Friday 16th October

We had two Ocean Discovery trips today in sunny breezy conditions – it’s still really mild for the time of year. Heading south this morning there were sporadic groups of seabirds feeding, including lots of guillemots and razorbills. They were hunting from the surface near where the gannets and gulls were following the tuna. A few tuna leapt as we approached but they were very unpredictable. We had brief but good views of a pair of porpoises under some of the feeding gannets, and in one of the seabird flocks, we saw an arctic tern. Everyone admired its graceful, floaty flight – this is a creature that sees more daylight than any other on earth. Even though the swell was beating into the island we saw several seals starting to haul out as the tide started dropping.

This afternoon we saw a couple more porpoise groups, though they were too quick to get photos of. There were several more seals hauled out on the island, who were trying to dodge the waves as they hit the rocks. Further west, by the “tuna cliffs” the tide was right, so we watched and waited…and sure enough saw the garfish trying to flee the tuna, and then had  great views as the massive fish cleared the water as they chased. It’s such a spectacular sight.

Next spaces are on Sunday when we have a three hour followed by a two hour trip. The forecast is looking pretty good.