Position: Crossapol Bay, 56º 35.1 N 006º 40 W
Weather: Great.
Distance travelled: nautical miles.

Sunday 4th September
After breakfast we headed out of the bay (through the multicoloured obstacle course) and through Arisaig Sound to the open ocean. Heading towards The Small Isles we went along Rhum and through the Sound of Eigg passing Muck, towards Hawes Bank. Our hope to see some cetaceans out there were dashed, even with excellent sighting conditions there was nothing to be seen. We did see a few porpoises which were photographed by Matt, but apart from that things where a tad thin on the ground.
So with the sun out there was a bit of skin shown, Martin our skipper even got his shorts on (wow ladies). With weather being so nice the crow nest was never empty, even with a few crew members joining the volunteers for the view. Another favourite spot was on the bow sprit where you could watch the water splashing on to the bow, yes ladies and gentlemen it was that beautiful.

During the afternoon we took several transects covering the area between Hawes Bank and the Sound of Gunna. Then with great joy we spotted something in the water, it was so exciting and everyone was watching, it was a basking shark!! After photographing the animal we continued on through Gunna Sound and round to Crossapol bay, where we would be spending the night.

Dinner had a little twist. We had a BBQ on the beach with sand in the salads, rice and bbq treats it added to the atmosphere. Getting to the beach was not as easy as we thought, there where a few waves! Unfortunately Martin managed to be engulfed by a wave on a return visit to the boat to collect the rest of the group.
Everyone seemed a bit restless especially Sarah and Marcus who went for a long run before dinner. The rest of the volunteers gently jogged and walked along, taking in the sunset.
After dinner a beach Olympics began including beach wrestling, wheelbarrow (Chris: “Will you be my wheelbarrow, Martin?”) and running races and don’t forget the army crawl. With our energy levels slightly dampened we sat around the fire and attempted to make up a story: Starlight glows green but starlight sometimes glows with out the north star…… (as you have just read we didn’t get too far!)
So we headed back to the boat with 008 (Marcus) at the helm of the rib, bouncing over the waves in true James Bond stylee.
We left the stars to their celestial business and went to bed content and full.


A belated log by Veronica, Iris, Sarah, Eilidh and Chris