4.2 WING vessel for WET®

First, we would like to thank you for all you have done to help save whales over the years. It truly is a community effort to save whales from life-threatening entanglements. None of which would happen without you and your support. People ask me what the hardest part of disentangling a whale, and I tell them “raising the funds”, as whale disentanglement is costly. You have to be at the ready, properly trained, and have all the equipment function properly. From all of us at Marine Life Studies’ WET®, we want to send our heartfelt thanks and appreciation. We know that it is you, the donor, that is the real hero that helps save these whales.

Peggy Stap, Founding Director of Marine Life Studies and the Whale Entanglement Team (WET)®

When we asked for your help, you responded. You are all amazing!
We were able to raise all of the funds to purchase the 4.2 WING.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

We got the 4.2 WING just in time to save an entangled whale. We towed the WING behind Current'Sea up to just south of Half Moon Bay on 10/14/18, then got a slip for the night. The rescue was finished on 10/15/18. We had to tow the boat because we are still waiting for the davit system to be installed so we can carry the WING on the stern of Current'Sea, our Whale Rescue Research Vessel. This story had a happy ending and the reason is we had the right gear. We were able to secure enough funding from the Monterey County Gives! 2017 campaign and the generousity of a few key donors to purchase our upgraded 42. WING inflatable rescue boat. Thank you for all your support!

Click here to check out the rescue!

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  Click here to help WET®  pay for the davit system being installed so we can carry the 4.2 WING at all times! 

The WING has a large interior space, a longer life, and 2 to 3 times the puncture resistance than Hypalon or PVC. The seams are thermo welded for a joint as strong as continuous material. It is also made in California and composed of all U.S. materials. We love the 4.2 WING, as it was specially designed for whale disentanglement.

Thank you for all of your support. We used $5,000 raised during MC Gives! 2017 plus other
donations from our incredible donors that made our dream become a reality. THANK YOU!

Donate

  Click here to help WET® pay for the davit system being installed so we can carry the 4.2 WING at all times!

The WING was needed because if we would have had it in May 2018 it would have enabled us to attach the telemetry buoy on the two entanglement incidents. In most situations, NOAA recommends we use smaller vessels to approach entangled whales to assess and for attaching the telemetry buoy. The whales were not discovered until late in the afternoon and we were 20 miles from Moss Landing. We were able to do the assessment from Current’Sea. It is important that we understand the complexity and orientation of the lines. The assessment allows us to determine if we can attach a telemetry buoy to the animal without causing further damage. We could have attached a telemetry buoy but did not have the proper small vessel like the Wing on Current’Sea. Telemetry would have enabled us to track the whales overnight and potentially been able to rescue them. But because we lacked the proper small boat on Current’Sea, we missed this opportunity and the whale has not been seen since. The photo below is the underwater assessment of the entangled humpback whale on 5/23/18. Below the white buoy near the top are 3 more buoys. This animal was originally entangled off of the Oregon coast.

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pay for the new davit system!

Every dollar helps to save whales.

The composite photo below shows the orange buoy trailing approximately 20 feet behind the humpback whale. It was the only buoy that you could see from the surface.

There was another white buoy trailing about 15 feet behind the whale (rarely seen from the surface along with 3 more buoys near the fluke (can be seen in above photo). 

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