Where Seals Sing - Gotska Sandon
20 August 2013 | Gotska Sandon
Imelda WSW0
Tuesday 20 August 2013
Yesterday evening I sat on deck and watched a heavily pregnant Moon rise. The moment she cleared the horizon two seals stuck their heads out of the water exactly below her and gazed up. It will be a memory for life!
Late last night Ulric dragged all three boys on deck to gaze at the Nearly Full Moon and to study the signal patterns of the two light houses on Gotska Sandoen we can see from here.
The seals keep us under close observation. After darkness yesterday I stepped on deck and there was a huge splash right next to the dinghy! The seals like the dinghy. Maybe it looks like a huge super seal to them? They sniff around and at night they sing their eerie songs.
After everyone went to bed I went on deck with my voice recorder to record the songs of the seals. There is an occasional bark or yelp, even an almost human-sounding cough. The rest of the time there is an otherworldly hum or keening sound. I am not a composer but what came to mind is writing songs with these sounds as a backdrop. I will add experimental song writing to my wish list of things to do in this life. if time allows..
This morning we took the dinghy to the far side of the island where the main lightbouse is. We used the new, larger and far more powerful, outboard engine for the dinghy, but it is a pain to hoist up and down using a pulley system (and the combined muscle power of three human beings!) The trip took 45 minutes one way.
The island reminds me of Fraser Island in Australia, on the Great Barrier Reef. All tracks are made of sand so the rangers need a four wheel drive to get around. There is a 'Fyrbyn' ("Lighthouse Village") and we wrote our names in the guestbook in the lighthouse. All visiting yachts people are supposed to. The lighthouse is surrounded by pine trees. A few of them are dead and they are frequented by woodpeckers ('hackspett') tapping away. It is amazing how loud the sound of the tapping is!
We visited the little museum. They have one figure head! Quinn found a huge piece of driftwood (a young tree stripped of bark really) and carried it around, like a massive trident, the whole time we were on the island. Maybe Neptune (Poseidon), God of the Sea, paid a visit?!
We stopped (at safe distance from but) near the seal colony. Many of them swam out to gaze at us. I couldn't stop taking pictures! Their faces are all so different and individual: dark faces and light faces, fat seals, skinny seals, old one and younger ones..
This afternoon we did another outing to the beach. Quinn opted for a long sleep instead.
Now Ulric and Quinn are cooking ('angel pasta'). Brendan is talking to Jagzy and trying to keep her out of the honeypot. Elliott helped Ulric change the fuel filter for the engine earlier. Tomorrow we face a long distance again. I will feel sad to leave the seals and this pristine island.
A seal came and observed the whole procedure of hoisting the outboard engine closely. His head and neck popped right out of the water to see better. The seals like observing us as much as we enjoy watching them!
Quinn, Elliot and Brendan are doing the dishes and singing a loud rap song 'about a girl wearing green socks'.
Full Moon tomorrow. That means the Moon will rise at the exact moment that the Sun sets. Hoping for a clear night and some undisturbed time on deck both tonight and tomorrow! By now all of us are so grubby that I day dream about washing machines - but I push those thoughts away.. I can start a love affair with the washing machine next week. Now go on deck and sing to the seals!!!
Imelda Almqvist