Steve Davies, Steve Rosser and the Walrus were all prepared for a weekend survey in ideal conditions. The Stenna Europe was running a bit late and being in the know we did not arrive until 3.30 for a 4.00pm sailing. Stenna had the A team on duty and turned the ship around in record time so we arrived just in time to wave her off from the quay. OH DEAR we said!!
We joined the ship at midnight and went straight to our bunks.
The morning in Rosslare was almost perfect for a survey. Calm seas and very little glare in warm sunny conditions. Steve Rosser was soon rewarded with a brief glimpse on a minke inside the Tusker and then the porpoise started. We could see them almost a mile away it was so calm (and we are so high up on the Stenna Europe). We averaged over 8 sightings per hour and unusually they were all the way across rather than concentrated near land. The photos above are from this morning and the bottom 3 illustrate how different one individual porpoise can look as it dives. Anyone only spotting a porpoise in the position of the third photo would have difficulty identifying it.
This post was made by Steve Rosser as the Walrus and Hannah return to Rosslare this afternoon.