Tuesday 30th June 2009
Location: Tobermory Bay
Position: 56°37.240N 06°04.038W
Distance travelled: 30 miles

It would have been too much to ask for ANOTHER fantastic day, so nobody was dissapointed when we didn't have any sightings in our trip from Hough Bay back to Tobermory via Hawes Bank. The sea state had picked up slightly, making observing conditions a little more difficult to spot the elusive porpoise or even anything larger. We did spot plenty of seabirds and the scenery as usual was amazing. Once in Tobermory we all mucked in to scrub the boat clean then had a few hours to clean ourselves up and go buy some Tobermory malt or some chocolate from the chocolate factory. We then all had a fabulous farewell meal at the Western Isles hotel. After a few wee drams and a good nights sleep we were on our way. The whole trip was such fun, 10 times what was expected!

Date: 29th June 2009
Location: Hough Bay, Isle of Coll.
Position: 56°37.534N 006°37.315W
Distance travelled: 53.4 miles

Today was a rather uneventful day (LOL, only 22 sightings as opposed to 50 the other day!). We set sail to some windy and slightly rainy weather. Dressing in our foul weather gear we powered forward into a cold blustery sea. Just as we were thinking our trip could not get any better than the previous days encounters we came into sight of 2 bottlenose dolphins. Our first sighting of the day! They were off in the distance but very special just the same.

Sailing onwards the seas calmed, the sun peaked out allowing us to view at three different locations upwards of 30 basking sharks. Most were feeding and some with a bit more energy were breeding! We saw juvenile basking sharks and large adults. All different sizes to be had.

Amazing as all this sounds it gets better folks. Off in the distance was an animal rarely seen in these parts large as a bus with a very distinctive blow. It was an adult Humpback whale!! He seemed amused by our presence and milled about the boat. What a great sight. Cameras were clicking away and batteries getting low as we shot away. Halfway into this encounter a Minke whale appeared from nowhere. More photographs taken and data logged into the onboard laptop computer. The humpback allowed us the view him for more than an hour before we moved on our way. We saw 3 Minke’s this day along with 6 Harbour porpoise and 7 Seal sightings.

All that is left for a us now is the see the resident Orca clan that roams these islands…check in tomorrow to see how we do.

Date: Sunday 28th June 2009
Anchorage: Little Kettle Pool, Loch Skiport, North Uist.
Position: 57°19’533N 007°14’918W
Distance travelled: 49.7 miles

Leaving Ensay in the sound of South Harris we sighted a Basking shark with an uncharacteristic curled over dorsal fin, this was soon followed by a second Basking shark. Leaving the sound we entered the Sea of the Hebrides and met a friendly Minke whale that approached our boat and allowed us to see its white flippers under the surface of the water. Throughout the day we sighted two other juvenile Minke whales, a pod of 25 short beaked common dolphins that swam our bow wave and around us for several minutes. The Dolphins were feeding with diving Gannets and the hydrophone picked up whistles and clicks. Also sighted were numerous seals and juvenile Puffins (along with many other seabird species) and twelve Harbour porpoise sightings. Also sighted were numerous moon and lions mane jelly fish. The sea was in most cases mirror calm with shades of grey and blue. The day ended with a silvery entrance and mooring in Little Kettle Pool of Loch Skiport of the Isle of South Uist. This is a beautiful rocky island with a great collection of birds.

Date: 27th June 2009
Anchorage: Isle of Endsay, Sound of Harris
Position: 57°46.266N 007°05.612W
Distance surveyed: 60 miles

Not long after we set off from the Monach Isles there was great excitement as we had our first site of a Minke whale, which was just the start of a very special day where we were bombarded by sighting after sighting of cetaceans. The sight tally resulted in a total of 27 grey seal, 15 harbour porpoise, 5 dolphin and 3 Minke whale. One particular dolphin encounter had the dolphins very close to the boat and riding the bow wave alongside us, an amazing and privileged experience. The number of sightings was due in some part to the calmness of the sea today, it was like a mirror, but mainly to the improving ability of the volunteers and of course the crew.

