Cartlet Lady Survey 07/08/2018

Cliff arranged a survey to enable our interns to experience one of our popular outings to the Celtic Deep. I was very kindly invited along and looked forward to recording events as they unfolded. The weather at first was less than kind but we expected it to improve as the day went on.

So to the trip then.

Left to Right.

 

                                       Rachel, Sarah, Josh, Myself, Leanne, James and cliff.

As we left the haven the swells started to build and as a result with head into wind we headed for Grassholm to view the Gannet colony. As we closed in on the island there were thousands of  birds in the air and all around was the sounds and smell that greets all who visit.

We slowly passed the island taking it all in and marvelling at the sheer numbers of gannets present.

With Grassholm fading behind in our wake we headed further out toward the Smalls Lighthouse. En Route we came accross our first small pod of Common Dolphin. A nusery group with small calves. They were a very quiet group and showed little interest in the boat and just moved away after a minute or two.

Off to the Smalls then and with the sea still choppy Andy opened her out to full speed in order to get us there quicker. The lighthouse looked a lonesome place even in the now improving afternoon weather.

After passing the lighthouse and leaving it several miles behind we headed SW and started our long loop back home. Sadly the whale sightings we longed for never materialised although Andy and those on the flying bridge did get a glimps of some hunting Tuna. We soon spotted more dolphin though and as time went by we saw several pods of varying sizes.

Although none of the pods were very active I did manage to capture these shots as they approached the boat. Another feature of the trip were the sea birds that at times follwed the boat or passed close by. I was delighted to capture two Fulmars as they weaved their way between the waves created in the wake of the boat and a nosy Gannet that came in low to look us over. Then to finnish off a couple of the thousands of Sheerwaters we seldom get to see close up so please enjoy those two.

Sadly though all good things come to an end and we were soon on the approaches to the haven. Just as we thought it was all done a group of three porpoise were spotted off our port bow. So a final few clicks of the shutter and that was it. All over for another day.

So with the sun shining down on us while I sat looking aft into the distance across our wake, It was time to set in my mind the wonderful things we saw and the enjoyment our interns had despite the earlier choppy conditions.

Another big thank you to skipper Andy and crewman Ken for an excellent and safe trip aboard the Cartlet Lady and let's hope the weather going forward is kind enough to allow for more trips.