Risso's dolphins

Leatherback turtles, Risso’s, common dolphins, porpoises, and sunfish! This morning we had an Ocean Discovery trip in hot, sticky conditions and this afternoon we did a four hour Discovery Voyage with a bit more breeze. The water temperature is increasing quickly but the hot spell is due to slow down on Friday which is a…

It was a gorgeous day out on the water, and we had a three hour Ocean Discovery followed by a two hour Bay Discovery. We had great sightings on both. This morning we very quickly found some fins over to the east – Risso’s dolphins. It was one of those times when it looked like…

Didn’t I say yesterday that dull windy conditions are usually way better for wildlife spotting than a sunny warm day when the wind is blowing from the east? We had two Ocean Discovery tours today and that statement was completely vindicated by fab sightings on both. This morning we had a great encounter with another…

Despite the dreary windy conditions we had a fabulous trip today. It’s always worth heading out at this time of year even on an unpromising looking day. After hoisting the sails on leaving the harbour we sailed south and spied a bit of bird activity, including some of the familiar looking pecking by great black…

We saw four species of cetacean today! On the morning Discovery Voyage a harbour porpoise was spotted very quickly, which was great because we haven’t been seeing too many of these lately. Numbers will build as we head through the summer. In the far distance we spotted some common dolphins but then much closer we…

We had an Ocean Discovery trip followed by a Discovery Voyage trip today. Despite being at low tide when the seals should have been hauled out on the rocks, it was pretty quiet this morning. There are a staggering number of pot buoys round the island at the moment, so a lot of fishing effort….

We had three Bay Discovery trips today, which is our shortest trip at two hours long. On the first two we had lovely views of a pod of Risso’s dolphins which were quietly resting in the bay. As ever with this species we gave them extra space, as they are not generally known for interacting…

The water was like silk today – we have rarely seen it so calm. Heading south along the coast our plan was vindicated when we met a pod of Risso’s dolphins heading up into the bay. This was based their movements yesterday – Risso’s dolphins can sometimes be predictable! They swam past us fairly close…

What a fabulous bank holiday Ocean Discovery trip we had this morning. The sea was absolutely mirror calm and shortly after leaving the harbour, tall fins were spotted in the distance. Risso’s dolphins! We suspected they were around somewhere yesterday based on the evidence of the gulls, and later heard that one of the fishing…

We have been port bound for a few days due to some strong wind and big swell, but we were back out today for two Ocean Discovery trips. There was still some chunky swell and strong breeze out there, but the sun came out and it was fun. This morning we watched the seals on…