Anchorage: Kyle of Lochalsh
Position: 57° 16’.800N 005° 42’.700W
Distance Travelled: 39 NM

Big exciting last day. Left Loch Torridon, spotting porpoises and seals until we got near Portree, where we rescued a fellow yacht which had no engine power and was on its way towards the rocks. Towed it until the lifeboat arrived. Carried on our journey towards Kyle, but were way-layed again – this time by seven bottlenose dolphins, a brilliant sight to see. Clearly our plans of getting into Kyle nice and early were being conspired against…a flurry of porpoises in the perfect sighting conditions didn’t exactly help, but now we’re safely moored alongside, giving the boat a good clean, and looking forward to a meal out to celebrate what has been a quite extraordinary trip for the places we’ve been, the wildlife we’ve seen and, of course, the folk we’ve travelled with. Well done, all!

Anchorage: Upper Loch Torridon
Position: 57° 33’.200N 005° 38’.000W
Distance Travelled: 52 NM

We left a very picturesque Loch Mariveg at around 10am and headed towards the tip of Skye. Our first wildlife encounter of the morning was a diving display performed by a crack team of high flying gannets. We were soon to discover that this was only the warm up act to the highlighted synchronised swimming common dolphins. As if this wasn’t enough entertainment for the day, just as we were wanting another mug of tea, a two minke whales, who had obviously been listening to our after breakfast briefing, obligingly met us near the tip of Skye and agreed to be surveyed for quite some time before disappearing into the great blue yonder. We eventually got our mugs of tea! From the tip of Skye we headed towards calmer waters in Loch Torridon. Here we dropped anchor and gazed over at the magnificent sandstone mountains that surrounding the loch. After a hearty meal several of us piled into the rib for a saunter ashore - the first time we had touched the mainland since the start of the trip. On re-boarding Silurian the Science Officer gave us a talk on cetacean acoustics (sound effects included) and we sipped hot chocolate pausing only to watch the last few minutes of the day’s sunset.

Anchorage: Loch Mariveg
Position: 58° 05’.300N 006° 23’.400W
Distance Travelled: 46 NM

A rainy morning followed a rainy night at Loch Maddy, but a wee otter bobbing around the boat as we lifted the anchor was a good start to the day. We left the loch, turned left and headed north, alternately motoring and sailing, making our way past the rugged scenery of Lewis’ east coast via the Shiants. Lots of good porpoise sightings, in spite of the marginal conditions, as well as a small group of common dolphins, one of which was repeatedly tail-slapping. The rain rained, then the sun shone, and the rain rained again. Then the wind blew and, all-too-late, the crew realised the fatal flaw in the idea of serving up popcorn on deck, as a whole bowlful swiftly took flight and distributed itself across the Western Isles. However, by the time we reached Loch Mariveg, the weather had calmed, turning into a beautiful evening. We won’t tell you how peaceful and pretty our anchorage is tonight, because we want to keep it a secret. Suffice to say, the Skipper thinks we’ve left the planet, as it’s so sheltered there’s no GPS signal. We’re pretty happy here, and have had a gorgeous trip ashore, watching the seals bobbing and the terns swooping.

Anchorage: Loch Maddy
Position: 57° 35’.500N 007° 09’.000W
Distance Travelled: 47 NM

We awoke to leaden skies and an a fierce Westerly howling in the rigging. With a certain trepidation we emerged from the havenly shelter of Loch Na h-Uidhe into the raw Atlantic. The plan was to head South to the tiny islet of Coppay, then East through the Sound of Harris and back into the comparative tranquillity of the Little Minch. Before we had reached the five rocky promontories of Toe Head (why isn’t it called Foot Head?) we had abandoned any pretence at a formal survey, it being quite untenable for the volunteer observers up at the mast to the remain any longer at their bucking and spray-bespattered posts. Nevertheless, a porpoise mother and calf were sighted and recorded. And later a solitary porpoise. And several more of the same were captured on the hydrophone. Once in the Sound, the Skipper’s considerable skill and experience were amply demonstrated as he piloted us effortlessly through the twisting, reef-infested Stanton Channel, and out into clear open water, heading for Skye. The mizzen and jib were hoisted and a strong following wing pushed us steadily towards Dunvegen Head. On arrival there however we found that it was not our final destination, but rather just the terminus of this particular transect. We had to go about and punch our way back through the mounting Westerly towards North Uist. Wind, waves and the frequent squalls of torrential rain conspired to hide any coincidental cetaceans from our view. On our arrival at the Loch Maddy the first thing we did was replenish Silurian’s depleted water reserves – quite ironic given the somewhat drenched nature of the day.