Our route today took us out to Whale rock where we saw, surprise, surprise; a Minke Whale. Not only that but we were so inundated with numerous other cetacean sightings it was near impossible to get them all registered but being the fab crew we are everything seen was duly entered.

Today was also an excellent day for bird spotting and being not 15 miles from St Kilda we saw lots of Puffins and Gannets.

We are now anchored watching a fabulous sunset in one of the most spectacular locations in the whole of Scotland, the Sound of Harris.

Date: Thursday 25th June 2009
Anchorage: Vatersay Bay
Position: 56°55’479 North 07°31’962 West
Distance travelled: 62.4 miles

Today we headed out on some fairly rough seas not knowing if we would see anything or not. It was not too long however when we saw our first seal. The skies gradually turned blue and we were greeted by calmer waters. Not too long after that the crew had spotted the first of perhaps a group of 15 Basking Sharks! Luckily Captain Dave held his ground as we all funnelled to the far side of the boat for a look! Someone had to keep the boat from tipping! We sat amongst the group for perhaps 30 minutes as the sharks milled about feeding. More than happy with this sighting we moved on to our destination of Vatersay Bay wondering what might be next…well next was a large group of Risso’s Dolphins…somewhere between 15-17 strong. Some were breaching and just playing about. We were lucky enough to get some good recordings with the ships Hydrophones. A fun time had by all..humans and dolphins alike.

It was now time to find our lagoon at Vatersay Bay. We were escorted in by many birds on the way in as they were returning to their places of rest for the night as were we. We are now anchored in this picture postcard of a lagoon for a good nights sleep. 10 plus hours of data collected today. It was a good one!

Date: Wednesday 24th June
Anchorage: Feall Bay, Coll.
Postion: 56°35’630N 06°39’863W
Distance Travelled: 23.1 miles.

Set off from Tobermory early afternoon, the volunteers immediately started their first surveys and recording of data and an hour later had the first sighting of a Minke whale, swiftly followed by a Harbour porpoise and a very brief glimpse of a Grey seal (all spotted by the crew, better luck tomorrow for the volunteers).

The day has been calm and sunny and visibility high. The remaining afternoon was spent searching and a second porpoise was seen late in the afternoon and we also saw plenty of seabirds, until finally arriving into our harbour for the night.

The location is extremely beautiful, the day was ended with walk along the island beach where we watched a most wonderful sunset.

Editors (Marine Biodiversity officers) notes: To top this all off we had a close otter sighting whilst on anchor and the sun turned the most crimson red.

Date: Thursday 18th June
Anchorage: Loch Aline, Morvern Peninsula
Position: 56°33’.357N, 05°45’.152W
Distance Travelled: 45.6NM

Day 9: After another night of rain, we were very happy to see the sky clearing while we were preparing to go on effort. The plan was to survey south of Mull, but weather decided differently. There were too many rolling waves and swell, so we were guided to travel via the north, going into the Sound and eventually we ended up anchored with double anchor in Loch Aline. Most of the day we had excellent sailing weather, enjoyed by everybody while conditions were too rough to survey. Preparation of second breakfast, lunch and teas were very challenging! Again, just a single sighting of a harbour porpoise, although we did have some detections. Some heavy but very wet showers hit us on the way, but Jane made sure at least she – and her hair - stayed dry, confiscating everybody else’s hat. With even more gale warnings on the latest weather forecast, we were not able to go ashore. Instead we discussed photo-identification methods, skipper explained navigation by ‘cardinal boys’ and baking recipes were once more used this week.

