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.
Date: Tuesday 12th June, 2007
Anchorage: Loch Scresort, Isle of Rum
Position: 57° 00’.800N 006° 16’.100W
Distance Travelled: 40 NM
Our day began with a walk before breakfast to Loch Coruisk a fresh water loch behind Loch Scavaig, we were presented with one of the most amazing, breathtaking vistas imaginable. The loch is surrounded by the Cuillin Hills and we were all suitably awed by what we saw. After breakfast we left the seals basking on the rocks to begin surveying the seas around Canna.
After a bright sunny start the winds picked up and we were able to set sail and turn the engine off to enjoy the sounds of the birds and the fresh wind in our faces. We sighted lots of porpoises – another porpoise soup in this productive area. We also spotted three or possibly four basking sharks their now familiar two ‘fin’ profile giving them away as they sped after their next meal.
The weather further deteriorated and we enjoyed a rain shower as we passed Sanday and turned down the coast to travel down to our anchorage on the Isle of Rum. We weren’t deterred and with our waterproofs on, a vigilant observation was continued.However despite our best endeavours any whales and dolphins eluded us, possibly due to the worsening sea state. Our day concluded with a hearty meal of the Skipper Dave’s speciality of Haggis neaps and tatties followed by treacle sponge and a round of bad joke telling.
James and the team.
Date: Monday 11th June, 2007
Anchorage: Loch Scavaig, Isle of Skye
Position: 57° 11’.600N 006° 09’.900W
Distance Travelled: 42 NM
The day started with beautiful sunshine, causing some of us to have our breakfast on deck. We set sail with a slightly overcast sky to a chorus of baa-ing sheep celebrating our leaving, but as we made our way out into the Sea of the Hebrides the sun came back and our observation turned into a beautiful cruise. We once again saw the Macleod’s maidens to the starboard. The acoustics saw lots of porpoises in the afternoon but we saw only a few on the surface. We did however celebrate one of our fellow sailors’ 81st birthday with tea and cake. We were sailing, according to our captain, to the most beautiful place in the world. Our skipper did not oversell. We were all in awe of the mountains, colours, scenery as we sailed towards the specially selected mooring point in Loch Scavaig. Unfortunately as another yacht was already anchored there, and we’re a rather large boat, there was not enough space for us, and after a number of attempts at dropping the anchor we were defeated by weeds ands rocks. Heroically our muscular first mate was able to lift the multiple anchors until we found the right spot. At this point due to the mountains looming around us, our chart plotter couldn’t get a proper GPS fix, and had us in Spain, followed by Casablanca. Given the lovely weather we where inclined to agree, but our skipper decided to spoil our dreams by telling us we are still in the waters of Skye. Before our evening meal we once again celebrated Bill’s birthday with champagne. Sadly, as we write this, our science officer has gone to bed without reading us a bedtime story.
Douglas & the team
Date: Sunday 10th June, 2007
Anchorage: Gesto Bay, Isle of Skye
Position: 57° 20’.600N 006° 24’.090W
Distance Travelled: 31 NM
We awoke to a cold foggy morning and had a late start – partly it being Sunday, and partly due to the extended discussion about the Lochmaddy ferry timetable which caused much confusion. We put up the sails (given the windy conditions) and set off into the great blue yonder. Our original plan was to transect down the east coast of North Uist, but due to poor sailing conditions that included fog and rough seas, we decided to cross the Minch toward the Isle of Skye. We passed Neist lighthouse, whereupon we spotted a minke whale parallel with the coast of Skye. During our voyage toward our final destination we spotted two grey seals and a harbour porpoise, before entering Loch Harport. Passing the island of Wiay, we discovered a magnificent arch that turned out to be just a figment of our collective imaginations, and an optical illusion of rock formation. We moored in the beautiful and quiet Gesto Bay, rather than travelling a little further to Carbost where there is a pub and the Talisker Distillery, but being Sunday, would surely be closed. We enjoyed a magnificent meal of risotto made from Susie’s Italian grandmother’s recipe passed on from generation to generation and Bill’s speciality, bread and butter pudding with custard. Yummy!
Gwyl & the team
Date: Saturday 9th June, 2007
Anchorage: Loch Maddy
Position: 57° 35’.740N 007° 09’.520W
Distance Travelled: 51 NM
Left the Monach isles with glorious weather yet again. No seals though – they seemed to have disappeared overnight – it is Saturday so they obviously had a lie in today. Gwyl would have preferred to have joined them for a lie in rather than get up early for breakfast. Then Gwyl chose the scenic route to get to Loch Maddy as a result although the scenery was spectacular we saw few animals en route - until we reached the Sound of Harris where we suddenly encountered seal infested waters – yet another seal crisis – too many sightings to keep up the logging activity.
Skipper Hanna carried out unsurpassed navigation to get us through the treacherous waters of the Sound. I (Christine) tackled the climbing to the crow’s nest which was great fun although have incurred one or two mast-based injuries.
We hung about waiting for the Lochmaddy ferry to leave as there was limited room on the pier and they are bigger than we are before we could fill up with water. Opportunity for a REAL shower at the hotel where we didn’t have to worry about water usage – what bliss – and everyone smells sweet(ish) again. Then a meal at the pub (which none of us needed to cook) which was excellent – although we did have to jostle with the local stag do with its increasingly risqué songs and malicious rumours about Susie!
After dinner walk included Clare taking a dive on the path and bloodying her attire – the rest of us continued to the House of Shadows – a camera obscura illusion which was really interesting. The short walk proposed by the skipper ended up as a mini-marathon keeping Matt out of his bed until after 11pm.
Another tiring but great day for us all.
Christine & the team
# posted by HWDT @ 8:07 AM
