Cornwall

Conditions were excellent today which was handy, as we had a very busy day. On the morning Ocean Discovery we had great encounters with common dolphins, grey seals, harbour porpoises and seabirds. This afternoon there was much excitement in Penzance Harbour when the paddlesteamer “Waverley” arrived as part of its summer tour of the country….

The windy weather continues but we managed to get a three hour trip in this morning before the south westerly wind built too much. Conditions weren’t too bad actually – we found a couple of groups of common dolphins, loads of feeding seabirds and a juvenile grey seal. The first dolphin pod was very interactive,…

The fog slowly cleared this morning – blown away by a quickly strengthening easterly wind! We got our first Ocean Discovery trip, though cancelled the afternoon, taking advantage of the window between dense fog and increasingly choppy sea conditions and we had a lovely trip. We spotted common dolphins feeding with gannets, common scoters (sea…

It was a bit of a drab day today and it got much drabber still this afternoon. The wildlife sightings were great though. On the morning three hour trip, we first watched seven seals round the island as they hauled out on the rocks. Two of the females were in a very moany  mood –…

This morning’s trip was cancelled because of the bad weather but we set off on the Ocean Discovery this afternoon wearing lots of waterproof layers in case of more rain. What a good thing we did, as we had a fairly Biblical downpour. However rain does not affect wildlife sightings, and there were small groups…

Back out on the water today after a wet and windy couple of days, with a four hour then a three hour trip. This morning we headed to where we estimated there would be common dolphin activity and sure enough there was, with three pods spotted over the area. Passengers enjoyed watching them bowriding and…

July already. It didn’t particularly feel like it out there though – people  had their woolly hats on! On the Ocean Discovery this morning we found a pod of  three porpoises in the bay. They surfaced several times, giving everyone good views. We also saw a non breeding puffin, and a family of guillemots; mum,…

It was a long day today with a four hour trip followed by a three hour. This morning it was quiet for over two hours, with a few rafts of shearwaters and some gannets spotted, before we found a large pod of common dolphins a long way offshore. We also saw an ocean sunfish and…

What an absolutely cracking day we had today. It seems as though summer has finally arrived with a shift in the airflow and warmer temperatures. In the sea as well, we are starting to see blue jellyfish and ocean sunfish, a sure sign that the fronts have come closer in from offshore. We found three…

We had to cancel yesterday because of the strong northerly wind, and it was still pretty breezy today. This is an offshore wind though, so close to the coast at least, it doesn’t make for rough conditions. On the morning Ocean Discovery we found some more Risso’s dolphins – a pair this time. They were…