seals

Similar conditions to two days ago with a gloomy grey sky and choppy easterly sea, but the wildlife was more forthcoming. We went a bit further east this time, and as we sailed past a few gannets peering down at the sea, they started to dive. Then porpoise fins started rushing through the waves, and…

It was a tricky day with low grey light, and a brisk easterly wind which made things pretty choppy. We had a fast sail though! Seabirds were mainly loosely scattered with no focused feeding going on. The Manx shearwaters have all gone now, leaving the gannets, guillemots and razorbills. Some distant dark looking waders with…

Autumn days like this feel like a gift from the gods, especially in the aftermath of wind and swell like we had at the weekend. On this morning’s Bay Discovery trip, we had an awesome encounter with a massive fin whale – this was feeding with what looked like over a thousand gannets, plus countless…

We had a Bay Discovery and a Discovery Voyage today on what looks like the last nice day before some foul weather comes in. Both trips were very productive with lots of common dolphins seen on both, including some very young calves. They were swimming close to their mothers in a big maternal pod. Seabird…

Dry and sunny today – a very welcome development. We had a three hour trip but sailed so far south west it turned into four hours! There was plenty of wildlife to be seen including large numbers of common dolphins and harbour porpoises (which were too quick to get photos of!) and sixteen seals hauled…

After the strong wind of the last two days (more strong wind) we were back out today and conditions were surprisingly benign. This morning we saw several grey seals round the island and a couple of groups of harbour porpoises, but on the whole it was rather quiet. This afternoon we tried a different route…

It was a sunny breezy day today and we had two Ocean Discovery trips. While the swell was reasonably chunky again, the south westerly breeze gave us a great windy for sailing especially in the afternoon. On both trips we saw several grey seals around the island, both in the water and hauled out on…

The autumn swells are definitely making themselves felt at the moment – it was startling how abruptly our glorious summer came to a screeching halt with the arrival of Hurricane Erin at the end of August. However our passengers still want to get out there and they are proving to be an enthusiastic and hardy…

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…

The wind and swell is playing havoc wit our schedule at  the moment, however we managed to sneak out for a Bay Discovery trip this morning. This was due to be a 3 hour trip but because of the wind and sea conditions we shortened it and stayed in the relative shelter of the Bay….