Thursday 7th August

Today was a fine example of what the Atlantic can throw at the western coasts of Britain despite it being high summer – a soggy south westerly wind full of mizzle with some choppy sea conditions! Thank you to our hardy passengers who came along, got wet and still smiled! The three hour morning trip became a two hour and the afternoon four hour trip became a three hour, and perversely the wind switched and the sun came out at the end of the afternoon. This morning we found nine seals hauled out on the island in the rain, a mixture of males and females. Some of the females are looking very pregnant now, including Kelp our favourite. Sailing southeasterwards we then picked up a few gannets and shearwaters in the distance which led us to some common dolphins. We had a lovely encounter as we sailed slowly downwind, accompanied by the dolphins. This afternoon was mostly a very soggy affair – there were a few seals remaining round the island though the dolphins had moved away. We had some great views of gannets and shearwaters as they came inshore out of the mizzle.