On board Silurian

Friday 16th May 2008

2008-05-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Small Isles Primary School students boarded Silurian today for two marine education workshops in Jura. The older students had time to write some comments:
The best thing was the starfish. Nicky
Today we acted out different types of things that could happen on the boat. Domonic
I enjoyed feeling the crabs. Ryan
I think the best bit was holding the prawns. Melissa
One thing I found interesting was the spider crab. It was like a sponge and the starfish. Katie
I enjoyed play acting and the prawns. Gavin the grey whale
One thing I found interesting was that the sea urchin was moving and that when you put your shadow over it, it will know you are there. It has no eyes. Harriet
I thought the two best bits were acting and the starfish and the rest of it. Mirren

Thursday 15th May 2008

2008-05-15T03:58:00.000-07:00

Bowmore Primary students in P2 and P3 boarded Silurian today. They had time to write some comments:

I went to Whale and Dolphin Trust. Today I learnt that there is a wire that you can hear types of fish under the water. The funny part was when the crabs tried to get out the box.

I enjoyed when the crab was trying to get out. Dylan

I liked when I got scared when the red lobster. Ruaridh

When the crab was trying to get out. Emma

It was funny when the crab was trying to get out.

I liked it when the crab was trying to get out. Iona

I liked it when you could hear things under the water. David John

I thought the best thing was when Gemma showed us the sounds. Brooke

I liked when I got to hold the starfish. It was tickly. Michael

I enjoyed hearing things under water. E.B.M

I thought the best bit was looking at the crab. Kayla

I enjoyed touching the starfish. It was fun. Bella

Wednesday 14th May 2008

2008-05-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

After Bowmore Primary P1’s came aboard, it was the turn of the Home School from Port Charlotte.
“My best bit was looking at the lobster, picking up the Velvet Crab and learning to tie two new knots,” Michael aged 8.
“Nice people, very friendly! It was excellent because they had an octopus and it was the first time I saw one. I also held a big lobster. I’ve had a whale of a time – thank you!” Morwenna aged 10.
“I enjoyed it very much because the animals were very interesting but my favourite thing was the octopus,” Corrie aged 11.
“I liked looking at the Lesser Octopus, it was cool trying to make it change colour,” Megan aged 12.

Tonight is an Open Boat on Silurian and so HWDT is inviting interested members of the local community aboard to have a look around and chat with staff.

Tuesday 14th May 2008

2008-05-13T09:24:00.001-07:00

Port Ellen Primary 5 and 6 boarded Silurian today in two groups to experience a marine life workshop. They explored the boat, learnt about research techniques used on cetacean (whale and dolphin) surveys and about local marine animals. Here are some of their comments:

I liked finding all the things on the boat. Robbie

I enjoyed looking at the crabs. Kevin

I enjoyed the boat and everything on it. Peter

I enjoyed holding the starfish. Katie

Today I learnt more about starfish. Liam

Today I learned how sea urchins move and eat. Keith

I learnt the different names of crabs. Hayley

Today I learnt about all the different types of crabs. Carlie

Monday 12th May

2008-05-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Tayvallich Primary School boarded Silurian today to learn about the work of HWDT and local marine life. Here are some of their comments:

One of the best bits was seeing all of the sea creatures, and especially I liked the starfish. It was really good being able to poke about the boat and playing the finding game! I had a great day. Thanks, Rosie

I enjoyed it when I saw the dogfish. Josh

Today I thought the best bit was when we had a bit of paper and we had to find the things listed on the boat. I also enjoyed the part where there were different animals in buckets and we had to identify them. Mia, aged 9

I enjoyed seeing the dogfish because it looked like a shark and it had 3 rows of teeth! I also looked the pipefish because it kept coming to the surface to see us. Freya

I thought the best bit of my day was when we got to learn about all the sea creatures and got to pick them up. I really liked the dogfish because i liked the way it swims around and shows off to you. Signe, aged 9

When you get to feel the animals in the tubs it is really cool, but so was the game, because they were both extremely fun. Megan

Saturday 3rd May to Tueday 6th May 2008

2008-05-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

The weather picked up over Friday night, and by Saturday morning, there was a fair old wind blowing, even in our cosy anchorage. We waited out the weather in the morning, and filled the time with some routine boat maintenance (dicky generators, dodgy toilets and duff bilge pumps – all part of the wonderful world of life on the ocean wave). We decided to make a break for it in the afternoon and had the ride of our lives and we battled a gale down to Canna. But Silurian triumphed over the elements, and we arrived safely in the harbour in time for well-earned tea.

