The Making of this Site

The Director's Report and

One Passenger's Personal Journal

Imaging Foundation's First Expedition - The Director's Report

Several years ago, I received a call from a nonprofit agency interested in using an image of a sea lion being choked by monofilament line. The large pinniped was dying and the image made a strong case about the danger of orphan fishing netting. The agency did not have a photography budget, but denying the image usage would have been wrong. The rent was due, our bank account was low and we extended usage rights. Did we have a choice? A strong pattern emerged over the years. Images that make a difference are difficult and expensive to capture and ironically, there is rarely any budget for usage of this imagery.

During our travels, the single most often asked question, besides, "Have you ever been bitten by a shark?" is "Do you need an expedition assistant?" The Imaging Foundation fills a formerly unmet need. We simultaneously provide an opportunity for committed individuals to be members of our expedition team while collecting critical imagery and developing innovative educational productions.

The Imaging Foundation was founded less than one year ago by a small group of individuals concerned about international environmental issues. We had seen many small educational and environmental nonprofits trying to achieve their goals, but unable to afford the images and creative services required to accomplish their mission.

Our mission is to create imagery illustrating both the beauty and the threats facing our natural environment and to make these images available to students and nonprofit agencies. We have found that spending time in the field is often the best place to create educational productions.

We have just completed our first expedition. We traveled to the Kingdom of Tonga to photograph and develop an educational website about the Tonga whale tribes. For our first expedition, we did quite well! The web pages you are viewing right now were produced entirely aboard the NAI'A ship, using a temporarily rigged wireless boatwide network. The expedition members traveled from points around the globe. Volunteers from the United States, Australia, and Africa all united in their love of the natural world and their passion for effecting change.

This was THE expedition I was told I would not be on. After launching the Imaging Foundation and coordinating with the NAI'A team to develop our website, I received a call from my doctor. I was sitting in my office alone, when I discovered that I had cancer and would need to undergo radical surgery immediately. With one phone call, my life changed. After the initial shock subsided, I started putting together alternative plans. I made a few phone calls to begin covering my obligations and then left the office. When I returned the following day, the answering machine and e-mail inbox were filled. I was again in shock as I reviewed countless offers to donate time and skills to the Imaging Foundation. I left for the hospital with the knowledge that regardless of my doctor's opinion, I would be aboard the Imaging Foundation's maiden voyage, and that I would be surrounded by a group of astounding, capable and dedicated friends who did not miss a beat in assuming the hefty responsibilities of the Imaging Foundation. Their support and vision gave me the courage to travel to Tonga and lead our first expedition.

The Imaging Foundation gives team members the opportunity to travel to remote destinations and participate in an experience that will make a difference. At their own expense, they roll up their sleeves and work during their vacation. They trade in lounge chairs, tanning time, and umbrella drinks for research books, computers and in field strategy sessions. But that being said, we have a hell-of-alot of fun! Guests return from their sojourn with a renewed sense of hope and empowerment and a sense of being part of an organization that is working to change the world.

Georgienne Bradley

Director, Imaging Foundation

Personal Journal

by Jan Berman

August 2, 2005

Day 1

Aboard the Nai'a, Tongatapu, Tonga

"They just talk about the possibility of seeing whales on the first day out. It's not like we're going to really see anything today. But it gets us excited, in a good mood, to think we might see some," John said.

We had just finished lunch aboard the dive boat Nai'a, shortly after boarding. Usually sailing out of Fiji, this month the Nai'a has come to Tonga with a mission - to put us in the water with humpback whales.

We'd also done the obligatory introductions, each person telling what they might contribute to the project we'd all signed on for. Perhaps 10 photographers, 2 Internet geeks, and me. At this point, a group of strangers each wondering what the week would bring. I was milling about the dive deck, chatting with new acquaintances.

"We've just spotted some whales," Linda, John's wife, said calmly, coming down from the top deck. "Come up and see." It was exciting to think we'd spotted some whales so soon after getting underway, but I sensed no anticipation yet.

