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On board Silurian
Most weeks April through October she is either monitoring the waters of the west coast of Scotland for whales, dolphins, and porpoises, or serving as a floating classroom for one of the many Argyll island primary and secondary schools. Read the log below to find out what Silurian and her crew have been up to each week and all about the whales, dolphins and porpoises they spot! To find out about the latest marine life sightings spotted elsewhere, click here. If you would like to send the crew an e-mail with your questions click here. Click here to view the Silurian Log archive. Sunday, 16th July, 2006Sunday 16th July, 2006 Anchorage: Loch Torridon Position: 57°32.800 N 005°42.700 W Distance surveyed:38nm What a crazy crazy day this has been....nearly ten hours of riding the high seas, boat a-keeling as the wind and waves did all they could to soak us, providing a rollercoaster crossing of the Little Minch, most of it under sail. 8.30am saw us leaving our anchorage in gorgeous sunshine and lumpy seas, white horses aplenty. Soon we volunteers were lashed onto the deck in foul weather gear and enjoying our first taste of crazy weather. All hail the crew for keeping us safe and getting us all into anchorage tonight-even with our fair share of hairy moments. My favourite one was standing at the mast on Obs with Susie, seeing nothing but sunshine and water as waves crashed over us. All good fun; definitely the highlight of my trip, second only to the dolphins yesterday-their charisma was the boost to our morale, for sure. Wildlife wasn't really playing our game today, save the hardy sea birds, wheeling and soaring over the waves. Excepting the puffins, of course, who don't really look like they have passed any sort of pilot's licence and instead charge about the skies, only just clearing the water, with a stark lack of grace and finesse, yet oozing charisma with their painted faces. Other excitement to note would be Pauline running into our cupboard of a cabin shouting 'Open the hatches! The boat's on fire!'. Skipper Dunc assured us that the smoke billowing through the boat (exaggeration for effect) was, in fact, nothing to worry about and after an hour of tinkering he had fixed the problem in the engine room and we were under way again. Happy days, yet glad to be safe and sound, the sounds and smells drifting up from the galley a comforting melange for our battered senses. Anyone who thinks I am exaggerating, then I ask you to spend ten hours in 'interesting' seas, sitting on the deck acting as a buffer to the elements. .. Another awesome day on board, and here's to the last legs of the trip (raises glass) as we head home to Tobermory. Sarah Silurian Log Archives
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