June 18th - I have been on the ship for less than an hour when the cetacean action begins.  A group of around 60 Atlantic spotted dolphins porpoise across the bow and perform a few exuberant leaps out of the swell waves.  A great start to the trip!

June 19th - A dark shape rolls at the surface a few kilometres ahead of the ship, and as I focus my binoculars in the region I see the diagnostic, large rounded dorsal fins of pilot whales.  They are too far away to confirm, but I expect these are the tropical short-finned species given the warm water temperature which today exceeds 25°C.  The whales travel sedately in a spread out school of about 15 animals.

June 20th - I first saw the low bushy blows of sperm whales ahead of the ship around 35 min ago.  Now, the two animals have returned to the surface following their dive and are quietly logging side by side and blowing frequently to replenish their oxygen supply prior to the next dive.  The vessel slowly overtakes the whales as they lie relatively motionless at the surface.

June 21st - There are lots of sharks visible at the surface at this time of year, and most of them are hammerheads.  This one approaches close to the ship, and the shape of it's head can be clearly seen below the water.

June 22nd - Scanning with binoculars, two huge splashes towards the horizon catch my eye.  There are whales breaching ahead of us, and this time the crew and I take the opportunity to launch the small boat and head over for a closer look.  The animals turn out to be sperm whales, their wrinkled skin, low dorsal 'humps' and angled blows making them easily recognisable.  We spend some time with a group of five animals including a calf, which slowly approach us to within a few metres before shallow-diving and moving away. 

June 22nd - As if the excitement of the close encounter with sperm whales was not enough, only two hours later there are dolphins approaching the ship.  The group of around 50 animals swim slowly and deliberately towards the vessel's bow, their long beaks protruding above the water at each surfacing.  As they draw closer it is easy to make out the patterning of large white spots on their flanks and dorsal surface, particularly on the largest adults which glow white beneath the water.  They are Atlantic spotted dolphins, and around half of the group stop to play around the bow while the others swim straight past and down the starboard side.  The dolphins are evidently unimpressed with the slow survey speed and meagre bow-wave, staying for only eight minutes before peeling away and heading off in search of better entertainment.

June 22nd - Less than 20 minutes later more dorsal fins appear ahead of the ship, and these dolphins are also heading purposefully but slowly towards the ship.  This second school also comprises Atlantic spotted dolphins, a pod of about 15 animals including several juveniles.  When they reach the bow the entire group does a U-turn to travel back with us, lazing in front of the bow-wave, spiralling and generally making much more effort to bow-ride than the previous group! At least two pairs of dolphins repeatedly mate while at the bow, and others turn on their sides to peer up at the ship. One very enthusiastic individual performs two backwards somersaults as the dolphins leave.

June 23rd - Splashes off the port bow alert me to a group of around 25 dolphins, moving fast through the grey dawn-lit sea.  The intricate flank patterns of the dolphins makes them easily recognisable as striped dolphins.  The animals move quickly through the swell, leaping out of the backs of the waves and are quickly lost from sight.

June 23rd - It is late in the day when a large group of about 90 dolphins appear ahead of the ship.  These animals look very small and with rather triangular dorsal fins.  Although they are definitely one of the five Stenella dolphin species that occur off West Africa their identity is not clear, and I take photographs to examine later.  Later analysis of the images reveals the clearly marked tripartite flank pattern indicative of either spinner or Clymene dolphins, and the dip in the dorsal cape of some animals together with the mid-length beak confirm these animals as the latter species. 

June 27th - It has become habit for me to regularly check around the bows of passing vessels for playing dolphins, and several splashes around our chase boat cues me to the presence of 25 animals playing in their stern wake. The dolphins cross from the chase boat towards our vessel, but pass by ahead of us and right through the sun glare.  Unfortunately I am unable to identify them beyond being either a Stenella or Delphinus species. 

June 30th - The day is glassy calm and I am unsurprised to see the carapaces of basking turtles at the surface around the ship.  I am leaning over the starboard railing focussing on one such turtle, when the Captain shouts to alert me to the presence of two humpback whales passing only 200 m off the port side!  Abandoning the turtle, I am in time to see the whales surfacing several times revealing their knobbly heads and stubby dorsal fins.  The two adults are heading purposefully north towards their Gulf of Guinea breeding grounds.