Anchorage: Taransay
Position: 57° 53’.500N 007° 02’.700W
Distance Travelled: 45 NM

After an early start and a hearty breakfast, we headed back out to sea leaving Loch Roag with the Callanish stones standing behind us. However, before that, Mat went ashore to try to buy milk – we’d be led to believe there was a shop nearby. No shop, but an extremely helpful man took pity on our poor First Mate, and gave him some milk from his own fridge, and half a dozen delicious homemade scones thrown in for good measure. It was all we could do to tear Mat away from a morning spent drinking tea in the front garden…
Passing Gallan Head we made our way back down the west coast of Lewis above a sea valley where we had a sighting of a really small minke whale within 50m of the boat. Soon after this we came across a basking shark busily feeding on plankton. No sooner had it seen us than it disappeared through the waves with a splash of its massive tail. After this the spotting became more tricky as the swell rose to approximately 2.5 metres. This also made eating soup a difficult task if we didn’t want to wear it on our faces! Despite this we managed to see the odd porpoise and seal. Along with the increasing swell the sunshine fought its way through the clouds eventually turning into a glorious day leaving many people with a beetroot complexion. We dropped anchor next to Taransay the island where the television series Castaway was filmed. We had a trip to the island in the tender, where two brave team members went swimming in the sea and the less brave members went for a stroll along the beautiful white sand beaches, watching a seal bobbing in the bay, as the terns dived gracefully into the water around it. We returned to Silurian where our skipper Dave had prepared a delicious traditional Scottish meal of haggis, neeps and tatties. This was eaten like gannets by the majority of the crew but Laurel, our Canadian companion was a little more hesitant as this was her first time trying haggis.

Anchorage: Loch Roag
Position: 58° 11’.500N 006° 45’.300W
Distance Travelled: 55 NM

The forecast didn’t look too great for today, so we opted to stick our noses out of Loch Roag and work our way up the west coast of Lewis as far as conditions would allow. In fact it wasn’t too bad at all, and it wasn’t long before we were joined by a couple of groups of white-beaked dolphins and some basking sharks. The wind was quite brisk, and we had a bonny sail up the coast; as we turned to make our way back to Loch Roag, Marcus heard some distant dolphin whistling on the hydrophone. We weren’t sure how far away the animals, were (they sounded like common dolphins), but when Susie went on deck to have a look, a sharp spot from hawk-eye Natalie revealed that the whistlers were indeed commons – about 30 of them leaping and splashing, about a kilometre from the boat. It’s seldom your average common dolphin can resist a little bowriding, and soon the group joined us, surrounding the boat and accompanying us on our way for a while. We carried on for home, but as we neared Tiumpan Head, we were somewhat delayed by running into a bit of a feeding hotspot, as gannets dived, the odd minke popped up, and we were spoilt for choice over where to look for our next basking shark sighting. What had started out as an unpromising day ended up in a brilliant adventure which made us late for tea. After eating we went ashore to have a look at the ancient standing stones of Callanish. Over 4000 years old, the alignment of the stones seems to relate to observations of the moon (as opposed to Stone Henge, which relates to the sun). We all indulged in a little ritualistic dancing at the spot, although more to evade midge-attack than through any spiritual fervour. After a bit more island-bagging, we returned to the boat, with Natalie intent on baking brownies. Unfortunately, exhaustion after the day’s excitement sent all the crew to bed before the cake was out of the oven, so they’ll have to wait to eat it tomorrow. Except, of course, for today’s blog writer, who is still awake…yumyumyum.