I went down to my room to put on sunblock and get my sunglasses. Figured I'd go up and see some spouting in the distance, and not get sunburned. Maybe the choice to put on sunblock was prophetic, since it prevented the sunburn that surely would have been mine over the course of the next hour.... In moments, the boat was slowing to a stop and feet were running everywhere: upstairs, downstairs, and all around the deck. This was it!

Everyone scrambled into wetsuits and grabbed fins and masks. With no camera gear, I was at the swim deck in minutes. I slipped quietly into the water, and directly in front of my eyes were two adult humpback whales. They held still in the water, bodies twined together, watching us slide one-by-one from air into water. Very slowly, one whale rotated head down, tail up. Normal behavior for a whale, I know, but it seemed to me like a salute or greeting to newfound friends.

We swam with the humpbacks for an hour. We watched with awe as they spyhopped, heads raising out of the water to have a look at us, then turned and dived. They swam under us, white bellies rotated up toward the sky. They swam alongside and rolled. They slapped their fins in the water, and dived again, massive flukes slipping into the water gracefully as they descended. One approached to within ten feet, the pleated white fold on his throat covered with barnacles, seemed almost close enough to touch. Twelve cameras took aim. It was the experience of a lifetime.

As we swam back to the boat, I could hear "wow", "awesome", "can you believe it", "this has made my trip even if we don't see another whale all week". A group of strangers who are starting to feel like a team.

I peeled off my cold clammy wetsuit and shivered in a quick, hot shower. Some snacks, hot tea, and time to start this log.... Oops... "whales!", feet scattering and scurrying everywhere as the boat slows, and the log is abandoned.

August 3, 2005

Day 2

Aboard the Nai'a, Ha'apai, Tonga

I slept through much of the morning...a combination of the time change and the Bonine I took to combat sea-sickness on the crossing. The crossing was not particularly rough, but I am told it can be. Rough or not, the Bonine made me sleepy anyway.

I heard my first whale song. At first I thought it was people shouting "wooooohooooo", but later realized it was a whale singing near the boat.

2:30 pm
Listening to a tinny version of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" on one of the 10 or so computers that have sprouted up all over the galley. I've been on dive boats all over the world, but this is the first one I've ever been on that bears a resemblance to a Silicon Valley computer start-up. Those volunteers who didn't come prepared with their own computer have been graciously granted the use of one by Georgienne, of the Imaging Foundation. Daniel, also from Imaging Foundation, has set up a wireless computer network, so everyone can access materials and begin work on our assignments.

We've all just started humming along with the music in unison, when "Whales, just off port." We get a great look at a pod of four adults and one calf that we'd already been watching for about an hour. Two of the adults came close to the boat, checking it out. The mother and calf kept a small distance, though we could see them clearly. The calf thrilled us by breaching completely out of the water.

This time we spot a newcomer approaching the pod with the calf. The newcomer engages with one of the adults, and we watch the surface elements of a battle between two whales. I can imagine the scene underwater as the one of the males rakes the other across the back with the bountiful barnacles attached to his throat. About 30 minutes later, the whales are calm again. Perhaps the newcomer moved on, or the battle ended for other reasons. Altogether, we watch this pod three separate times, for about 2 hours.

I originally thought the pod must be protecting the mother and calf. But then I read that males often follow a mother and calf because they are interested in the mother. I think positively about a species in which the males consider a mother who has just given birth a hot babe. (I have a four-year old daughter. I do not recall feeling like a hot babe shortly after giving birth.)

The encounter with the whale pod is awesome, but all observed from the boat rather than in the water. It is not considered safe to get in the water with a mother and calf escorted by males. The mother is protective of the calf, and the males may fight. They may mean us no harm, but an incidental flick from a pectoral fin, or especially a tail, could be fatal. We only go in the water with whales who seem actively interested in us. They may display their interest by circling the boat spyhopping, raising their heads from the water to look at us.

