© photos Renaud de Stephanis
Elsa on the left and the zodiac on the right following a group of killer whales
Our boats: Elsa and the zodiac
In the Strait of Gibraltar, our research team has two boats:
© photos Renaud de Stephanis
Elsa
on the left and the zodiac on the right following a
group of killer whales
Elsa is a 10m motorboat with two 90 HP inboard engines. Built in polyester, it is well equipped to navigate in good safety conditions. It is very steady in bad weather conditions which is a great advantage in the Strait where climatic conditions can get bad very quickly. All the scientific equipment is housed in a small cabin. The tiller is outside, but protected from the sun. Elsa can welcome up to 8 persons onboard. Generally the crew is made up of 4 scientists and 4 research volunteers.
Look out for animals from
the tower (a.k.a. the camel) in winter and summer!
Since April 2002, we have a tower on our boat, which is particularly useful to look for animals, as it is higher than other observation points on the boat. We can spot animals up to 3 nautical miles away.
Elsa is equipped with a sounder that provide us with information on the depth, temperature and speed loch. A GPS coupled to a computer records our position every minute and draw it on a logger that allows us to locate ourselves with great precision at all time.
The zodiac Mark 3 equipped with an outboard 40 HP motor allows us to approach the animals very near in order to record, using a hydrophone, acoustics of pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, killer whales and sperm whales. It lets us work on different groups at the same time and so makes us win time. The zodiac is also a security in case of any problem on Elsa.
© photo Renaud de Stephanis