Anchorage: Pabay Mor
Position: 58° 13’.400N 006° 56’.400W
Distance Travelled: 50 NM

We left the Kyles of Scarp after a hearty breakfast and headed more or less due west for about 20 miles aiming for the celebrated Flannan Isles notorious for the mysterious disappearance in 1900 of 3 lighthouse keepers who vanished without a trace leaving the meal on the table. Our passage to the Flannan Isles was graced with a visit of 3 white- beaked dolphins, a species we hadn’t yet encountered that resemble a panda bear with their black and white markings. Not long after we encountered another group of 4 white-beaked dolphins. As we got closer to the Flannan’s the sightings of both gannets and puffins increased and when we finally arrived we made a semi-circumnavigation of the archipelago visiting the western islets first where we came across a gigantic gannet colony. What looked like a rock with white lumps on it turned out to be a rock with thousands of gannets on it. We then came back to the main island with the lighthouse and managed to land on the original landing, although it did require a bit of a scramble up a perilous staircase above a raging sea. Given the remote location we were rather surprised to be greeted by two Geordie construction workers who kindly guided us up the steep slopes to the lighthouse and pointed out the puffin nests. The summit of the island was covered in a beautiful flower festooned meadow and puffin burrows. It was also possible if you squinted really hard to make out the faint outline of St. Kilda. Back on the boat, after our lovely visit to the Flannan Isles we made our way to the north coast of Lewis rounding gallon head we ran through another fecund spot with gannets diving and basking sharks basking and finished the day with a bit of island hopping to produce a fitting end to a magical day.

Anchorage: Scarp
Position: 58° 01’.100N 007° 05’.900W
Distance Travelled: 45 NM

We sailed from Cheese Bay out to the Cabbage Patch where we saw three lightning porpoises and a grey seal. The sightibilty was not great to start with but improved slightly over the course of the morning. We crossed the treacherous Sound of Harris and soon came across an area with a largest number of gannets we had encountered so far. In a flash of inspiration we later called this area “gannet city”. We then headed out to the North Atlantic on a route which would have taken us to St Johns, Newfoundland. We passed the “cast-away” island of Taransay before we rounded the wee islet of Gaisgeir and decided to call it a day. Our anchoring place for the rest of the day was the quiet waters of Caolas an Scarp. This happened to be the place where back in the 1920s (Susie please check date) an experiment to link the island of Scarp to the mainland with a rocket-powered rocket system powered by the deficient prototype of the V2 rocket failed. Viewers of the first series of the “Coast” television programme will remember a reconstruction of this attempt. We then explored the romantic island of Scarp where we found plenty of sheep feeding on flowering meadows. Unfortunately none of us felt the courage to swim in the crystal clear waters despite the beautiful white sandy beaches surrounding us.

Anchorage: Cheese Bay, North Uist
Position: 57° 39’.100N 007° 05’.500W
Distance Travelled: 45 NM

We set off from underneath Duntulm castle with overcast but promising weather and headed roughly west south west on the first leg of a series of zig zags that would take us back and forth across the Little Minch without knowing what excitement lay ahead. The beginning of the animal frenzy started with a sighting of a group of storm petrels. After the storm petrels, Dave our skipper requested some dolphins and Susie replied “I’ll see what I can do”, and within minutes a group of common dolphins were in sight, coming to join us and bow ride along with the boat. Amongst them were 3 calves in a group of seven which was a lovely sight to see. As we continued along this transect, we reached Waternish Point on Skye, where things got a bit exciting. We first saw a minke whale, rapidly followed by two basking sharks and several porpoises and diving gannets. The climactic end to the encounter was a sighting of 6 Risso’s dolphins – 3 mothers and 3 calves. One calf made a good attempt at pretending to be an acrobatic bottlenose dolphin – not quite so graceful but fun to watch. As we headed to our anchorage site in Cheese bay on North Uist, the sea flattened, and we saw a plethora of porpoises. We Finished our day with some adventurous island bagging.

