Position: 56 33 683N 00642 918
Weather: calm but cloudy
Distance travelled: 56 nautical miles

With a tank full of diesel and bellies full of porridge and Tetley we nudged out of our anchorage in Erraid in the Ross of Mull and headed to open seas west of Mull and Tiree. After a gruelling and relatively quiet day yesterday everyone was chomping at the bit for a bit of mammal action. We’d barely gone 50 metres before Tracy shouted that she’d spotted a basking shark but was in fact a couple of birds. But 10 minutes we spotted 12 porpoises, still shy as ever, and headed to Skerryvore lighthouse which loomed on the horizon through slate grey skies. Conditions were calm though, and visibility good, the light extremely good for spotting the slightest hint of fin.

For the first two hours we spotted several harbour porpoises as we sailed west of Tiree. Then something very exciting happened. Duncan came round with bacon sandwiches. The last mouthful had barely gone down before Claire shouted that she’d seen some splashes about 500m off and cetaceans could be seen, although at that point we weren’t sure whether they were porpoises or mermaids, but on closer examination we saw the fin shapes were different, more hooked and pointy than a porpoise. Looking through the bins, we all saw a group of between nine to ten common dolphins leaping from the water.

The cry of dolphin screamed across the deck, and the hysteria that had been brewing aboard since our Risso spotting a couple of days before reached exploding point. A minute later the dolphins had surrounded the boat and headed to the bow, where they swam, dived and leaped, entertaining us for 40 minutes. We were treated to an amazing acrobatic display by the entire group with a rather frisky fella leaping and twisting over and over again, showing off to the girls. The excitement was too much for Becky whose jaw dropped along with her camera case into the drink.

Health and safety guidelines and fear of going overboard evaporated as everyone clambered and swung over the rigging and decks like apes to get the best shots. After they posed for photos, they got bored and swam off leaving everyone on a high and wanting more. After tasting a sip of adrenaline we were desperate for another shot – this time minke whales. Would we get lucky?

Well no, because the boat’s engine then promptly conked out. So what do you do when you’re adrift with no wind for sail and no engine in mid sea? Put the kettle on and send Duncan down a hole with his spanners. The man is not only a marvel with a flaked almond, he knows his way around a diesel boat engine, and we were on our way after 45 minutes. Juliet hiked up to the crows nest and within minutes we’d spotted a basking shark. Then another. And another…and another. In total we saw 17 basking sharks, some large some small on our way to Gunna Sound, but none were the size of Big Burt the Basking Shark we’d seen the day before. He was a whopper and I’m sure he’d be pleased to hear us say that. Many a portion to be had with mushy peas there.

But by far the most exciting part of the day was the serving of Duncan’s famous fish pie, which had been scuppered the previous day by high winds and swell. Basking sharks could come and go toward the end of the day as far as were were concerned, bring on the potato topped haddock!
Just before we go, we must put a big shout out to the various seals that popped up to say hello. Very cute. And apologies to the one who almost jumped out of his seal skin as it basked on a rock at Gunna bent backwards in a poseurish ‘V’ shape.

What’s for pud?

Log by: Jo and Kathryn

Position: Erraid, Ross of Mull
Weather: Foggy overcast day
Distance travelled: 70 nautical miles

We departed Port Ellen at about 08.30 and headed into poor visibility which stayed with us for most of the day. We were in and out of low fog banks all days, sometimes with visibility of only a few hundred meters to the occasional glimpse of cheering blue sky. The sea state was moderate with a swell of about one meter. As we passed the Mull of Oa and the Rhinns of Islay the seas becaome more choppy and there were a few of us who felt a bit worse for wear. As we rounded the western end of islay the skies cleared and we set a course for The Ross of mull, passing on the way the imposing Dubh Artak lighthouse. Although a lot of gannets, fulmars, shearwaters and storm petrels had been seen not a single cetacean had been sighted. Instead we took strength from Duncan’s homemade teacake! As we approached Mull we sailed through an area called the Torran rocks and the shout ‘BASKING SHARK!!!’ was heard. A small animal about 3 meters long was spotted – but soon lost from sight as it dived below the surface. 15 minutes later – again ‘BASKING SHARK!!’ This time there were three animals circling at the surface to smaller animals and one large individual of about 6m with a huge dorsal fin flapping at the surface. We stayed with animals for about 30 minuites and got some good shots of the dorsal fin and were some of us were lucky enough to see the animal close up as it passed beneath the bow. A fantastic end to what had been a little bit of a grey day! Our anchorage for the evening was Erraid on the Ross of Mull, where we spent a beautiful calm sunny evening. Pasta and apple cake for tea and a sunset walk before bed.

