Wednesday 24th July

It was a fantastic day’s wildlife watching today despite less than ideal conditions. The morning was actually ok weather wise and we saw a few common dolphins in small groups from the outset.  What was incredibly dramatic though was a long lasting feeding frenzy going on a little further south. Yes there were scores and maybe hundreds of common dolphins, but it was the gannets that were really breathtaking. There were hundreds of them, firing into the water with that distinctive “thwomp!” noise which carries for so far. It was mesmerising to watch. We left that still carrying on then headed south to where a handful of gannets showed us where there were loads more dolphins, and these were in the mood for company! They sailed south with us, then when we tacked and headed inshore, they turned round and came back with us! We then found several seals round the island.

During the afternoon the rain came down…and down….and down. However, there was an absolute wealth of wildlife with more seals, common dolphins galore, a minke whale, an ocean sunfish (yes despite the weather), and just as we were watching the sunfish, up popped a pod of harbour porpoises really close by. We are still on the small lens, so the photos don’t really  do the encounters justice, however it was an awesome day. A big thank you for coming to today’s passengers, but especially those on the afternoon ocean discovery, who got so wet but remained so cheerful!