It was still blowing (and raining too – hurray!) the next morning. The foolish went ashore for maximum soaking potential (they succeeded - I’ve heard the drowned-rat look is the must-have style for Spring 2008), whilst the wise stayed on the boat and practiced looking at the inside of their eyelids. With things looking considerably calmer, we set off at lunchtime for Rum. It was a good call. The rain abated, the skies cleared, the wind dropped, and we had a magnificent sail into Loch Scresort, with the Isle of Rum looking as striking as she ever has, with her majestic profile against the early evening skies.

The morning was no less lovely, and we set out, via several transects, to Loch Moidart. It was warm, it was sunny, it was calm. Away went the woolly hats and oilskins and out came the shorts, sunglasses and pink noses. Every day at sea is a wonder, but this was a super-wonder, which continued when we arrived at Loch Moidart and had an explore around the lovely Swallows-and Amazon islands and bows-and arrows castle.

Our last day sees us zig-zagging back to Tobemory past the Small Isles, Ardnamurchan and the Cairns of Coll. Another fine day, with a slight haze over the calm waters.

Porpoises a-plenty have been detected on the ever-conscientious hydrophone, and we’ve seen a fair few too. But no sign of anything bigger yet – some minke whales and common dolphins have arrived for the summer, but no sightings from Silurian this week. However, our seabird sightings confirm that spring has sprung, and we’re looking forward to our next survey later this month…

Many thanks to our hardworking and highly entertaining volunteers this week – it’s been a great one!

Susie, Science Officer

NEW SEASON 2008! Tues 29th April to Fri 2nd May 2008

2008-05-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2008 research and education season onboard Silurian!

Our season started back at the end of March with a very successful collaboration with the Marine Mammal Science MRes at the Sea Mammal Research Unit. 44 knot winds and a horizontal blizzard in the Sound of Mull were no match for the fearless students, and the trip went very well. Since then, we've run two marine mammal courses - all before the end of April.

Now we're in the middle of our first full monitoring trip of the season. Volunteers joined us in Tobermory on Tuesday night (29th April), and Wednesday saw us transecting up to to Canna in fair weather. Thursday took us across the Sea of the Hebrides, through the Sound of Barra and back to spend the night in Eriskay, where we had a fantastic walk from the harbour to the village, enjoying a grand pint in the The Politician, a sunset walk back along the blonde beaches and a slightly late dinner (11pm) back on the boat. Today we went back and forwards through Barra Sound again. We had been hoping to spot the bottlenose dolphins that are resident in the Sound, but no sign of them, either today or yesterday. We carried on over to Skye, where we are currently anchored in Loch Harport. All in lovely sunshine.

We've had plenty of porpoise detections on the hydrophone, but sightings have been few. There's a major military exercise going on round the Hebrides at the moment, and military boats have been outnumbering cetaceans somewhat. But the weather's great, and life onboard really good - even as I write, Andy is in the galley baking bread whilst we are all in awe as the sun sets in firey glory over Macleod's Tables.

Susie, Science Officer

Friday 28th September

2007-10-02T01:37:00.000-07:00

Students from Iona Primary School spent the morning on Silurian exploring the boat, learning about HWDT’s research and investigating marine animals. They wrote:
Something I learnt today was velvet crabs have red eyes and that another name for them is devil crabs. Ben
I enjoyed today because we got to listen to the sounds of animals and we got to touch and feel some of the animals like sea urchins, crabs, starfish and sea anemones. Rhona
One thing I enjoyed today was looking at the scallop. The eyes were in its mouth. Xzava
I liked the whale and dolphin boat because it was interesting and fun. We looked at crabs, lobster and starfish. Stephen
I liked today because we got to hold all the crabs and scallop and I like going to school. Declan
I enjoyed everything. Duncan the dolphin
I enjoyed today because I had fun jingling forks and knives off the side of the boat and hearing it on the computers. Malcolm the minke whale.