Anchorage: Duntulm Bay
Position: 57° 41’.400N 006° 20’.00W
Distance travelled: 42 NM

On Friday evening, our new volunteers joined us for another cetacean survey. They are Liz, Natalie, Laurel, Mario, Ted (whom we welcome aboard for the third time) and Marcus (our first mate from two years ago who is on to take photo identification for the Aberdeen University Bottlenose Dolphin Project). Moored next to Madonna’s million pound yacht we started our adventure from Kyle of lochalsh and got to see the start of a yacht race then headed out under the Skye bridge. Initially our plan was to zig zag northwards and end our day in loch Torridon under the magnificent sandstone peaks of Ben Eigh but it was not to be. A rush of scientific blood to the crews head and blue sky to the north suddenly prompted a change of plan, instead we were to head through the Caol of Rona (via The Deepest Spot in the Hebrides (as far as we know) – a massive 316m) and saw lots of shags, seals and numerous harbour porpoises. We then re-fuelled with bacon sandwiches and continued along the eastern coast of Skye past the old man of Storr, Quiraing and Eilean Flodigarry (where according to local tradition the owner once had his corn harvested for him in two nights by 150 fairies). Rounding off our day with a sighting of a Stinky minke whale (although thankfully the aroma was lacking) at Rubha Hunish and dropped anchor in Tulm Bay where we went ashore and climbed Duntulm castle ruining a couple’s cosy evening as they got to see a romantic sunset with 8 new friends!

Anchorage: Upper Loch Torridon
Position: 57° 33’.200N 005° 38’.000W
Distance Travelled: 50 NM

Expecting weather similar to yesterday’s, we started the day nicely wrapped up. Layers were gradually shed when yesterday failed to arrive and we found the weather was actually rather pleasant. Large swell hampered our chances of seeing anything, except the Shiants on our horizon. On approaching the islands, we found them to be a Puffinopolis. The bountiful puffins could not fail to amuse as they tumbled from the bow wave in a flurry of black feathers and red and yellow bill. Their anxious eyes meant they prompted much compassion as well as laughter. After some light persuasion, Emma joined us in the dinghy, expecting a short and safe journey to the beach. We proceeded to venture through a cavey tunnel of doom into the slightly-more-rough sea beyond. When we eventually arrived at the beach we found it to be a veritable puffin graveyard. Further up the island was a little house where we gathered outside for a group photograph. The next traumatic hour was spent negotiating our escape from the island, which proved harder than we had thought when planning the excursion but it was managed by most….

Back on effort, we enjoyed splendid weather but no cetaceans. We ended up in the stunning Upper Loch Torridon. Those who visited land found the remnants of small stone huts, perhaps the derelict homes of the now extinct Torridon trolls.

Rachel (with some help from Cormac)

Anchorage: Loch Seaforth
Position: 58° 00’.500N 006° 44’.100W
Distance Travelled: 40 NM

Yesterday the weather had lulled us into a false sense of security which couldn’t last and didn’t….the wind strengthened from almost nothing yesterday, up to Force 6 today - from sunglasses and shorts, to lifejackets and waterproofs. The sightings today comprised two plastic fishcrates. The whales, dolphins, seals and porpoises were all playing hide and seek, and the Silurian lost! On the onboard computer, which shows a visual display of the acoustics picked up from the hydrophone trailed out behind the boat, there were frequent red triangles showing there were porpoises nearby, but we couldn’t see them due to the poor conditions for visual surveying. Two crossings of the Minch were completed, over to Duntulm Bay on Skye, where we anchored for lunch, and then back over to Loch Seaforth on Lewis. The second crossing was rougher than the first, as the wind was against tide, but we all survived (amazingly) to avoid the dreaded sea sickness. There was even onboard entertainment from Rachel and Fiona, who sang a whole karaoke evening worth of songs, despite the wind and rolling seas. Particularly good was the rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which was a real team effort as the lads joined in on the low parts… the Silurian’s version of a sea shanty.

