Position: 57º 32.885 N 006º 38.484 W
Weather: Wet and wild
Distance travelled: 37.5 nautical miles

Wednesday 31st August

Waking up to the sound of raindrops falling upon the deck, we set sail (under motor) westwards. Initial intentions were to head from Canna to the island of Barra. However, the weather man had other plans. As always, improvise, adapt and overcome – we changed plans and headed northwards, hugging the western shores of Skye… Martin (skipper) didn’t think we’d be fit enough for another rough crossing on rather unsheltered seas. The poor weather resulted in few sightings; the morning dragged on with just some jellyfish and some rubbish (those naughty litterbugs). But there were two porpoises in the distance at one point – hope on the horizon maybe.

The bad weather continued into the afternoon. Comments such as “es ist sehr windig”, and “es regnet – und wir sind völlig durchweicht” were quite apt (for all you german speakers) (well, Chris had just to show off with his language skills). Solace was only found in Juliet’s sausage and onion buns, and Martin’s splendid spicy soup.

Bad luck with spotting soon changed however when the sea calmed down, not long before we reached our anchorage for tonight, and high flying Marcus climbed up into the crows nest. Things turned to a kind of competition, who would spot things first, the 1st mate in the crows nest, or the volunteers on deck. Place your bets now! Well us volunteers were not too bad, but the spot of the day should be attributed to Marcus. Thanks to his good eyesight, we were lucky enough to come alongside five majestic Risso’s Dolphins, one accompanied by a little calf (how cute!! – Marcus shed many a tear, Martin put on a brave face). Gracefully they swam along, now and then breaking the surface and letting us hear their deep blows as they took a breath.

Simultaneously the porpoises were having a party – sadly we weren’t invited. From all directions porpies were passing by. Even after we let the Risso’s be, we still had a good hour of porpoise spotting. Sarah the data logger didn’t have a moment spare, having to record all the different sightings, along with the usual environmental surveys.

But all good things come to an end and we finally reached Ardmore Bay, our resting place for the evening. Tidying the boat was quickly followed by a rather fresh swim for Sarah and Iris – a little too fresh for the rest of us.

If you read yesterdays log you may think we’d be fasting today. You may be right, but in fact, we didn’t…. Haggis, cabbage and potatoes were enjoyed by all. At least it was only a one course meal tonight – stomachs were still aching from the night before. Never sleep on a full tummy boys and girls, which we learnt the hard way. All feeling tired from lack of sleep last night, it’s time to go to bed now.

Rumour has it that Minke Whales and Orcas will be surfacing tomorrow – read again soon to find out if they did…

Log by Iris, Veronica and Chris