A brisk westerly breeze whipped up the sea into a sparkly chop. Things were not so promising as we set off on the first leg of the 2010 Dolphin-othon.
Shirleys team were in good spirits and we were optomistic after Adrians success on Thursday.
A brief view of a Porp' off Strumble opened the score although a big feeding flock of gannets to the south showed where most of them were likey to be.
We cruised along for some time enjoying the Shearwaters and even a late Puffin but cetaceans were scarce and difficult to see in the choppy seas.
The visibility was excellent however and we could soon see the Irish Coast and the flashing light of the Tusker rock Lighthouse. As the shore came closer I spied a very distant flock of Gannets whirling above some splashes. We tranferrd over to the starboard side and drew closer. Zokko! scoreone!!! a pod of about 25-30 Common Dolphins sensed our presence and came racing into our bow. This made us all happy bunnies I shot back to the portside bridge wing to record the sighting whilst the rest of the gang lingered watching the Dolphins dissapear in our wake.
Wrong! as they peered behind us I spotted two big fins to port... Risso's !
I yelled to them but by the time everyone returned the Risso's had disappeared. A rather nice Porpoise close to our bow ended the sightings but as we came into Rosslare large but extremely distant flocks of Gannets were tantalisingly out of range.
Not a bad start , Verena and I have just had Breakfast on Day two and looking out from Rosslare Harbour things look pretty calm and promising although wind is forcasted for later....
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