5:00 pm
The Fijian crew take a skiff over to the beach to play a quick game of rugby on a small concrete dock littered with coral...barefoot. The penalty for poor aim is the need to take a quick swim to recover the ball.

Some of the team members go over to go beach-combing and just stretch our limbs as we've been on the boat all day. The food on the Nai'a is superb, opportunities for exercise are minimal, and it's all too easy to gain a few pounds. The beach is covered with coral and shells. We show each other beautiful shells.

7:30 pm
After dinner reality sets in. Linda goes over our assignments for the web site. Teams meet. The Fijian crew of the Nai'a is outside singing and drinking kava...and so are a few of the guests. But most sit in front of computer screens and books, writing text or uploading photos.

August 4, 2005

Day 3

Aboard the Nai'a, Ha'apai, Tonga

1:00 pm
Found a pod of whales around 11, and stayed with them on and off for an hour or so. One of the whales made a grunt or bellow several times upon surfacing that was variously described as sounding like a cow, a walrus, or a great big belch. At one point, the whales came fairly close to the boat, and one went head down and slowly raised it's tail above the water flukes facing us. Then it wagged its tail back and forth as we cheered. It seemed like it was waving to us hello or goodbye...turned out to be goodbye.

One interesting observation...whales leave a "hole" in the water when they dive under. For some minutes after the whale has gone, a flat mirror-like circle can be seen drifting on the waves where the whale disappeared.

3:00 pm
Found 3 groups of two whales each after lunch. One pair was particularly frisky. Breaching, barrel rolling, slapping the water with pectoral fins and tails. It was clear from the comments of the passengers that all had the same interpretation of events: "you go big guy", "I think she wants a cigarette", "I hope we're not ruining the mood by watching", etc.

It was windy and sprinkling a bit outside, so rather cold. We huddled around in our newly purchased Nai'a fleece jackets. Many of us came unprepared for the cool temperatures this time of year in Tonga -- including me! Every piece of remotely warm clothing I had packed was in a bag that is having its own independent tour of Guam and Australia courtesy of Continental Airlines. Hopefully, it will rejoin the program and meet up with us in Australia in a couple weeks. Luckily, it was only the clothes that went walkabout; the dive gear all made it to Tonga. Anyway, the Nai'a crew helpfully broke out the boutique on Day 2 so we could purchase fleece jackets to wear. Thank goodness!

Carolyn and I learned the best secret on the Nai'a: the exhaust from the clothes dryer goes through a pipe that blows out warm air on the bow of the boat. It is just the right height to get your feet under, so your toes stay warm while you look at whales. I decide not to share this secret with too many people.

One of the pairs circled the boat a couple times, did some spyhopping, and seemed potentially interested in us, so we donned masks and fins and hit the skiffs. It turns out that once they saw us in the water they were not that interested in us. We were able to see them fly by, and a second pair as well, but only by jumping in the skiff several times, and jumping out. Nothing like the first day, but still a good experience. And riding around in the skiff seeing the whales up close was fun and exhilarating.

10:30 pm
All is quiet aboard the Nai'a. Everyone but me is asleep, or, at any rate, tucked away in their rooms. I am still buoyed by the superb night dive we completed over an hour ago.

The night dive was especially thrilling to me. Our team of four divers, Richie the dive guide, as well as Carolyn, Alex, and me, worked great together. As a result, we all were able to see the many excellent finds each diver made. Right away Richie showed us something that looked like a cross between a nudibranch and a brain coral. Wacky. It turned out to be a lamelorrid. Also, a tiny purple stick-crab that looked just like the purple algae it sat in. Carolyn found a cool scorpion fish, and a large lion fish also appeared later. I found an excellent flame scallop in a hole a bit bigger than the scallop. Its entire flaming red body was visible, it's mouth was wide open, and it even hopped about a little in it's hole. The long red tendrils streaming from its mouth were fully exposed. And it was putting on a great phosphorescent show, making a figure-8 pattern of flashing light. We also saw a lot of big lobsters, tons of shrimp, giant clams, various cool decorator and hermit crabs, flat worms... Really a superb night dive and well worth shivering a bit in our wetsuits in the 71 degree water.

