkness fell. The weight estimate was revised upward to between 800-1,000 pounds.

A long night was fitful because to keep the line from breaking the captain and crew had to keep just enough pressure on the marlin, and constant maneuvering of the boat was necessary.

At sunrise a rejuvenated Biehl reclaimed the rod and resumed the fight. With the line and leader weakening, the crew aboard the other boat had devised a snag rig and managed to setting more hooks into the cheek of the wearying marlin.

Finally, the billfish tired and was brought alonside the boat, and according to Ehrenberg, Biehl chose to have it gaffed and brought to port. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime fish. I want to take him," he said.

Surprisingly, Biehl went fishing again Monday and caught and released a striped marlin, before himself succumbing to all he had been through by coming down with a bout of seasickness.

-- Images of giant marlin are courtesy of Go Deep Sportfishing. Top image shows angler Richard Biehl (holding rod) next to his prize catch. Click here to visit Go Deep's Facebook page

Laura Dekker, 16, sets sail into piracy-plagued Indian Ocean

How did your daughter celebrate her 16th birthday?

Laura Dekker, a Dutch adventurer aspiring to become the youngest sailor to solo-circumnavigate the planet, spent hers preparing for what figures to be the most dangerous leg of her remarkable journey: crossing the Indian Ocean, which is notorious for unpredictable weather and, perhaps worse, pirates.

Dekker, whose controversial voyage began in August of 2010 from Gibraltar, has safely crossed the Atlantic and Pacific aboard her 38-foot sailboat, Guppy. She left Darwin, Australia, on Monday on a westerly course toward Africa. The Indian Ocean is her final hurdle and greatest challenge. Her team did not reveal her exact route because of concerns for her safety.

"We are all confident that the necessary precautions have been taken," said Dekker's manager, Lyall Mercer. "Laura is relaxed about the journey but we want to be wise and provide her with as much protection as possible."

While acts of piracy are most common off Somalia, on the African coast near the Gulf of Aden, they have occurred elsewhere in the Indian Ocean.

Zac Sunderland, who completed a 13-month solo-circumnavigation at 17 in July of 2009, was sailing in the same general direction as Dekker, toward Cocos Keeling Islands, when he encountered what seemed to be pirates investigating his presence.

They were aboard a large wooden boat that did not register on his radar screen. They did not answer calls on the radio as they approached, and they did not fly any national flags. Winds were light and swells large, so Sunderland could not escape. When the mysterious vessel crossed into the wake of his 36-foot sailboat, its crew remained hidden, and after a few tense minutes, the vessel veered off and away.

The vast and tumultuous Indian Ocean was not kind to any of Dekker's recent young predecessors. This includes Abby Sunderland, who at 16 endured days of large seas and harsh weather before her 40-foot sailboat, Wild Eyes, was rolled and damaged by a rogue wave, which prompted a lengthy and intense rescue effort.

Zac spent three harrowing days and nights in gale-force winds trying to repair loose rigging and prevent it from bashing a hole in his boat's hull.

England's Mike Perham and Australia's Jessica Watson also experienced long periods of severe weather while making the crossing.

Watson, who completed her nonstop circumnavigation days before turning 17 , is the youngest person to have sailed around the world alone.

Dekker, who has an extensive sailing background and was born on a yacht in New Zealand, has more than a year to take that distinction. But during the year-plus she has already been sailing, and enjoying long breaks in various exotic destinations, she has rarely thought about finishing with any kind of a record.

"I love what I do and that is my motivation," she said, before setting out from Darwin. "It feels really great to follow your dream and I'm happy to just do my thing."

Dekker celebrated her birthday with cake and donuts. Before departing she stated on on her blog: "It is not everyday that I have this many sweet treats under my nose but I believe I had a good reason to indulge and eat all I could."

-- Images of Laura Dekker and her vessel, Guppy, are courtesy of Laura Dekker