Log by: Juliet

Position: Port Ellen, Islay
Weather: Fog banks and light winds
Distance travelled: 54 nautical miles

Today we encountered a different side of the Hebridean climate. We woke early (6.00) to a damp and fog bound morning. After heaving the anchor we motored around to Scalisaig the main port of call for Colonsay where Nicole our education officer departed for the ferry. One crew less, we headed on our way eastwards to the Sound of Islay. We had the tide with us and whistled through this narrow channel at 11 knots! Still in fog, but thankfully with no more rain we carried on towards Gigha and gradually the cloud lifted. Our survey efforts brought another great day of porpoise sightings, 11 encounters totalling 17 animals – these guys are good! We transected our way down to our mooring for the night – Port Ellen. The home of hot showers, pubs and most importantly whisky!


Log by: Juliet

Position: Oronsay, Colonsay
Weather: Calm seas and sunny skies
Distance travelled: 45 nautical miles

Monday 8th August started with a beautiful dawn in the sheltered mooring of Loch Spelve. The surface of the loch was mirror like with the majestic hills of Mull as a backdrop to statuesque herons fishing by the shore. With little wind, the Silurian motored through the narrow entrance to Loch Spelve into the Firth of Lorn and travelled south-west towards the open ocean. With the islands of Seil and Luing on the portside of the boat and the misty Paps of Jura in the distance, the crew could be excused if the scenery distracted from the business of cetacean spotting. However, several groups of harbour porpoises were recorded, including an adult with calf. Travelling westwards and out towards the island of Colonsay, the cetacean contacts became more infrequent, but there were plenty of seals and birds to keep the observers interested. Skuas pirated food from helpless gulls, storm petrels danced across the sea surface and shearwaters glided effortlessly inches from the swell.

Beyond Colonsay, just as the crew were beginning to think the observations were finished for the day, the unmistakable dorsal fin of a Risso’s dolphin appeared off the starboard bow. For the next hour or so the Silurian shadowed the cautious but unconcerned dolphin. A predictable pattern of six ‘breaths’ followed by a dive of perhaps five minutes gave everyone on board the chance to marvel at and photograph this lovely animal. As Silurian turned away from the dolphin to continue the survey, a basking shark was spotted, gliding through the water with dorsal fin and tail showing and gaping mouth filtering plankton.

Finally, after a delightful return journey back towards the sun drenched island of Jura under the watchful eyes of curious seals, the Silurian was anchored into a sheltered bay near Oronsay.

Log by: Ian

Position: 56 24 550N 005 44 431W
Weather: Sunny with light winds
Distance travelled: 26 nautical miles.

At the moment we are anchored in the beautiful Loch Spelve at the south east corner of the Isle of Mull. We left Tobermory at midday this morning to begin a weeklong survey trip around the south western Hebrides. Onboard to share this with us are six volunteers from the Earthwatch Institute, they are Jo, Tracy, Kathryn, Becky, Ian and Clare. The crew for this Earthwatch trip are Duncan the skipper, Genivieve the first mate, Nicole our education officer and Juliet the co-PI. After a few hours of training and bamboozlement by all things nautical we set off down the Sound of Mull. Conditions were reasonable and luckily got better and better throughout the day. We were blessed with flat calm seas, hot sun (some of us even ventured in our shorts – a rarity here in Scotland) and best of all, lots of porpoise sightings. In total we encountered thirteen groups of porpoises and 31 animals in total – an impressive start to the trip – lets just hope this is a sign of things to come!!!!

Log by: Juliet