Sunday 13th April

Today we had our first Discover Marine Science day. After the sunshine of last week, in the strong westerly wind it felt freezing! We initially had some introductions to species ID, photo ID and the marine geography of Mount’s Bay in the office, before heading out. There were plenty of grey seals around the island and we spent time looking at those and learning about how we can ID individuals, before hoisting the sails and heading offshore. Everyone got a turn on the helm and we were genuinely impressed with their aptitude – sailing conditions today weren’t easy. Offshore we spotted a group of 3-4 harbour porpoises, who have us some good views considering the grey choppy conditions.We talked then briefly about our data collection methods and how we record porpoises when we spot them. After anchoring for lunch and some hot drinks in the lee of the Logan Rock, we headed offshore again and learnt about the different seabirds – shearwaters, gannets and guillemots. Thank you very much to the young  people who joined us today (and their parents).