Saturday 8th April 2006
Anchorage: Ardminish
Position: 55°40.50N 05°43.9W
Distance surveyed: 22 nmi

After checking the latest forecast, Dave decided on the safer option of a short trip to Gigha. The weather was much better, and the wind was behind us, enabling us to sail most of the way, with Silurian slicing through the waves like a hot knife through butter. We are all relieved to have had a dry day. We made record progress, rockin and a rollin through the swell, giving us plenty of time to explore the beautiful island of Gigha. The process of mooring the boat was a bit hairy, with Rob the 1st mate hanging off the bow sprit. After visiting Mr. McSporran’s Post Office we wandered around the picturesque gardens belonging to Sir James Horlick. The resident French chef, Marjolaine conjured up some culinary delight in the form of ratatouille in a mug for lunch and we’re currently waiting to experience a fish dish. Sam became the second volunteer to ascend the mast to the crows nest with Rob and Andy following soon after, weather permitting everyone hopes to have made the climb by the end of the week. Oh and still no whales, dolphins or porpoises although according to the acoustics there were nine porpoises!!!!

Everyone

Anchorage: Port Ellen
Position: 55°37.6N 6°11.3W
Distance surveyed: 39 nmi

Day three, unfortunately no improvements on the weather, lots of hail and rain were the highlight of today’s adventure. We were beaten black and blue. No better on the sightings front, not a sausage!! It was a lot colder today but we were warmed up by Dave’s daily bacon and egg butties. So no sightings and lots of wind and rain but a fantastic meal of bangers and mash by Kim, Rob and Andy followed by flambéed bananas and chocolate by Marjolaine. A great end to the day. Hopefully we’ll have a better day tomorrow but judging by the forecast it’ll be just as rough and bouncy.

Esther, Clare and Sam

Anchorage: Tayvallich
Position: 56°01.4N 5°37.4W
Distance surveyed: 42 nmi

Day two, the team were keen to improve on yesterdays poor sightings total. Fuelled by alpen and toast we set out to explore the various Sounds on the way to our mooring point at Tayvallich. Soon it was clear the weather was not going to be favourable to marine mammal observation or people’s stomachs. With watches being cancelled on numerous occasions due to some fairly big rolling waves and howling gales. Dave’s bacon and egg rolls mid-morning were enjoyed with a healthy helping of salt served by the sea. With no improvement in the weather, sightings were non-existent and any marine activity was monitored by the hydrophone. The day finished early with the promise of going to a pub and some showers. Kim was banished to the crows nest for a while whilst lasagne was cooked by chef’s Sam, Ester and Clare.

Kim, Andy and (mainly) Rob

PS: It is Sam on the picture

Anchorage: Heather Island (Kerrera)
Position: 56°24.6N 5°30.0W
Distance surveyed: 32 nmi

First day of the first survey of the year! Six new volunteers: Clare, Esther, Sam, Rob, Andrew and Kim (plus crew: Dave the skip, Rob the first mate, Marjolaine & Clare the mad scientists). So the usual safety briefing, how to use the ‘heads’ (the most important task obviously… well apart from cooking and eating!), a bit of science and off we set down the Sound of Mull to learn how to survey for marine mammals… (or how to balance in the waves!). Highlights? Being togged up in brand spanking new waterproofs, clipped to the mast and holding on for dear life as the waves bounced the boat left right and centre…. The first sighting (mmmm, a mere seal... but they are cute!) and a few elusive porpoises (not seen by everyone in the big waves). The day ended nicely with a yummy curry cooked by Rob (the first mate). Mmmm.

Clare – the – mad – scientist – with – a – bad – cold – and – croaky – voice
…with some help from Rob, Sam & Esther.

Saturday is another beautiful day and we set off in the sunshine on a course for Staffa. As we approach the great face and Fingall’s cave I keep a wary eye on the rocky reefs to the west. Continuing north we pass the Treshnish Isles and move into more sheltered waters north of Mull.

It is great viewing weather but I don’t spot any marine mammals despite keeping a sharp look-out from the bows. We keep busy spotting the sea birds on the “Green Button” flash cards, including the skippers favourite the gannet. Trevor from MacBackpackers, who yesterday suffered from sea-sickness, has made an excellent recovery and is now climbing the main mast to the crows nest.

We arrive back in Tobermory in early afternoon in time to ferry the MacBackpackers ashore for the bus and ferry back to Oban. The 4 of us left, the skipper, the mate, Lisa and I blitz the boat clean and then ferry all the education equipment back to the HWDT offices. We have a final meal in the Western Isles Hotel with a stunning view over Tobermory bay.
Why did I volunteer for the education project? I love to travel and what better place could I choose than the Western Isles and what better reason could I have for going there. Ensuring the next generation understand and respect their environment is fundamental to the trust achieving its aim of conserving the ecology of the area. The HWDT have made me very welcome and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with a very professional team who are passionate about what they do.
By Peter Thornton

Friday morning finds us moored against the railway jetty in Oban where we had collected a replacement life raft the previous evening and dropped off Merel and Jacqueline, students from Holland, who took the ferry back to Mull. Eilidh, the education officer, also left Silurian this morning to take a well earned break with her relations in Benbecula. However this morning 6 staff from MacBackpackers, sponsors of the HWDT, joined the boat for the “Green Button” award, a sea life identification course for tour guides, so we have a full compliment on board as we motor down the sound of Kerrera in steady rain and a fair SE wind. Once reaching open water we raise our sails and continue past Insh island before bearing west toward the huge cliffs along the south coast of Mull.
The wind drops and the sun comes out but the large swell makes for an uncomfortable ride. We thread our way through the small islands around Erraid, where we had hoped to anchor for the night until the winds turned to the south, and enter the sound of Iona where we sail past the Abbey in beautiful sunshine. We anchor in a beautiful sheltered bay on the north shore of the Ross of Mull, watched by grey seal eating a fish.
The RIB takes us ashore so we can stretch our legs on the short walk to Bunessan. We watch a local fishing boat unload its haul of large prawns destined for markets in Spain. Back on board Lisa has made fantastic Kedgeree for dinner. Now that we have 6 other guests on board I am now an honorary crew member and have swapped my forward bunk for the rather more cramped bunk in the stern crew quarters.
by Peter Thornton

We got up at 6.30 and after breakfast peter and rob went in the RIB to get the creel pot. We had caught 2 velvet crabs. Then we motored back across the bay to the North Pier after a little bit of manoeuvring we finally tied up in Oban at 9.00. Unfortunately the weather was too rough and the boat was swaying about, so it was not safe for the children to come on board.
Fortunately skipper Duncan knew something nice to do, namely sailing!! So after lunch we left Oban and headed to Lismore, where the Silurian was very eager to show us her skills!! The wind was strong out there and we were bouncing up and down. But I never considered it as dangerous or scary we had a great time!
Merel, Jacqueline, and Lisa steered for a while and we had to turn the boat in and out of the wind so we could sail. A few times the boat really rolled over a wave and some of us lost our balance a few times. But it was so good!
While we were sailing, Merel spotted a black and white bird in the water with a broad orange beak. She couldn’t be sure but she thought it was a puffin.

After we passed the village in Lismore where we will visit the school tomorrow, we went to a bay to look for shelter for the night. We moored in Loch Creran and the water looked so calm, it was hard to believe that there was a rough sea at the other side. We had dinner and then set the creel pot for the touch tank for the school visit.
Today’s Log was by: Peter Thornton, Merel Zweemer and Jacqueline Verwer