Thursday 27th September

2007-10-02T01:36:00.000-07:00

Silurian was today anchored off Bunessan on the Isle of Mull. In delightful weather three groups of Bunessan Primary School students boarded for marine life workshops. The P1’s and 2’s were too busy to write about their visit. The P3 to 5’s wrote these comments:
If I could visit Silurian again that would be good. I was a catfish for the game. Something I learnt was that scallops had eyes. Cara Morrison P4
I liked when the lobster splashed everyone. Josh
I liked when you picked the crab up and when you picked the lobster up. Daniel
I liked the crab and a scallop. Stewart the shrimp
Something I learned was about the crab. Lewis the lion fish
I liked the bit when you picked up the crab and the anemone. Linzie
I liked the bit about the crab. Sean
This afternoon P6 and 7 students wrote:
One thing I enjoyed today was when Adam said the crab was looking at Neil. Blair
I enjoyed looking around the boat and doing the test. I also liked looking at the animals and feeling them. Daisy Williams
I enjoyed looking at the starfish. I learnt all about the boat. Neil
I saw lots of things today but mostly liked the king scallop it was very bumpy and rough and it was because it shut and I got such a fright it was really funny. Kirsty
I smiled when I made friends with a starfish. I liked it when I held the wee starfish. I enjoyed my day on the Silurian. I liked working with Daisy on the starfish. Daisy
We got to see all animals. The sea urchin because you got to handle it and see where it lives. Darren Clark
I enjoyed today because I learnt about the king scallop. I found out that its eyes were under its shell. Heather
Something I learnt was sea urchins are not as prickly as they look. Antony
Today I learnt about the female and male crabs. Adam Doc

Wednesday 26th September

2007-09-26T03:44:00.000-07:00

12 Salen Primary students of P5 to 7 came aboard Silurian today for a workshop on marine life between 9:30am and 11am. They learnt a lot and here are some of their comments:
One thing I enjoyed today was getting to touch the starfish and the sea urchins. They were cool and I loved it. Mollie
I enjoyed today because I got to go on the boat. I learned that edible crabs looked like pies and I enjoyed touching the crabs and lobster. Andrew
I liked the starfish and the crabs. Robert Kennedy
I learnt that scallops had eyes. Angus
I enjoyed being splashed by the lobster. Emma Hall-Maclaclainn
I enjoyed the whole thing from start to end. Shannon May Maclean
I liked holding the lobster today. Cullen
I enjoyed touching the animals. Jamie
I liked getting splashed by the lobster. I learned about all of the animals. Stuart
I liked the crabs and the lobster. Ewan Bennett
I liked the whole thing. Carys
I liked touching the things. Katherine

Tuesday 25th September

2007-09-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

Today 34 Salen Primary School students from P1 to 7 learnt about Silurian as a research vessel and also about local marine life. Here are some comments from the students:
I liked your boat and I learned a lot. I won’t forget. Bethan
Today Salen Primary School saw crabs and lobsters. Claire
I learned that crabs have hairy legs. Daisy
The two things I learned are that hermit crabs are small and sea urchins have legs. Saffron
I liked touching a lobster. Robbie
I learnt that hermit crabs live in shells. Scott
I enjoyed today. Hannah
I liked touching the crabs. Murdo
I enjoyed today because I touched an urchin. Sarah
I liked the lobster and I got to touch the lobsters back. Matthew
I learnt that a lobster has legs. Scott Thomson

Monday 24th September

2007-09-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Tobermory High School Eco-committee arrived at 1:30pm to come aboard Silurian for a marine life workshop. Here are some of their comments:
Getting to hold the baby starfish was really cool. The baby furry crab was so cute. We even had a visitor from a seal. Charlotte
I thought it was cool how the scallop has lots of eyes. Colin Laurie
Nice to learn about the animals especially the lobster. Jakob (S2.1)
I enjoyed all the animals and the seal. Mary Hall. (S1)
I really enjoyed the bit when we were touching the sea animals. Tom
The fuzzy baby crab was so sweet. Florry Cash
A good hands-on approach. Dexter Govan
I enjoyed looking at all the animals and the hydrophone. Amy Barlow
I liked when me and Colin tangled the cutlery. James Boa
Your hair gets very windswept, so take a hair bobble. Lorna Miller
I liked it when we held the sea animals. Cameron Brown

Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th September 2007

2007-09-21T05:36:00.001-07:00

Date: Thursday 20^th September, 2007

Anchorage: Tobermory

Position: 56°37.200 N 006°03.700 W

Distance Travelled: 40 NM

Seas not as calm as we had hoped for, so it was hard going on the sightings-front as we travelled up the west coast of Mull, past Staffa and the Treshnish Isles. But the scenery was amazing, and the brisk winds gave us a bonny sail all the way up. By the time we got into Tobermory, we had sighted a few harbour porpoises, some seals and a basking shark. Having cleaned the boat until it gleamed, we spent a much-deserved evening in the pub. Well done everybody for a really good week, in spite of the windy weather. This was our last survey trip of 2007, so farewell until next season!

