Back home!!

The thing I'll remember most about the tuna trip - sitting out on the Great Australian Bight watching the sun disappear beneath a sheet of wild crimson, the day's last muttonbirds dipping and soaring across the waves. Then being lulled to sleep by the gentle roar of Evohe's diesel as we motored through the night.
It was a great trip - I learnt a lot and hopefully was able to contribute something. Will be getting stuck into the edit in the next few weeks, so come down and check out our awesome footage!

Here's some pictures as promised



Above : The fishing crew - Oakey and the boys



The topside crew - Mark, Bennie and Brenden



The biggest one




Oakey on deck - Purse net being deployed in background



Below: Our home for six weeks - the Evohe



Below: On route to another boat transfer - check out Ed

Dispatch two -Ceduna

Well, a violent bout of weather has forced us back to land - we're sitting in Ceduna, the dusty south Australian town at the end of the Universe.
It's been a fairly routine couple of weeks since I last reported - we are getting some good stuff, although Mark Strickson is tearing his hair out - these are ordinary Antipodean fishing people, hard-working, unassuming and often quite reserved and quiet. In other words, not great television talent. I am amazed at the pressure Mark is under - with big money at stake and a film that is really struggling to fly at the moment.
Still, we hope to get onto some good fish next week, get the tuna farm full and start the slow tow back to Port Lincoln.
It has been amzzing seeing these guys doing their job - they really do round up the tuna just like cowboys on the open range, albeit with high tech gear and millions of dollars of fish at stake.
It has been great to be out at sea these last couple of weeks - There is something about spending long periods of time in the absence of any discernable landmark that inspires inner peace and meditation, and once you get used to the rocking of the boat, it becomes almost soothing, addictive.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for spending long periods of time in such close quarters as 7 other people. Although most of us are getting along fine, there was a bit of a rupture today amongst the boat crew, who have been together for almost 18 months - a few cracks starting to show!

Well, we will be back on the waves in the next couple of days and hopefully catching fish and getting some amazing footage. The visibility in the water out at sea is incredible - 30-40 metres - you can see the whole tuna farm, with thousands of tuna in it. The boys said last year they got some orcas swimming right up to them, so I hope they turn up again this year.
I haven't been in the water a lot unfortunately - Ed and Steve are doing the filming and I'm driving the tender and operating the underwater communications. However, I will hopefully get more time in the water as the trip progresses.
Mark wants all the tapes logged before we get back, so that job has mainly fallen to me, although Mark does do the odd one or two!
OK well I'm off to wander the dusty streets of Ceduna a bit more before going back on the boat this afternoon.
Hope everyone is well back there in NZ.
See you in a month I hope

Bill