August 5, 2005

Day 4

Aboard the Nai'a, Ha'apai, Tonga

3:30 pm
Six is the magic number today. We've seen three groups of two; we've seen two groups of three; a group of four and a group of two. Probably, we've been watching the same six whales in different configurations all day.

These whales came close to the Nai'a. There was spyhopping. There was rolling. There were tails sliding into the water. And, another great example of a tail waggle, as a whale went head down and shimmied his tail around in the air. The whales seemed playful and comfortable with the Nai'a...but not with the skiff.

We suited up and hopped in the skiff, and the whales got more distant. We jumped in the water, and the whales dove deep. A few people were able to free dive to 20 or 30 feet and could hear the whales talking. They weren't exactly singing the humpback song, but they were singing something.

Back on the Nai'a, and the whales come back to the boat. We don the wet wetsuits again, and wait on the aft of the Nai'a to see if we can get in the water with the whales this way. No dice. After lunch, the whales are still hanging around the Nai'a, so we try the skiffs again, and the whales take off again. Apparently, we got some good footage of the skiffs and whales together. We vote to go look for friendlier whales.

5:00 pm
A big whale comes to the bow of the Nai'a about 4:00. By majority vote, we decide to see if he'll be friendly with the skiff. Don wetsuits, head out in the skiff, and... No Whale. On the plus side, I am able to confirm what I've read - that whales can hold their breath for at least 20 minutes. This whale turns out to be the world whale free diving champion. In 40 minutes on the skiff we see it once. It is big. It holds its breath super super well. Back to the Nai'a with us.

Changing out of our wetsuits, Randy says to me: "This is the point in an expedition when we have to all keep our spirits up. It could happen any time, any moment, and we've got to be ready. Spirits tend to drag a bit after a day like this. I've seen it many times. It can be infectious to the whole expedition. But you don't want to miss the best encounter because you've got tired of donning the wetsuit time after time."

10:00 pm
Once again I am the late night reporter on the Nai'a. Alex and Chard keep me company, and we share some post-night dive chardonnay. Jackie, our other regular late-night compatriot, heads off to bed "early" tonight. Last night she had a bit of trouble when she tried to go to bed. She discovered that her husband David had thrown the deadbolt and, we discovered later, fallen asleep with earplugs on. She had to wake up the crew for a key to the room. David seems to have slept through the whole experience.

We did our night dive on a reef under the Nai'a just off Uonukuhahaki. Saw a big lobster, an octopus. Some divers saw stingrays, and some saw a giant file fish. The current was interesting, first pushing us off stern of the boat for about 40 minutes, then stopping, then reversing and pushing us right back under the boat in about 10 minutes. We'd have been in great shape if we came up then, but decided to stay down 10 more minutes. The current reversed again, and sent us back out stern. Interesting. Anyway, the skiff drivers would have been offended if we came back to the boat rather than relying on them to pick us up. (This is true, and not just a rationalization. They instructed us to dive with, not against, the current, and they'd be there to get us. And they were.)

August 6, 2005

Day 5

Aboard the Nai'a, Ha'apai, Tonga

Today dawned a bright, beautiful, sunny, calm day. Just what was needed to put everyone in high spirits. Of course, I didn't actually witness this dawn; I saw the underwater version of dawn.

The latest resolution to the diving/whaling tension was the addition of a 7:00 am pre-breakfast splash. I must commend the Nai'a crew who have extended their workday to include both a dawn dive and a night dive, so the bulk of the day can be devoted to whale watching and we can still get 2 dives in. Their workday (which they do 7 days a week for a month) makes my 50 or 60 hours a week look paltry.