Date: Wednesday 19^th September 2007

Anchorage: Bunessan, Isle of Mull

Position: 56° 19’.200N 006° 15’.000W

Distance Travelled: 59 NM

After a very early start we motored out of Loch Craignish; passing through promising waters and sunny skies, which unfortunately yielded no sightings. After passing past the south coast of Mull and Iona we finally had our first sighting of the day, a basking shark! After following this around we followed in Mendelson’s footsteps and reached Fingal’s cave, on Staffa. As we reached are chosen anchorage of the night, Cragaig Bay, a message reached us that killer whales had been spotted west of Staffa. So we retraced or steps to try and find them. Ella and Suzy whilst on observation finally spotted three blows and for a fleeting second actually saw a fin, but then the animals disappeared in the rapidly building sea, and we were unable to find them again. After this excitement we decided to go to Bunessan for anchorage and on reaching this we found another two basking sharks. For dinner Dave ( the skipper) prepared a traditional tea of haggis, swede and potatoes ( haggis, neaps and taties) although not everyone went for the meat option…

Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th September 2007

2007-09-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

Date: Thursday 20^th September, 2007

Anchorage: Tobermory

Position: 56°37.200 N 006°03.700 W

Distance Travelled: 40 NM

Date: Wednesday 19^th September 2007

Anchorage: Bunessan, Isle of Mull

Position: 56° 19’.200N 006° 15’.000W

Distance Travelled: 59 NM

Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th September 2007

2007-09-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Date: Thursday 20^th September, 2007

Anchorage: Tobermory

Position: 56°37.200 N 006°03.700 W

Distance Travelled: 40 NM

Seas not as calm as we had hoped for, so it was hard going on the sightings-front as we travelled up the west coast of Mull, past Staffa and the Treshnish Isles. But the scenery was amazing, and the brisk winds gave us a bonny sail all the way up. By the time we got into Tobermory, we had sighted a few harbour porpoises, some seals and a basking shark. Having cleaned the boat until it gleamed, we spent a much-deserved evening in the pub. Well done everybody for a really good week, in spite of the windy weather. This was the last monitoring trip of 2007, so farewell till next season!

Date: Wednesday 19^th September 2007

Anchorage: Bunessan, Isle of Mull

Position: 56° 19’.200N 006° 15’.000W

Distance Travelled: 59 NM

Tuesday 18th September 2007

2007-09-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Date: Tuesday 18^th September 2007

Anchorage: Loch Craignish

Position: 56° 09’.900N 005° 33’.300W

Distance Travelled: 40 NM

Today was a day of soup! After waking in the beautiful bay on Gigha we decided to go South to try and find some dolphins that have been regularly seen off a campsite on the Mull of Kintyre. Having had no luck, (and after a short dinghy detour) we turned North and had a nice gentle trip till we got out of the shelter of Gigha. At this point, or rather shortly before, Matt had decided to make some lovely soup. Once we were in less sheltered waters this was to be found all over the galley floor, the foredeck and most of Science Officer Susie. We had great fun tidying it up! Soup sticks!! At this point the mizzen and the foresail were put up and we had a lovely, if somewhat rolly, sail up to Loch Craignish, where after anchoring and supper it started to howl. We had a very informative talk on bioacoustics, however unfortunately Susie had recordings of whales so we were deprived of her impressions.

Friday 14th to Monday 17th September 2007

2007-09-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Date: Monday 17^th September 2007

Anchorage: Isle of Gigha

Position: 55° 40’.500N 005° 44’.100W

Distance Travelled: 30 NM

It’s been sunny all day today. It was absolutely beautiful. But very windy. Indeed. We left Loch Tarbert and sailed – yes, sailed – down the Sound of Islay and past the distilleries, where we had some shelter from the wild winds. Ella and Hilary heroically observed from the front of the boat. They didn’t have much of a hope of seeing anything but got to see some stunning seas and scenery, although Hilary was heard to complain to Ella ‘your sea’s a different colour from mine!’. Actually they saw three seals, which to be honest was pretty good going. Nobody vomited. This in itself was a minor triumph. Anyway, seeing as there were no decent observations to be made, we decided to sack the day’s science off and go on a little afternoon holiday to the island of Gigha. We picked up a mooring buoy, which involved Mat doing a lap of honour around the bay on the bowsprit. He loved it. Well, it was alright. We went ashore to lovely Gigha and had showers. The British thought they were marvellous, whilst the Americans thought they were a little sub-standard. Had a brilliant walk through Achamore gardens, then onto the pub, where we ate lots (for a change) and played ‘let’s laugh at the foreigners’ by giving Lois a lesson in British coinage. Followed by an epic little dinghy ride home in the darkest of dark with the shiniest of stars (including one shooting one).

