[obol] Cruise ship birding in May off Oregon.

[Jeff Gilligan]

While these trips are no substitute for Greg Gilson's excellent pelagic
trips, they do give another off shore option.


On the downside:  You can't readily photograph birds, you can't put out a
feeding slick, you can't chase birds, you can't go to a fishing boat to see
what it attracts, you can't chase a bird, and you only get a short amount of
time to view each bird as you pass it at about 20 miles per hour.

On the up side:  I have not been sick on any of the six coastal cruises I
have been on (including a non-birding one that was at sea over night many
years ago).  All were going south in fall or summer, which is conducive to
good sea conditions.  You get to bird the entire length of the Oregon coast
in about 12 hours.  Sometimes we have been offshore as far as 65 miles.  The
ships have been steady enough to even use a scope.  You are high enough to
see over swells, and you can see for long distances.

Owen Schmidt and I are going on the repositioning sailing of the Golden
Princess from San Francisco (May 2 at 4:00 PM) to Vancouver (May 4) arrives
at 10:00 AM).  That should put the ship off Brookings at about 7:00 AM.

This is a bit experimental, because we haven't taken one of these
repositioning cruises in spring. Spring weather is more dicey than is fall
weather, and the ship will be going north - which may affect how well the
ship rides.

Price for the sailing based on double occupancy (including six meals):

Interior Unit: $149.00
Balcony Unit:  $299.00

Amtrak to Portland from Vancouver:  $49.00

I very much recommend Fairview Travel (Dan Johnson) 503-666-3893.

You can get package deals that include transfers,and taxes and airfare for
as low as about $450.00.

The following has a high BS factor (although it also has useful information
about this matter).  Please DELETE NOW, or read further at your own risk.

Having recently read a book entitled something like "Magellan's Voyage to
the Edge of the World", I can now make comparisons as to our experience on
previous birding cruises with those of Magellan's small fleet of discovery:

1)  The threat of scurvy:  Magellan:  Many died from scurvy.
                           Us:  There was a wide variety of fruits and
                                vegetables available in unlimited quantity
                                at all hours.

2)  Food:                   Magellan:  Starvation was a threat from early
                                on.
                            Us:  Not a problem.

3)  Hostile Filipinos:      Magellan:  He and others were killed by hostile
                                Filipinos.
                            Us:  We found the Filipino staff to be
                                invariably accommodating and gracious.

4)  Uncertain positioning, distances, and return date:
                            Magellan:  They didn't know the world was so
                                big.
                            Us:  See the above itinerary.

5) Provisioning of adult beverages:
                            Magellan:  They took a lot with them.
                            Us: Limited but sufficient.

Jeff Gilligan
Portland