We dived once more off Uonukuhahaki Island, where the Nai'a was anchored. It was interesting watching the reef wake up. First the blue damsels arose coloring the rocks neon blue. Then parrot fish started scooting about nipping at the rocks. Butterfly fish of various types emerged in pairs, trios, or schools. A school of black surgeon fish with orange tail spots swam by, and then a school or orange something-or-others. At the end, we spotted a huge file fish, a large Maori wrasse, and a stingray. To me, this is the best way to watch the dawn.

We got underway, and it wasn't long before a friendly whale came swimming toward the boat to check out the Nai'a. He circled a bit on the surface, showing his interest. We were able to slide in off the swim deck of the Nai'a, and the whale was right there checking us out. He circled about a bit, clearly eying these odd mammals dressed in black and neon colors, who make a heck of a lot of noise getting in the water, swim incredibly slowly, and can't hold their breath very well at all. He eventually moved off, and we were able to engage him from the skiffs a little. When we returned, there was much "what-iffing". Could we have engaged him better if fewer people had tried to go in the water? If we'd been more restrained? (Although we're instructed not to swim toward the whales, some folks just find their legs engaging their fins on autopilot.) Or did he just check us out and decide we weren't that interesting? Who knows.

2:00 pm
After lunch we donned DAN T-shirts rather than wetsuits and posed for a photo on the bridge. There was a bit of alarm as whales appeared on the stern just at photo time. But they headed out, so the photos were successfully taken. Hopefully DAN will appreciate the excellent photos of our team wearing the shirts they donated to us.

5:30 pm
What a day today. It seems the sun and calm did bring us luck.

First we had some great surface action. We had six whales visible in various configurations. One trio got particularly lively. A large male slapped the water vigorously with his tail four times in a row. Then we witnessed three complete breaches over the course of 15 minutes or so. It is phenomenal to watch these 2 ton whales suddenly and without warning catapult from the water, landing in a tremendous splash. The without warning part was particularly frustrating for the photographers. After 10 minutes with eye to the framer, one would look away for an instant and, bang, breach!

Over the course of an hour we watched barrel rolling, slapping, tail waggling, and lots of surface display. Perhaps courting, or perhaps males competing, or maybe just playful.

The six whales split up into groups, so we jumped in two skiffs and headed out following two different groups of three. My skiff had two excellent, but brief, encounters. We got out in a group of five whales and, with some hesitation, slid in. All five whales were visible. Three of them, in a stack, swam right by us. It was exhilarating, and a bit scary to have two whales to the left, three to the right and headed straight toward me. Second encounter, two whales swam right under us.

The other skiff had even better luck. They ended up with a friendly pair that stayed with them for quite awhile. The pair circled around and swam up to the swimmers. Everyone on that skiff had big smiles when we joined them. In retrospect, though, we may have erred bringing our skiff over. The pair apparently departed when our skiff came over, perhaps due to the noise of the new skiff.

Josh gave us three options, and took a vote. Beach = no votes. Go scuba diving and continue whale watching were about evenly split. So we switched skiffs with one skiff continuing whale watching and the other going diving.

The divers were in for a treat. We dove a pristine reef with a wall to sand bottom on one side. From the wall, we could hear whales singing throughout the dive. This was a first for me - the perfect music for an excellent dive. The reef was covered with varieties of hard coral and an amazing diversity of fish. I stopped counting varieties of butterfly fish and parrotfish and triggers, as there was no hope I could remember them all. I saw a school of bait fish off the reef, and they zoomed when a tuna hit them. They later circled around me during my safety stop at 15 feet. Moray eel and lion fish were popular photographic subjects.

11:30 pm
Tonight my late night companions were Alex, Chard, and Randy. But they abandoned me one by one. Now it is just me, this computer...and a handy bottle of chardonnay that Alex rounded up to keep me company.