Date: Sunday 16^th September 2007

Anchorage: Loch Tarbert, Isle of Jura

Position: 55° 58’.300N 005° 54’.100W

Distance Travelled: 45 NM

After a dark and windy night we awoke to a calm sea with the ‘gentle’ rain pitter-pattering on the hatches, sea, oilies and everything else. Leaving the Loch through seal- infested waters we set out north west to cover unsurveyed areas. Seeing nothing bar a pair of porpoise and some seals through the sheets of rain we reached Corryvrekan. At this point, to our delight and surprise the sun came out to play and Hilary immediately got sunburnt. We headed back down to Loch Tarbert to hide from the nasty forecast. After safely anchoring some of us went for a dinghy ride of terror through the roaring rapids led on by our skipper to the inner narrows of the loch. The light on the hills and water was stunning and lit up the deer on the hill and the herons on the shore. The day was rounded off by doubling our body weights with spaghetti.

Date: Friday14^th and Saturday 15^th September 2007

Anchorage: Loch Tarbert, Isle of Jura (Saturday)

Position: 55° 57’.600N 005° 54’.900W

Distance Travelled: 30 NM (14^th) 35 NM (15^th)

Having met everyone (Roel, the lucky single man among us from the land the people reclaimed from the sea; Charlotte, our zoology student from Brighton, England; Lois Q. from Boulder CO, USA a grandmother who loves nature; Ella, Marine Biology student from Kent, England; Hilary from Dublin Ireland who spends her time as a lawyer when not reading the world’s great classics and moi, another Lois from Boston MA who as the typist doesn’t have to say anything else about herself). We had a series of fascinating lectures on cetaceans, boating safety and lights, buoys etc. We also waited for veggies to be delivered before shoving off. After a short detour Dave, our skipper decided to go south down the sound of Mull, under sail and clear blue skies, observing as we went. We saw and heard harbour porpoises (Hilary made our first sighting). A close encounter with the Ferry put our hydrophone in jeopardy. After several abortive attempts, we found a mooring in Oban Bay where the stars were very bright and beautiful.

Today, we started with bird identification training. We saw a pair of porpoises and managed a complete rotation of appointed tasks before the weather deteriorated, with the wind increasing to gusts of 35 knots, and made it unsuitable for sightings. Motoring along the beautiful coastline of Jura, several of us needed to have a bit of a lie-down to regain normal skin colour. We found quieter waters in the spectacular scenery of Loch Tarbert and under the gaze of a pair of stags, where we have anchored for the night.

Tuesday 11th September - day 7

2007-09-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

Location: Tobermory Bay

We had gone to bed under a perfect night sky, the kind that makes you want to quit the city and turn off sodium lighting for ever…but inevitably the morning was grey and overcast…not a day for filming, so Andy and Simon abandoned day two of their filming. Instead, we set off for Eorsa on the Cuvier Whale skeleton hunt. We had the head and now needed to find the body, location unknown.

We anchored at the eastern end of the island, and on the basis of the Skippers’ sound opinion that the poor whale could only have made it onto the southern shore; the First Mate led an amphibious assault, landing two search parties to comb the southern shoreline. Matt then pootled off in the inflatable, and while we were yomping over treacherous moorland, slippery rocks and cliff paths, and found it within minutes on the NORTHERN shore. Well, the skipper redeemed himself by preparing hot dog rolls and playing a lament for a dead whale on his penny whistle.

Laura led the skeleton retrieval party, and soon the mortal remains of ?????? [The whale needs a name] were collected ceremoniously into black bags and returned to ship, and for us to devour the hot dogs.

Then time to head home…up the western coast of Mull, past Laura’s caravan, and back to Tobermory. Could we manage another tour of duty? No question and Laura kept us at it by climbing aloft to the crows nest and calling many sightings of “unidentified seals” and harbour porpoise to keep us on our toes. The sea was flat calm and glassy, so sightings, real and imaginary, flowed thick and fast., until we rounded the north west cape and then enthusiasm flagged as we sank into quiet contemplation of the trip coming to an end, and new friends soon to be parted.

Contemplation was soon ruptured by the Quartermasters Mandelberg [mother and daughter] whipping us into shape to clean the ship and leave it spotless for the next team. A final supper of leftovers conjured into a feast by Madeleine, and so to the pub, and at last to sleep.

Stephen (HWDT volunteer)

Monday 10th September - Day 6

2007-09-12T04:54:00.000-07:00

Location: Cragaig, Bay, Ulva

Position: 56’ 28.029 006’ 95.760 W

Monday evening, at the end of the 2 great days of spectacular scenery, grand sailing, improving weather……but unfortunately little animal activity.

