|
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. Thursday 24th August 2006Thursday 24th August, 2006 Anchorage: Loch Spelve Position: 56°23.500 N 005°45.200 W Distance surveyed: 48nm Our final full day on board the Silurian and the sun was shining and all was well in the Hebrides. I think I can speak for all my fellow volunteers by saying we are all feeling somewhat sad that our trip will soon be coming to an end, the place and people have both made it a magic experience. We set out from Oronsay and sailed up the west coast of Jura where we saw the raised beaches. Then zig zagged across the sound to the Garvellachs and past Seil where we started to encounter Harbour Porpoise happily bobbing (very scientific term!) along. The sea was glassy and it was so quiet that it felt quite eerie being on deck observing. We passed up the Firth of Lorne and the Kerrera Sound into Oban, where we sadly had to say goodbye to Juliet (we tried to convince her to stow away on the boat but unfortunately she couldn't be persuaded!). With our last night on the boat looming everyone seemed to be drawn to the alcohol and confectionery aisles in Oban Tesco! We all wandered back to Silurian to sit down to our final evening meal of the week and Mick had made enough sausage casserole to feed us twice over, I will definitely miss the food when I leave tomorrow! We are currently approaching the entrance to Lock Spelve where we plan to anchor for our final night, and we are excitedly awaiting the first night performance of “Duncan and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamboat”, to be performed by Otter and Libby. That's all for tonight folks...... Sarah (volunteer) Monday 21st August to Wednesday 23rd August 2006Wednesday 23rd August, 2006 Anchorage: Oronsay Position: 56°00.700 N 006°13.800 W Distance surveyed: 38nm Whatever they put in the blurb about life being basic on board the Silurian is a mis-representation. Sitting here with a nice drink just having got back from a walk on Oronsay and waiting for Duncan to serve up haggis and neeps, life feels pretty good. We left the mooring at Gometra in good time this morning and sailed past Iona, Staffa and along the west coast of Colonsay. Although the day had started misty by mid afternoon it was brilliantly sunny. The was a fairly big swell running and attached to the mast (quite voluntarily) watching the horizon rise and fall and the surf breaking on the skerries and shallows it was hard to imagine anywhere more beautiful. The days pass so quickly. As soon as we are clear of the mooring we go 'on effort', which means the observations start. Split into 3 teams of two, we have one hour on cetacean look out and then one hour on data entry and bird spotting while the third team have a well deserved rest after all the hard (?) work. The regular food supply helps us along with at least 4 meals a day plus an endless supply of biscuits! Our faces are starting to glow from the glorious sunshine today (and the wine/beer we're drinking) and supper's coming so I'm signing off! Juliet, volunteer
Tuesday 22nd August, 2006 Anchorage: Gometra Position: 56°29.600 N 006°16.300 W Distance surveyed: 49nm Happy days onboard Silurian, once more...My fourth trip this summer-it's like my second home... A couple of laps swimming around the boat certainly shocked the system into action and a porridgey breakfast fuelled the tanks. I spent a happy hour up in the crow's nest; yet even happier was the time spent munching on one of Duncan's bacon, egg and cheese rolls-happy days indeed! Sightings were fairly lacking along the East coast of Tiree, as we motored along with Hebridean white horses. Much to the delight of the volunteers, and on my own researchy point of interest, we happened upon a couple of hungry basking sharks just off the shore indulging in a hefty plankton buffet. Booms and nets deployed, I collected some decent samples-the degree is still in sight! The wind picked up after lunch into some worthy sailing puff, blowing us across from Coll towards Mull. ...And then it breached. Four times. Massive splash and massive body, a generous 500m from our bows. What was it? A UBO, no less. Unidentified Breaching Object is as specific as we can be. Too big for a Risso's? Too whaley for a shark? Very exciting all the same. A sterling effort by Phil in the galley rounded things off nicely.As I sit here at the Chart table, wind howling about the boat, rain splashing about half-heartedly on the deck, I am glad to be heading to Bed-fordshire in the near future (2200 Snoozington Express) ...Happy happy days indeed-perhaps the last of my season's blogging?! Otter, Volunteer (a.k.a UBO) Monday 21st August, 2006 Anchorage: Gunna Sound Position: 56°33.700 N 006°42.700 W Distance surveyed: 52nm Another lovely day in the Inner Hebrides, as i write this my hands are still slightly numb from the early morning swim some of the more sadistic members of the crew forced me into. Any suggestions that i was a willing and enthusiastic participator are lies. Yesterday we left Arisaig and headed for Ardnamurchan point, where we attempted to lure any slightly shy cetaceans to the surface with a combination of singing (particularly songs from the Lion King and beautifully improvised tunes devoted to the variety of biscuits in the world) and the new extreme sport of deck bouncing. We were rewarded with many sightings of the beautiful porpoise-hausen...that's harbour porpoises for the more linguisically challenged, some of which were pretty close to the boat so that synchronised and slightly manic calls of “SIIIIGHTING” rung out sporadically throughout the day. Many sea birds were also seen and i am happy to report that, thanks to Susie's expert tuition and a little bit of Jizz i can tell the difference between guillemots, shearwaters shags and gulls. A small victory perhaps. After we left the Ardnamurchan area we headed for Coll and Tiree and as we sailed past the Cairns of Coll and alongside the island we were treated to many more sightings of porpoises, seals and seabirds. Just as Sarah and I finished our last deck-bounce of the day we arrived in our spectacular evening anchorage, Gunna Sound, courtesy of our fantastic Skef (Skipper/Chef) Duncan. Another exciting day. Libby, volunteer
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th August, 2006Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th August: 2006 Anchorage: Arisaig Position: 56°54.400 N 005°51.500 W Distance surveyed: 74nm First day of our trip.4 crew, 5 lovely lady volunteers & me as the token male volunteer. Briefing & some initial training & then off in warm sunshine from Tobermory heading for Canna. Increasingly windy as we pass Muck & along the south coast of Rhum to keep out of the lumpy water to make observation a little easier. 2 sightings of porpoises &, at least according to new researcher Cormac, a brief encounter with Common Dolphins. After a brief walk ashore & dinner at anchor in Canna we set off thru the darkness & calmer seas back to Mallaig for a late arrival & lie in. More training in the late morning sunshine & back on survey in the channel between Mallaig & Arisaig. Lots of seabirds today & lots of seals in the harbour at Arisaig but a blank day otherwise. Lots of laughs though & the prospect of another of the crew`s so-called basic meals. As last night`s basic was guacamole, mango chicken & stewed pear & apple I can`t wait for tonight`s effort. Phil, volunteer Thursday 17th August 2006Thursday 17th August, 2006 Anchorage: Tobermory Position: 56°37.200 N 006°03.700 W Distance surveyed: 31nm Waking to a beautifully still morning in Crag Aig Bay and after an early breakfast, we set sail to Staffa to visit the amazing Fingal's Cave. A continuation of the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, the rock has formed into stunning basalt columns. As we pulled away we saw our first Basking Shark of the day and shortly after that numerous Porpoise slipping gracefully through the almost perfectly smooth water. Our main objective of the day was to spot the still illusive Dolphins as we headed towards Coll but unfortunately it was not to be: however there were numerous Seal sightings which are always a delight. The weather was gorgeous as we turned towards Mull and the end of our six days at sea. The ending was spectacular as we spotted two Sea Eagles swooping close to the boat before pulling gently into Tobermory Harbour. Claire. |