After dinner we had a presentation on how the website is coming along. We are at that magic point in a project where we are both amazed by how much has been done in such a short time, and overwhelmed by what remains to be done. Several people have had to make difficult choices today between personal desires (perhaps hopping in the skiff or going on a dive) and getting work done for the project. This has not been easy. From talking to several people, I conclude that there is no simple choice. Either way, it will feel that a sacrifice has been made. People weigh the cost of the trip, the effort getting here, the vacation time, the probability that many may never visit Tonga again, and a personal sense of commitment and responsibility to the project. In the end, from my perspective, regardless of the amount of pre-trip discussion, these choices will be faced on any trip with both personal and group objectives. Come to think of it, it's not so different from the choices I make everyday in my regular life: put in a little more time at the office on a big project, or go home to see my daughter.

My own personal method for resolving the internal conflict on the trip has been to sacrifice sleep. This too, is not so different from the way I resolve similar demands at home. One thing I have learned in the last month and a half that I've been on leave from work traveling is, to quote Buckaroo Banzai "wherever you go, there you are."

August 7, 2005

Day 6

Aboard the Nai'a, Ha'apai, Tonga

4:30 pm
Today dawned sunny and calm and clear again. Another excellent day for whale photography.

Six or seven of us went out for the dawn dive at 7:00 am again. Another nice site, very pristine. I went immediately down a wall with blue water on the other side and was rewarded by seeing a white tip reef shark lying in the sand. After it moved on, a sea turtle swam into view, checked me out, and then departed. There were many types of hard corals: antler, table, brain, etc. And excellent fish life. A favorite for me was a school of large silvery bait fish that streamed back and forth across the wall.

I watched the skiff action from the Nai'a today. It was interesting to get that perspective on us compared to the whales. The whales are a lot bigger... And we spend a lot more time in the skiff than in the water. I am growing to appreciate what whale researchers and photographers go through to get their data and pictures. Wow, it's a hard job with probably hundreds of hours invested behind each great photograph or research paper.

Folks who went out both from the skiffs, and later from the Nai'a indicated that they enjoyed the encounters and got some good close up views. But still no extended interaction like that we had the first day, or even like that the one skiff had yesterday.

On board the Nai'a, we had good luck with three different breachers. The first did a few excellent breaches fairly near the boat. He also liked to roll on his back and clap his pectoral fins together in the air. I hope the video of this came out, since it was pretty spectacular. After awhile, he disappeared. While hoping he'd come back up, we spotted a serial breacher in the distance. After 10 or 12 breaches, we headed toward him. But, he too, stopped when we got close. We speculated that we were not what he was hoping to attract with his flamboyant display. Or maybe he just got tired.

Later we spotted a juvenile breacher accompanied by his mom and an escort. The mom and escort were both huge, making the juvenile look petite by comparison. The juvenile was not put off by the Nai'a, and executed 8 or 10 breaches as we approached, including several very close to the boat. It was breathtaking; the best photographic opportunity for breaches we've had.

We (that is to say a hardy few) capped off the evening with a night dive in calm, peaceful (and cold) conditions. Judging from my experience, Tonga is the dwarf lionfish capital of the world. We also saw a lamilorrid.

August 8, 2005

Day 7

Aboard the Nai'a, Ha'apai, Tonga

Today's announced mission was the hunt for friendly whales. We had enough breach photos, enough fluke photes, enough spyhopping photos. Time to find some whales we could swim with.

In the morning we were surrounded by whales - five separate groups at one time. It was spectacular. But... every time we headed for one group, it dived and the others started breaching and spyhopping. I think we tried every group, without finding a whale that wanted to play with us. Nonetheless, everyone was well pleased with our photos and observation of the humpbacks.

Some of the photographers commented that better zoom lenses would have been really helpful. They had thought we'd be spending most of our time in the water, doing close-ups. The reality is mostly moderately distant surface shots. Two other tips are offered: bring warm wetsuits (our tour directors on the Nai'a wear drysuits) and bring warm clothes.

Finally, after lunch, two friendly whales approached the boat, circled and hung out at the swim step. We jumped into our wetsuits and rushed to the swim step on the Nai'a. Lucia, Matteo and I were first to slide into the water. The whales swam under us and looked up at us. They reversed directions, and swam back under us. Then finally they headed off toward the bow. We got in the skiffs and had a couple good passes with them, before they departed.