June 30th - Humpbacks are around in good numbers today, with a single adult later surfacing several times 250 m off the side of the ship and fluking (lifting it's tail flukes into the air) prior to embarking on a longer dive.  This animal is also going north.

June 30th - The carapace of a basking turtle glints strongly in the sunshine, and as I watch the animal it's head emerges several times to take a breath of air.  This is an olive ridley turtle, the species that we see most often in deep waters offshore Angola.

July 2nd - Today we are travelling through waters to the south of the usual study area, as we head back to the survey site following a port call in Luanda.  Conditions for spotting animals are excellent, with calm seas and sunshine.  It is not long before the characteristic dorsal fins of pilot whales become apparent well off to port, and I watch the pod of around 35 animals travel steadily towards us.  The whales are spread out in small sub-groups and there are several large adult males as well as younger animals.  The group pass astern of us and continue slowly on their way.

July 2nd - Suddenly there are dolphins everywhere!  A very large pod of porpoising animals can be seen well off to starboard and heading towards us, while there are some strange animals scattered all along our starboard side and ahead of us.  These latter dolphins look different from the usual candidates, being larger and with broad dorsal fins.  They are also behaving unusually, scattered around and generally being elusive.  The larger porpoising group distracts my attention, as the nearest animals swim purposefully towards the starboard bow.  They seem to change their mind once close to the vessel, and turn instead to pass astern of us.  The covering of white spots and the darker shoulder blaze indicate that they are Atlantic spotted dolphins.

However, most of the larger group have detoured to pass ahead of us and then down the port side, keeping a distance of around 2 km from the ship.  I take some images of the large porpoising school which contains at least 200 animals.  Subsequent analysis showed these animals to be Pantropical spotted dolphins, their white 'lips', white beak tip and well-defined dorsal cape being clearly evident. 

While the two spotted dolphin species quickly pass the ship and move off, the larger unidentified animals from earlier are still around.  And eventually I see ripples on the water surface that indicate some of them are approaching the ship.  Several crew members have joined me on the bow in the hope of seeing some close dolphins, and they are not disappointed.  Two animals appear underwater beside the ship, and I am delighted to distinguish the narrow dorsal capes and slanted head shape of rough-toothed dolphins.  I have seen this species on a handful of occasions off West Africa, but never in such perfect viewing conditions.  The dolphins are clearly interested in the ship, and swim continuously in circles ahead of us, looping back to pick up the bow-wave.  Several times they roll on their sides to look up at the bow with their large eyes, and we are able to see numerous rounded scars on their flanks caused by cookie-cutter sharks.  After entertaining us for several minutes, the dolphins peel away from the bow and head after the rest of the group.

July 5th - It is another glorious sunny day in Angola, and I have been watching for only 20 minutes before I have the first sighting of the day.  A group of 40 striped dolphins which porpoise at high speed past the bow, some animals performing amazing high leaps and crashing back into the water.

July 8th - An enormous splash several kilometres off the starboard bow alerts me to the presence of whales.  A group of three humpbacks are travelling north-westwards, with regular sequences of blowing and fluking, and an occasional breach.  The animals get closer and closer, eventually passing within 1500 m of the active airgun array without obvious reaction.

July 9th - More humpbacks, this time another group of three adults which are very surface active.  One individual repeatedly thrashes it's tail on the water surface, churning up the sea and causing huge splashes.  This seems to be a combination of tail-lobbing, and energetic tail 'swipes' through the water.  Clearly visible is the white colouration on the underside of the tail flukes, which is diagnostic to this species.

July 9th - During the afternoon we are on 'whale standby', ready to launch the small boat if any humpback whales are seen so that we can attempt a closer encounter.  After a few hours we are in luck, with two whales surfacing off our starboard side and travelling steadily to the north.   Several crew members come along on the 'whale safari' and we head out to try and locate the animals.  Fortunately the tall blows of the humpbacks are visible above the swell, and we find them without too much trouble.  However, the whales are clearly not as interested in us as we are in them!  They surface close to us on one occasion, the largest animal fluking right beside us to reveal it's huge tail flukes.  But they are subsequently rather elusive, and we quickly lose them as they continue on their travels.