Yesterday was grey and windy but in among the waves we spotted 3 basking sharks,2 of them juveniles, but the contacts were brief as we were moving fast. At the end of a good day we were treated to an excellent curry by Graham, with fresh poppadoms etc. Conversation developed along interesting lines, though lubricated with much less alcohol than usual.

Today, began and continued with blue sky and a brisk breeze, encouraging the skipper to sail off us the anchor(he sailed us on last night),much to the mate’s consternation until he was reminded that we could now sell the engine on ebay. So, nearly 10 hours & 40+ nautical miles later we must be all of 15 miles from our anchorage last night on Coll. We’ve spent another day zig-zagging among the small isles but have seen nothing more than a single seal all day. However, the sailing has been fabulous, with instruction from skipper Glenn that you’d pay a fortune for.

At the end of a long day we’ve put Laura ashore on Gometra to collect an important skull from a stranded whale (previously identified as a very rare Cuvier’s Beaked Whale) and then landed on Staffa in perfect evening sunshine to enjoy Fingal’s cave and the view from the summit before anchoring at dusk in isolated Cragaig Bay, on the southwest coast of Ulva. This is otter-heaven and has the great distinction on a starlit night of being out of site of human habitation or manmade light, and the skipper’s playing reels and jigs on the pennywhistle.

We’ve just polished off a magnificent Risso’s (oops I mean Risotto), courtesy of Steven and several bottles of vino excellento, the conversation has ranged from extinct woodpeckers to female urinals (you don`t want to know, really!) via who knows what. So now I’m off to stargaze on deck, a quick nip of malt, and so to bed.

PS while I’ve written this the conversation has taken a serious turn for the worse.

Phil (HWDT volunteer)

Saturday 8th Sept ember - Day 4

2007-09-12T04:52:00.000-07:00

Location: Gott Bay, Tiree

Position: 56’ 30.7 N 006’ 48.0 W

Day how many? I think none of us really realise any more… we’re in real holiday mode here – days and dates have been forgotten for the rhythm of being on the water, on watch, looking for birds and beasts, the, off watch moving from tea breaks to meal time and washing up duty…

Today we saw a Minke Whale, a wonderful beast which puffed and blowed alongside us and graced us with 10 minutes of its company. Other than that, not much was sighted – some harbour porpoises and a seal or two. Laura also saw a 2^nd Minke whale from the crow’s nest where she spent most of the afternoon, but unfortunately it was not near enough for the rest of us to see.

We’ve anchored in Tiree for the evening, and the trip in from the Western side of Coll through the Gunna Sound was magnificent. There was a tremendous welcome from about 5 000 shags, which fish off the rocks on either side of the sound. (Level of humour on the boat “This is the place to come if you want a shag”)

Despite the fact that the day was pretty grey and we didn’t see much of the sun, many of us are quite red faced this evening, mainly due to the force 3-4 breeze. Best of all, we didn’t have even 5 minutes of rain!

A visit to Tiree CoOp store topped us up with our alcohol content for the next few days, in the form of wine, whisky and beer as well as more vital items such as sugar for our tea!

The cooking today must be complimented – in the early part of the day Mike played a blinder to supply is with very welcome mid-morning brownies and lunchtime mince & vegetable stew. This evening Phil made a wonderful chicken-in-red wine and pasta dish, and Stephen supplied a superb second course of Lanarkshire Blue Cheese (which of course we ate with Glenn’s famous oatcakes). Conversation revolved around the meanings of various nautical terms (meaning of bow or stern anyone?) and a long discussion on natural body care products. Hmm…

Still, we’re all still talking to each other, we’re all still laughing together, and the stories are getting more interesting and the jokes more daring as we get to know one another better. Now all we need is to find a method to see or hear these rugby matches. (France beaten by Argentina, now that’s one I’d like to have seen…)

Madeleine (HWDT volunteer)

Friday 7th September - Day 3

2007-09-12T04:51:00.001-07:00

Location: Tarbet Bay, Loch Nevis

Position: 56’ 58.4 N 005’ 38.2 W

After a night of dreamless sleep (thanks to Tobermory Distillery & industrial grade ear plugs) the day dawned early and some of our party were fully functioning and on operational whale watch by 7.00 a.m. One notable exception was Mike (aka Bonxie) who had reverted to student-mode, i.e. rising in mid-afternoon. The early start was prompted by the need to resolve a problem that our First Mate Matt had spent several hours on Thursday trying to fix. One of the two heads on board had broken down and this led to a lengthy discussion on Thursday evening that concluded with a decision to arrange for the collection of a new pump from Mallaig within the next two days.