In the afternoon, we were offered a choice of going for a dive or continuing whale watching. Seven or eight of us chose to dive, and the rest stayed on the boat to seek out friendly whales.

It was a nice dive. The highlight occurred as soon as we descended. We were greeted by 4 grey reef sharks who were hunting and circling. They didn't seem disturbed by us, and stayed with us for quite a while. We also enjoyed the fish on top of the reef, a beautiful black lionfish, and listening to whale song while diving.

Chard and I had just caught the skiff back to the Nai'a and taken off our dive gear when a whale approached the skiff. We tried to jump in with it, but it headed around us. (I slid in without my fins, a source of amusement to those watching from the Nai'a.) When I got back to the Nai'a I learned that this was the only humpback the "whale watchers" on the Nai'a saw while we were out diving.

The night dive drew a large crowd tonight, once folks were reminded that this was our last chance. After the dive, divers commented that they liked diving right off the Nai'a, since that was a little easier than the skiffs. Also, we found a lot of critters including: Spanish dancer, snake eel, big huge decorator crab with a big coral on it, squid, stingray, banded coral shrimp, black cowries, flat worm, nudibranchs, lobsters, hermit crab, and "other funky looking things".

Today was a three dive day for me. Only Jackie joined me this morning, along with our dive guide Richie. It's getting a bit late now, and feels even later to those of us who were up before dawn.

My late night compatriots this evening are John, Randy, and Larry. We have liberated some wine, and I am endeavoring to get help with this log to no avail. We engage in a conversation that ranges from tales of many dive trips around the world, to how to tell natural boobs from surgically enhanced, to airline travails (the air traffic controller in the group has some excellent stories).

August 9, 2005

Day 8

Aboard the Nai'a, Ha'apai, Tonga

Last night a member of the Fijian crew developed some concerning symptoms. Or, rather, it would be more accurate to say she finally confessed to having had them for a couple days. But by last night she was having difficulty breathing and partial paralysis. Perhaps it is a stomach flu or allergy, but the folks with some medical training are concerned that she may have had a stroke. She had not been diving, so we could rule out decompression sickness, often the first potential diagnosis on a dive boat.

This morning after the dawn dive, we motored to an anchorage near an island with a doctor. The doctor came aboard and concluded that wiithout more sophisticated equipment, her condition couldn't be diagnosed. For now, treat the symptoms. An initial plan to fly the crew member back to Nuku'alofa, where she could get transport home to Fiji, was abandoned after checking flight schedules. It turned out there was no way to get her to Fiji any sooner than our scheduled departure flight. In addition, the doctor expressed the opinion that she'd be much better off on the boat, with its first aid supplies and the medical knowledge of several guests, than she would be staying alone in a hotel in Tonga.

We got underway to look for whales about 10:30, but had limited success before lunch. I was standing on the bow and noticed a small fishing boat floating in the blue ocean. I asked our dive guide Ritchie, "what do they do if the motor stops working? Do they have a radio?" He chuckled at the idea of a radio. He indicated that they might have two oars, and a tarpaulin aboard. With that, and fishing line, they could rig a hand-held sail and proably stear toward one of the islands. Or, they'd just wait and hope someone came along to help them out.

Ritchie mentioned that he had some personal experience fishing from a small boat. When he was 16, he, his dad, and his 15 and 12 year old brothers had gone fishing over blue ocean in a small boat. Something happened to cause the boat to crack in the middle, flood the engines, and then sink. They had in their possession four objects that would float: 2 floats, the fuel drum, and a sea turtle. The four of them held onto these four objects "for awhile" until a fisherman passed and picked them up. Since they were over blue water, in an area known for sharks, they considered this to be a very lucky outcome. He concluded that his family has always been lucky with the sea.

This afternoon we're stopping at an island called Ha'afeva. It is only 1.8 square kilometers, with a population of 300 people, making it a crowded place. Of course this was according to a 4-year old guide book, so it might be uninhabited or the population may have doubled by now.