Emma

Anchorage: Loch Finsbay
Position: 57° 46’.700N 006° 54’.400W
Distance Travelled: 42 NM

We left our anchorage this morning and were expertly navigated through the narrows of Loch Eport (thanks Dave!) out to sea. We were soon treated to the delights of a group of common dolphins not acting very common dolphin-like. I think breakfast was keeping them occupied although they couldn’t resist our boat for a little play. A premonition from ‘Mystic Booth’ fortold of a bountiful afternoon, and after a morning of sighting not much else, the prophecy came true. I had my eye on an area of diving gannets in a tidal convergence zone and spotted a fin on the horizon. A minke appeared…and then a porpoise…and another minke! It soon turned into a feeding frenzy with birds and cetaceans surrounding us. It all got a tad exciting. Since it was such a glorious spot we found ourselves in, Skipper decided it was the perfect time and place to charge the batteries (literally and metaphorically). We hung out with the whales and porpoises, caught some rays and generally enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon. Even the shorts came out and soon there was a ‘whose legs are whiter?’ competition on the go. Surprisingly to all concerned, I beat Cormac, but in my defence his legs are hairier than mine. A RIB-ride ensued to gain a closer look at the minkes, but to no avail, before work once again took priority over sunbathing. We headed into the west and were soon treated to yet more dolphin action of the common kind. The group of 10 delightful creatures gave us a fantastic view of their stunning markings and bow-riding ability, but once again I think food was a much more fulfilling option and after entertaining us they headed off in search of fish. Just as we were heading into our anchorage for the night, yet another minke was sighted…and another! One was so large that we had to go investigate just in case it was another species. A couple of porpoises came to join the party too, as well as 2 seals according to Rachel, which actually turned out to be puffins. The two are often confused I hear… After an hour’s detour to take advantage of the beautiful afternoon, we eventually found our spot to anchor and enjoyed a delicious meal of mango chicken and salad, superbly cooked by Rachel. All satisfied for the night, we eagerly await what wonders the Hebrides have in store for us tomorrow. To be continued…

Fiona

Anchorage: Loch Eport, North Uist
Position: 57° 33’.800N 007° 09’.300W
Distance Travelled: 57 NM

Epic sail from Rum to Loch Eport with a pod of common dolphins (including some calves) feeding en route. The occasional seal (one of which I first identified as rubbish, then as porpoise and finally as seal (apologies seal!!)) but otherwise just uninterrupted scenery, sea and birds. Isolated sea loch for harbour tonight with just seals gulls and red deer as neighbours.

Allison

Anchorage: Loch Scresort, Isle of Rum
Position: 57° 00’.800N 006° 16’.000W
Distance Travelled: 50 NM

The day had a gloomy outlook, with the predominant conversation topic at breakfast being on John Lewis branches round the country , focussing particularly on those not actually called John Lewis. I think Cormac nearly cried into his cereal in despair. However, with the tales of John Lewis behind us we soon set to work, with the new task today of recording bird sightings too. After Susie’s bird identification training the night before, she seemed pleased that we actually remembered something and despite a few mistakes we all got the hang of it in the end. We were promptly treated with flocks of manx shearwaters in their hundreds, perhaps because a third of the world’s population lives on the island of Rum nearby. They were a delight to see with their graceful glides but not such a delight to count. Some of us (ahem) resorted to some quite shameful or perhaps necessary rounding!

On the cetacean front, there were quite a few porpoises around, including what we liked to think were two families, in an emotional, misty-eyed moment. Aww! There was also much excitement when a minke whale was spotted in the Sound of Rum. It treated us to a number flashes of its dorsal fin before diving and even a blow. The minke whale didn’t venture near enough for its apparently pungent and fishy smell to grace our nostrils however, which is probably a good thing. Each time it dived we had to guess where it would next surface and mostly got it wrong, often leaving it behind us. I think this was the fault of its unpredictable swimming path rather than any fault of the skipper’s though.

In the evening, Fiona demonstrated her admirable cooking skills with a yummy macaroni cheese dinner and chocolate chip cookies for after, which, needless to say, were swiftly devoured. Some of us went for a walk on Rum and saw the infamous castle and some very cute foals, one of which managed to stand, although there was wobbling involved.

Rachel.