Weller puts the sample into a salt solution and stores it in an ice chest. DNA fingerprinting, which will allow us to identify relatedness between individuals and gives us a fingerprint essentially of who they are. Before day's end, the researchers travel 41 kilometers north from the lighthouse and encounter 27 whales. On the trip back to Pil'tun, a light rain begins to fall, and the sea gets choppy. Three brightly colored tufted puffins accompany the crew for a distance.
Harbor porpoises swim nearby.
The blow from whales dots the horizon. The crew hunkers down on the inflatable's sides, holding on to ropes as Burdin guns the engine to 40 kilometers per hour. Nine hours on the sea is exhausting, and everyone is looking forward to dinner. Without warning, Burdin loses control of the motor, sending the boat into a sharp right turn. Perched on the left side of the boat, I am thrown into the air as centrifugal force proves impossible to overcome.