Location:Port Ellen, Islay
Position: 55' 37.86 N 006' 11.96 W
Distance surveyed: 43.5 nm

It was 7am and the gentle rocking of the Silurian tipped me out of my bunk and into the starboard head (t’toilet near t’back) a distance of about 1m! Wendy was already making the tea, which was must have been part of her job description from Earthwatch. (I don’t know if we were all given a special job description, so just in case we had and I was unaware, I helpfully assumed the role of chief tea-taster in the meantime. Nice work if you can get it.) I could hear Bran Flakes rattling in their container too which added speed to my teeth-cleaning, also Peter was lurking outside the ‘head’ door, towel primed for action, so I knew I had to be quick. Meanwhile, on deck there was a commotion - and for once I avoided banging my head as I made my way up to investigate. The natural world goes on around us regardless of our interventions of course and anyone who watched Planet Earth will be aware of some of the wondrous images and unusual behaviours of the animals we inhabit this planet with. This morning my colleagues and I witnessed an encounter between two of this country’s most beautiful animals. It was over in seconds and was, just possibly, something never witnessed before by any other human beings. It will certainly always stay in my mind – but rather than try to depict it all for you, I suggest you come to the Hebrides and surprise yourself.
Anyway, we left the seclusion of our Loch Sween mooring and headed south back to the Sound of Jura. Even though it was quite breezy and the forecast wasn’t promising it actually turning out to be a really pleasant day and we all felt optimistic about the prospects. The plan was to survey the bulk of the Sound down to Islay and then to moor in Port Ellen to refill with water. And even though we (Laura) only saw the distant back end of a dolphin I think we all still felt we’d had a good day – partly because the weather had picked up and this had lifted everyone’s spirits. On top of that, the illnesses that some of us had suffered from had all but gone. It was a chance to take some decent photos for the first time and the skipper Matt in particular reveled in the gaze of the lens. His bowsprit poses reminded me of Simon Le Bon in the Duran Duran ‘Rio’ video. Matt didn’t have the seer-sucker suit, leather tie and Panama hat though. Ne’er mind mate!
In Port Ellen, we managed a quick stroll to t’boozer so that Tim could sample a local Whisky. Islay is home to numerous well known single malts, Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Caol Ila to name but three. I ‘forced’ a traditional Tennents lager down just to fit in of course and we were joined by Shiela, Wendy and Charmain. I won’t try and name Tim’s choice – Gaelic spelling isn’t my forte!
For dinner we had a chilli cooked by Matt – and lovely it was too.
Night.