July 11th - I am just returning to watch following a coffee break when I see dolphins just a few hundred metres ahead of the ship and porpoising in to bow-ride.  A quick sprint to the bow reveals that some animals are already bow-riding, and even more are arriving at the same time as me.  They are Atlantic spotted dolphins, and a mixture of adult and juvenile animals.  They stay for several minutes before moving away, with some animals executing high hanging leaps from the swell waves and the vessel's wake.

July 14th - In the glassy sea the dark shapes of basking turtles are easily visible.  One animal drifts close to the ship and I can identify it as an olive ridley turtle.  The top of it's carapace has completely dried out, indicating that it has been resting at the surface for quite some time.

July 16th - There is a large group of dolphins around 5 km from the ship, and they are actively and purposefully porpoising towards us.  Sometimes it is possible to sense when dolphins are in an interactive mood, and this group is showing all the signs of deliberately seeking out the vessel.  As the animals approach I can see that the group consists of several hundred animals, and they show the diagnostic 'hourglass' flank markings of common dolphins.  As they arrive at the bow, the dolphins turn to swim in front of, and alongside, the ship.  We can hear loud whistles from the animals riding the bow wave, and audible all around are the sharp exhalations of surfacing dolphins and the loud slaps as animals leap from and re-enter the water.  The dolphins remain playing around the vessel for over 45 minutes, and many of the crew are out on deck to view the spectacle.

July 18th - The tall vertical blows I have been watching certainly do not belong to a sperm whale.  And they look far too slender to be a humpback either.  It's not until the animal gets closer that I am able to make out the long, smooth back and prominent falcate dorsal fin that identify the animal as either a Bryde's or a sei whale.  The flanks of the animal are covered in numerous small circular scars caused by cookie-cutter sharks.

July 18th - A tall dorsal fin at the surface signals the approach of a shark.  As the animal passes close to the ship we can see the distinctive head shape of a hammerhead shark below the surface. 

July 18th - It is late in the evening when a group of low, bushy blows alert me to the presence of sperm whales off our port bow.  And there are many animals here . . . as I search around I see more and more blows scattered many kilometres away.  Some of the sperm whales come fairly close as the vessel turns amongst them, their low backs and dorsal 'humps' easily visible in the calm sea.

July 25th - The group of around 30 Atlantic spotted dolphins catch me by surprise, porpoising in from an area of intense sun glare so that I don't see them until they are already close to the ship.  The dolphins stop to play briefly around the bow.  This seems to be a nursery group containing adults with many calves and juveniles.  The dolphins quickly lose interest in our slow speed, and move off to starboard.  But only a minute later they can be seen 'running' at high speed away from the ship in an apparent reaction to the cables on our starboard side.

July 26th - I have been watching the group of dolphins several kilometres off our port side for 20 minutes before they start to head purposefully towards us.  The animals finally decide to approach the ship and spend a few brief minutes bow-riding and surfing alongside us.  As before, this group of Atlantic spotted dolphins contains quite a lot of calves and juveniles, the youngsters staying close to the adults' sides.   The dolphins quickly lose interest and move away.

July 26th - I am being spoilt today!  Only an hour after the previous group we spot more dolphins ahead of the ship, and this time the school is larger and looks much more active.  There are about 60 Atlantic spotted dolphins here and they do not hesitate to approach the ship, some porpoising energetically to the bow and others in a more sedate manner.  The dolphins spend 20 minutes playing around the bow and surfing the ship's wake alongside.  As they move off they leap out of the swell waves in spectacular fashion, some dolphins turning complete somersaults mid-air.

July 28th - The final day of the survey brings one last group of spotted dolphins to visit.  The group initially looks like it will pass well ahead of us, but some animals stopping and somersaulting in the middle of the school make me think that at least some exuberant youngsters are keen to play!  Eventually they turn, and the most enthusiastic dolphins porpoise at speed to the bow.  However, the majority of the school simply stop in the water ahead of us and wait for the ship to arrive . . . they are obviously aware of our low survey speed!  The dolphins play around the bow for several minutes, with some surfing alongside and jumping out of the waves.  An excellent end to the survey.