Date: Wednesday 17th June
Anchorage: Bunessan, Isle of Mull
Position: 56°19’.248N, 06°15’.007W
Distance Travelled: 45.0NM

Day 8: We left Rum a bit later than usual under heavy gray skies. As we travelled between Eigg and Rum, limitless amounts of Manx Shearwaters gracefully glided above the waves. A single harbour porpoise was seen and we had several acoustic detections. Even though the weather was better than expected, the sea state made it difficult to see anything (if there was anything to see). We anchored for the evening near Bunessan, Mull and had a wonderful birthday supper celebration for Doris. She was also surprised with a card and delicious cake. A trip ashore to the Argyll Arms pub was a good way to relax after a rolling day at sea. Although a bit less relaxed for the ones still discovering ticks.

Date: Tuesday 16th June
Anchorage: Loch Scresort, Rum
Position: 57°00’.831N, 06°16’.096W
Distance Travelled: 48.6NM

Day 7: Today started dull and gray as we left our anchorage and went in search for the Barra Boys, a group of bottlenose dolphins that inhabit this area. No luck, so we sailed back across the Sea of the Hebrides. Other than birds, nothing was seen. We sailed by the north side of Canna and around the west side of Rum. The first and shortest sighting of the day was a single common dolphin which passed right by the stern in the opposite direction. The anchor was dropped in Loch Scresort, Rum and fantastic supper of haggis, neaps and tatties. Several hours were spent on shore, whether it was exploring the landscape or worshiping indoor plumbing, with unlimited amounts of hot water. Kinloch Castle pub was our rendezvous for the evening, with world class thumb war champion, Esme, crushing all competition. Once back onboard, hot drinks and bedtime brownies were supplied as another fantastic day drew to a close.

Date: Monday 15th June
Anchorage: Sgeirislum island (north-east Barra)
Position: 57°00’.228N, 007°22’.459W
Distance travelled: 54.2NM

Day 6: The insanity continues with another spectacular day in the Hebrides. Seals, minke’s, porpoises, and several close encounters with basking sharks. Sun, sea, and sky in wonderful combination. Jane had a nap in the crow’s nest (and was rudely awoken for no apparent reason in her opinion) and we might possibly have seen a turtle. Although some extra effort was put in re-finding the turtle, all we saw in that position was a grey seal..... will remain a mystery. One never knows what might happen! We arrived in the Outer Hebrides, near the Isle of Barra. A trip ashore allowed us to stretch our legs during some hill walking and enjoyment of the local wildlife. The day drew to a close with another brilliant sunset.

Date: Sunday 14th June
Anchorage: Lunga (puffin island!!)
Position: 56°29’.856N, 006°24’.990W
Distance travelled: 54.8NM

Day 5: SIGHTING!!! was today’s keyword. We left our anchorage at Loch Tarbert, Jura on a gorgeous morning. Harbour porpoise lead the way, followed by an almost endless bottling of seals. The sun sparkled on the glassy water and the occasional minke got our attention whenever they chose to grace us with their presence. It was a wonderful day for a climb up the crow’s nest, with the majority of those onboard making the journey. Coming closer towards our anchorage for the night, in the Tresnish Islands, several minke’s were seen and as we drew closer to Lunga, Manx Shearwaters and puffins kept us busy counting. A special treat was a trip ashore and entering puffin paradise. It was truly amazing to be literally face-to-beak to these little colourful birds, who curiously watch you and wonder why you haven’t taken their picture yet. Nesting shags, razorbills, and guiilemots completed the amazing experience. A glorious golden sunset was the finale to another unforgettable day. Silurian=magic.

Date: Saturday 13th June
Anchorage: Glen Batrick, Loch Tarbert (Jura)
Position: 55°57’.303N, 005°58’.435W
Distance travelled: 65.7NM

Day 4: YOU’RE SIMPLY THE BEST!! Tina Turner blaring out as we woke up, a great way to start the day, in some of our opinions, but also “like waking up in Guantanamo Bay” according to others. Leaving Islay heading south we saw two seals over the first six or seven hours and then after 3 days in hiding the dolphins finally surfaced with about ten minutes left on effort, sneaking up on us as we came in to anchor. After quite a nice start from the weather we got our first real rain, well a wee drizzle by Scottish standards, and finally we saw the captain bringing food to those stranded up the crow’s nest.