Captain Barb in the crows nest


Position at Anchor 55º38.134 N 006º 11.736W
Distance Travelled 45 NM
Weather Blue skies and clear sailing weather to start off with

I was very pleasantly surprised to open my eyes and see a blue sky through the above window. It was another good sleeping night. As folks stirred about while putting on the kettle and setting the breakfast table, Jenny and I held firm to the instructions of waiting for the generator before rising. Then…there it went and then I was up and going. Jenny, well…she has to make sure the generators are really on and not just a tease. So with ‘first’ breakfast down and the dishes done, it was time to ‘pull’ up the anchors…literally. So Duncan, Dave and Jenny took the rubber boat out to bring up the anchor to the boat then hoisting it onboard. Apparently because we had two anchors out, that was the only way. They also brought in a fair amount of seaweed. I was down in the chain locker, poised and ready (for almost half hour) to sort out the chain as it was eventually winched in. It’s a glorious job and everyone should give it a go whilst crammed in the little locker made for hobbits. Okay, the anchors are in, everyone knows the new rota and off we go slowly out of our mooring spot snuggled in among the Ardmore Islands. We watched with amazement at the deer and seal that lined the shoreline to bid us farewell. It was a glorious day for sailing. The seas were calm, the winds were very light and the sun was shining. Jenny and I had the first watch however, we didn’t see any porpoise and our acoustics didn’t pick up anything either. After our watch on visual, I headed off to data and Jenny scurried up to the crow’s nest. Again, the next hour didn’t bring much excitement but at least we had great weather. Then with the next shift, I took my turn in the crow’s nest. It’s quite an accurate name since it has been the two old crows in the crew that have been nesting up there so far. Little did I know but as I was trying to manipulate my way up the ladder, Denys thought she saw the aftermath of a big splash. I finally got situated up in the nest and after scanning, scanning, scanning my 90 degrees of area ahead of me, WOW!, there she blows, at eleven o’clock, a dolphin. As I shouted out, I could hear the cheers of the folks below and I watched as they all brought up their binoculars to take a closer look. It was quite a big dolphin, even from up in the crow’s nest. But I was disappointed not to see another roll or two. Then I thought maybe I had imagined it. Then suddenly, just off the starboard bow, right next to the boat, there it was. I screamed with excitement and could hear the oooohs and aaaahs from the folks below as they scurried and scampered about. Clare was ‘Johnny on the spot’ with her camera and was positioned on the bowsprit at the ready to capture pictures of this humongous and beautiful mammal. She verified that it was a Risso’s Dolphin and she was so excited as were the rest of us. The dolphin stayed with us for quite a bit riding the waves along the bow. It was vary a bit to the right and the left and occasionally head under the boat. I was shouting one o’clock, eleven o’clock and now it’s twelve o’clock as it made its way over to one o’clock just as quickly. It was quite a view from above as I could see it turn its head to the left and the right before heading down and then coming up to give us a ‘blow’ and spray of sea. Then it slowed and turned off to two o’clock, then three o’clock and then down to the depths. Clare instructed folks to take their designated areas to see where it might surface. I turned to my right as it appeared it was heading off in that direction. Then within a few seconds at five o’clock, it came up for us one more time to show us just how beautiful and free spirited it was. It was quite exciting for us all. Duncan and Dave managed the boat to give us a bit more time with it but our mission was to continue on with the survey. The rest of the day was a bit of a bore with nothing significant to report. The seas turned rougher and skies grew more cloudy as the winds picked up. Then as we got closer to our destination of Port Ellen, the seas calmed and the sun returned. We docked and tied up with no problems. Then it was time for an old fashioned boat cleaning. Elsa went into a cleaning frenzy and not a piece of dirt was safe from her. The boat was cleaned from bow to stern both in and out. We filled up with fresh water that took donkey years to fill. Then it was off to the showers…real showers, for most of the women folk. It was glorious. Then back to the boat where Duncan had prepared a feast of fish pie, salad and an apple torte. I had been waiting for that apple torte all afternoon. I passed up the wonderfully smelling brownies that he had baked earlier just so I could enjoy the apple torte without feeling guilty. Dinner was indeed delicious and we retired to bed well fed, very clean and memories of a glorious day at sea. Fair winds and following seas until we meet again.

Barb, Earthwatch volunteer