A rather uneventful morning cetacean-wise was brightened by the delivery of steaming mugs of Mulligatawny soup produced by Matt (now promoted to Head Engineer). In the afternoon our survey leader Laura (no doubt stung by Mike’s almost unfair porcine comparison of the previous day) decided to spend some time in her own company (i.e. in the crow’s nest – a refuge I have also found the need to seek a number of times during this trip). This quest for solitude soon proved to be a masterstroke when Laura called a sighting of a distant group of dolphins. We were able to make a close approach to this group, some of whom were leaping clear of the water surface. The whole company enjoyed an extremely thrilling encounter with this obliging party of Risso’s Dolphins.

The rest of the afternoon produced a number of contacts with porpoises and seals and this was concluded by a visit to Mallaig to enable our Head Engineer to collect a new pump for the broken head. We then proceeded to our evening’s anchorage with hopes of making contact with a Humpback Whale that had apparently been sighted in the area. Whilst we saw little more than the odd porpoise on this last leg our day’s sailing it brought us to a beautiful anchorage where a small party went ashore whilst Christine was conjuring up our evening meal.

An excellent day was concluded by Christine’s magical cheese and potato pie followed by an inspired Banana Split produced by Mike. Now – where’s that second bottle of Malt?

Graham (HWDT volunteer)

Thursday 6th September - Day 2

2007-09-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

Location: Canna Harbour

Position: 57’ 03.3 N 006’ 29.7 W

Today was a good day (for me at least). I saw and learnt many things, which most of the other crew did not. When I was on bird observation, Laura was talking to me and saw a splash so I turned round and saw two massive orcas breaching high out of the water. No-one else apart from me and her saw them. HA! I also saw a basking shark, lots of porpoises and a beautiful little island that we were moored at one night. There have only really been two bad things about the trip so far, mainly sea sickness. Today I felt ridiculously ill because some of the swells were so big so I decided to take some hydrobromide to try to stop it. Needless to say, the tablets were crap and didn’t work, so I just had to line my stomach and get on with it. The other bad thing is the speed at which Graham, Phil, Glenn, Steve and I are plowing through the single malt, red wine and beer (doesn’t make for a happy start in the morning on a rocky boat!). But was it really likely to ever be a dry boat??? Don’t think so!

Madeline made a lovely tea as well, involving roast veg, taters and chicken and after that, much to the men’s delight, I got my Nuts magazine out and there were boobs galore (Laura seemed surprisingly interested as well, I think she’s got something to tell her boyfriend!). After that we indulged in another few wee drams which, truth be told, knocked us out and it was off to bed for everyone except me, as I couldn’t sleep so I went outside to star gaze. After around ten – fifteen minutes there was a small window in the clouds through which I could see a lot of stars. It was amazing to see what the lack of pollution does to the brightness of them. After that it was beddy bies, although it took me a while as the skippers snoring seemed to penetrate through my cabin door from the other side of the boat.

Mike (HWDT volunteer)

Wednesday 5th September - Day 1

2007-09-12T04:44:00.000-07:00

Location: Loch na droma bhuidhe, Sunart

Position: 56’ 39 N 005’ 56.0 W

Six volunteers (Graham, Stephen, Phil, Madeleine, Christine and Mike) joined Silurian on the evening of Tuesday 4^th Sept for a briefing ahead of our 7 day trip (and a very welcome supper prepared by Matt our first mate). After the formalities we visited the pub at the end of the jetty for a couple of beers (and Irish whiskey!) Our first morning was taken up with an introduction and presentation by Laura about the marine wildlife of the West Coast and an insight into the work of the Trust. We then got to work on a miserable rainy day accompanied by Simon and Andy, two photographers whose remit was to document the work of Silurian on behalf of the Nadair Trust, one of HWDT’s major sponsors. Activity was slow at the beginning then we were surrounded by a number of separate groups of harbour porpoise, with one group of about 10 individuals coming very close to the boat under sail. Simon and Andy made the most of a rainy day, both climbing the crow’s nest to get best vantage points. We learnt how to report the sightings and input them into the database – an altogether busy day taking in much new information. We headed to Loch Sunart to anchor close to Carna and Oronsay with the waft of a very exotic sausage dish prepared by Mike! Notable challenge of the day was Mike’s climb up to the crow’s nest despite a fear of heights. However, once up there it proved difficult to get him to come down again!

