East Island Turtle Camp

This morning about 8 a.m. most of the people on the island started moving gear for the turtle camp down to the boat dock. We loaded gear and 2 people in one boat and more gear and 4 people in another small boat. We left Tern about 9 a.m. and about 30 minutes later were threading the reef to get into East Island. We anchored both boats and one person from each boat carried a second anchor up the beach and placed it carefully. We then stretched the boats between the 2 anchors and pulled them close enough to shore so we could wade about waist deep to get to the boats and started carrying loads up the beach to the camp site. With 6 of us working we emptied the boats in about 30 minutes. There is a permanent wooden platform for a tent on the island so for the next 2 hours we helped Irene and Tammy get their tent and camp set up. The 2 women will alternate 48 hour shifts in the camp, working nights, to study the large nesting Green Sea Turtle population. Every 48 hours a boat from Tern will make the run to East Island to pick up one researcher and drop off the other. The camp will also be kept supplied with fresh water and food at the same time. After our part in the set up was complete, Steve, the refuge manager, and myself did a count of the albatross on the island. There were nearly a 1,000 albatross of 2 species. A busy but interesting morning.