Position at Anchor Tuesday 55˚52’543N 05*54’979W
Position at Anchor Wednesday 56˚25’121N 05*29’313W
Distance travelled Tuesday 0 NM
Distance travelled Wednesday 30 NM
Weather Tuesday sunshine/rain 40 knots of wind
Weather Wednesday sunshine /rain 28 knots wind

Two days log today as there wasn’t much point doing one for Tuesday, as we didn’t go anywhere other than a trip to the raised beaches of Jura. Very interesting but hardly relevant to our mission of cetacean spotting.
We ate well on Tuesday, having a leisurely breakfast of cereal, toast and tea/coffee. Luckily we were just washing up when the anchor slipped and it was all hands on deck to raise the anchor in 40 knots of wind, and reset it and the fisherman’s anchor. This was all made more difficult by our discovery of a suspected sunken wreck right under the hull as we tried to haul and set the anchors. After an hour and a half of hard graft they were both holding, and we returned below for coffee and chocolate biscuits.
Clare then put us to work on data input of reported sightings from the public, and we suddenly realized that it was 3.15 and we hadn’t had lunch yet. Frittata and salad were prepared and quickly devoured, then a few hardy souls decided it was time for a brisk walk over the crags of Jura to the raised beaches. This also gave Duncan a chance to TRY to get the weather forecast from the highest point on the island, as the boat was out of all contact, radio or mobile, with the outside world.
While we walked a cake was baking on board, and this was quickly eaten when we were all back on board, before we set our minds to dinner.

Wednesday morning dawned to a wind shift to the West, blue skies and occasional rain squalls. Duncan and Dave went back up the hill to get the weather, and it was decided that we had better leave our anchor before we all exploded due to overeating!
So we headed out dead into the wind, battering our way through the waves, then turned north for Kerrera, passing the Garvelacchs and Insch to port and heading up the Firth of Lorn under sail. The sea state was too rough to allow visual surveying but we had the hydrophones out and picked up 22 porpoises! and some snapping shrimp acoustically. We are currently moored to a huge mooring off Kerrera, looking over to Oban, and are looking forward to onshore showers and DINNER! Haggis tonight with Bakewell tart for afters! Yum!!

Denys, Earthwatch volunteer