Christine (AKA Laura’s Mum and HWDT volunteer)

Sunday 2nd September, 2007

2007-09-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Date: Sunday 2^nd September, 2007

Anchorage: Tobermory

Position: 56°37.200 N 006°03.700 W

Distance Travelled: 35 NM

The last day of our trip, and we left our anchorage to survey down the coast of Coll. The weather was quite kind, as we headed out of the Sound of Mull and west. As we approached Coll, we got a call on the VHF from Sea Life Surveys, the local whale-watching organisation, that killer whales had been sighted in the area. More killer whales? We hardly dared believe it. But sure enough, as we approached the area, there they were! We soon realised they were the same animals as we’d seen earlier in the trip, the male with a distinctively wavy dorsal fin, the female significantly smaller than him. We had some amazing views of the animals as they surfaced around both our boat and the Sea Life Surveys vessel. It was extremely special. Full of the joys, we left the killer whales to their Sunday afternoon swim south towards the Treshnish islands, and headed home to Tobermory. After cleaning down the boat, we went out for a good meal and drinks (apologies to any folk we came across for our rowdiness…). What an amazing trip we’ve had!

31st August and 1st September 2007

2007-09-02T02:11:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday 1^st September, 2007

Anchorage: Loch Drombuie

Position: 56° 39’.000N 005° 56’.100W

Distance Travelled: 45 NM

So……after technical problems and indecisions (normal start to the day, then), we set off. Ed spent an inordinate amount of time washing the mud off his hands after hauling in the anchor chain. In fact, even now as we write, everyone seems to be sitting a certain distance from him, even though he’s on the comfiest bit of the bench. Trouble is, he’s also cooked our delicious tasty dinner…yikes…

Today we experienced the sea in its full power, spending quite a long time at the top of each wave...and a fair bit at the bottom too. All the volunteers passed the time merrily counting the number of times we dipped the bowsprit (was number 5 the best or number 7?). Amidst the hilarility and indignity of bouncing around the boat, Prateek spotted his first porpoise. Yay! Why don’t we celebrate with another bowsprit dip…or two? Through all the waves, Sharron and Sarah continued to conscientiously spot seabirds, their last shout as they were hit by a breaker, flew off their perches and landed on the deck being ‘GANNET!’

Meanwhile the skipper was slaving again, perfecting his chocolate brownie recipe in the gyrating galley.

The wild weather contributed to the stunning beauty of our journey down from Loch Slapin, through the Sound of Rum and past Muck. The continually changing weather – sun, clouds, mists, rain – and the play of the light on the waves and hills made for an atmospheric voyage.

Finally through the mist, we arrived at our lovely little anchorage in Loch Dromabuie. Ed and Amanda (with St Delia watching over them) cooked up a grand repast of mac.cheese, which was utterly demolished, along with the rest of the brownies. A fight almost broke out when the Skipper attempted to nick the last of Sharron’s wine. Such lightening reflexes have seldom been seen in a cobra. Be very afraid.

Sadly the Science Officer wasn’t quite so dextrous, demonstrating the expansion coefficient of stainless steel by getting her finger stuck in the saucepan handle. Fortunately she also displayed the lubricant qualities of washing up liquid, by managing to release herself, finger intact, but a bit low on dignity.

Oh, and Amanda says ‘hello mum!’

Date: Friday 31^th August, 2007

Anchorage: Loch Slapin, Isle of Skye

Position: 57° 12’.900N 006° 01’.900W

Distance Travelled: 31 NM

We travelled today down the Sound of Sleat, to survey the area between the Sleat Peninsula and the Strathaird Promontory on Skye. Lots of shelter here, which was just as well, as the weather continued to be windy, and the sea quite lumpy. Nothing, of course, that the volunteers couldn’t cope with. In fact, Science Officer Susie has realised her presence is now totally superfluous, and she can just sit back and smoke cigars while the volunteers get on with the job. Pass us another Hamlet, would you, love?

Although lots of porpoises on the hydrophone today, we didn’t see many of wee timorous beasties, on account of the choppy sea. But those we did spot were gratefully received. John the Skipper picked us a lovely anchorage up in Loch Slapin, and we celebrated with a round of chocolate brownies, a baking first for the Skip. We were impressed and he was chuffed.

We got up a decent appetite by a fine walk ashore up a boggy brae with midgy midges and a lovely view through a fair Scottish mist. Back ‘home’ to the boat, and those who hadn’t yet made it up the crow’s nest were encouraged up by John, watched meer-cat-like from the hatch by the rest of the crew. Ed judged his particular ‘chicken in a basket’ experience as ‘OK as long as he didn’t look down’.

Tea was brilliant! The fine haggis-neaps-tatties feast was thoroughly enhanced by John’s toasting of the haggis (but not, sadly, the vegetarian one…he refused. On principle. Burns, apparently, would have spun in his grave had he known…). Needless to say we all ate about 6 times too much and are currently lying around groaning.