Saturday 20th May, 2006
Anchorage: Gunna
56° 33’.700 N 006°42’.800W
Distance covered: 34 miles

The Silurian cast off from Craigaig Bay, bound for the island of Gunna, between Coll and Tiree, which was known to be a great spot for cetacean sightings.

The heading paid off, because shortly after we set sail, Percy spotted a basking shark (Way to go Percy!). We kept our inclination to crowd at one point of the boat, because the Skipper promised to bring the Silurian about, to take a closer look, which we did get. The shark came up less than 10 metres from the hull, and so we got a fairly close look at the fin and tail. The fin marks, can be used to come back again in future, and identify whether it’s the same shark again or not.

The weather was only rainy half way, and then it was seamless sailing through tolerable waters, and calm/sunny skies.

The destination? Paradise… in this case it’s the Hebridean Island of Gunna. Like the most exquisite painting you would find in the finest gallery, come to life, the island was a perfect synergy between beaches, black rock, emerald waters, grasslands (constantly perked up by winds), and a group of seals (about 11 spotted).

There was one lone house on the island, belonging to the owner of the island, supposedly a Marcus D Farrenti. So, we figured, why not go out there and see of Marcus is home? We went onto the island with the Silurian’s tender, for exploration, and knocking on the door of Marcus’s house. Alas, no one home. Rob gave a small lesson on the anemones, barnacles and limpits that were stuck to the rock. Quite interesting.

Boarded the boat, enjoyed the teriyaki that Sam and Emi worked on, and called it a day.

Raihan, volunteer, Bangladesh