Wind and rain didn't dampen spirits during our second teen expedition

The second of our teen trips this year experienced some challenging conditions. However, off Scotland’s west coast there are many sounds (channels of water) and sea lochs to hide from the worst of the weather. During this expedition, we managed to survey some local sea lochs for the first time this ‘summer’ field season. Below the teens share their experiences.

DAY 1:

"And then I saw her face" sounded throughout the boat to announce that breakfast was ready. The rain was absolutely chucking it down and only 3 people decided to venture outside. Ava got very wet. We then had an overview of the where we will be going over the course of the week and trying our best to avoid the worst of the weather that seemed to have befallen us.

We also had a try at spotting Where's Wally to practice our spotting skills before putting them to the test out at sea. Ava and Marcus had to sit out for the last 2 pictures as they were too good at finding Wally.

Luckily there was a break in the weather, which meant that we had time to do an outdoor safety brief and shouting practice. We then got to set out on the water at around lunchtime, but not until we had pancakes and scones.

Many creels were seen as we made our way out of the Sound of Mull towards Coll, giving us a chance to practice our distances. It wasn’t long before we got our first, but fleeting sighting, of what we believe were 2 bottlenose dolphins coming out the water and under the boat, before disappearing into the depths. We were then welcomed by a pod of less elusive common dolphins, who swam and leaped just out of Silurian's reach, as though taunting the crew.

Another common dolphin pod was sighted before we made our return to shore, this time riding the bow of the boat for all to see. The way back was uneventful, save from a sudden overload of creels, overwhelming the data collecting station!

Overall a great introductory trip out, that has shaken the sea sickness out of everyone.

DAY 2

The ‘best day of my life’ song played as we woke up to be what was not the best day of our lives onboard Silurian. The morning started off with unseasonably lovely weather; the sun shone down upon us, marking the serene water with a golden shimmer. We got into our positions on deck, with the relay now recording bird species and boat types. However, the weather took a turn for the worse; the wind picked up, causing the waves to crash into the boat, with water cascading onto the bow, drenching anyone looking from the mast. Then the rain came, a torrential downpour blanketed the sky with a grey mist.

Fortunately a couple of porpoises were spotted by the group, bringing the bright weather and calm sea with them. After reaching Loch Spelve on the Isle of Mull, a majestic sea eagle was spotted, soaring high above us. Putting an end to what was pretty good day.

Once anchored, we celebrated our results day, with some delicious chocolate brownie, before some of us decided to stretch our legs and check out the local area. Walking along the loch, we came across a small herd of deer, and Trixie saw her first Highland Cow! (though it just looked like a brown blob far in the distance).

DAY 3

As we wake up to the sound of ‘under the sea’ by the little mermaid after a long night of competitive dobble and exploding kittens, luckily the sound of water we could hear was not us under the sea with a mermaid but instead a down pour of rain. As we get into our positions the wind threw us about like an empty tracksuit, while the rain gave us a lovely cold shower. After a couple of rolls of eggs and sausages we were well on our way heading north towards Loch Eil, near Fort William.

A lonely puffin rocked up with their winter beak on full display which was a fun surprise for the crew that lifted our cold and wet spirits! We were also fortunate enough to spot 2 razorbills and a few storm petrels, while on our travels we also spotted 3 seals that decided to pop their heads and say hello.

Today was the first day (of hopefully many) that none of the team were sea sick which felt amazing! As we pass through Fort William, through Loch Linnhe we rock up to our destination for the day which was Loch Eil! Which finished a very interesting day!

DAY 4

"Happy Birthday to ya" rang out through the boat as our wake up call for the day, after a long night of competitive dobble, uno and pass the pigs. Today was Markus's birthday which came as a good luck charm later on in the day.

The day was fairly dry and the wind was less strong than of previous days on duty. Marcus was first to climb the mast to the crows nest, leading the way for the rest of us to follow suit throughout the day. There were 2 seals spotted on the way out of Loch Eil into Loch Linnhe. The seals would also be a good omen as to what was to come.

Second breakfast was a lovely roll with an assortment of warm fillings to keep ourselves warm. One porpoise was spotted on the way through Loch Linnhe. The day was fairly dry with small waves which was a change from other days which lifted our spirits and held us in high hopes. Two porpoises showed up to the back of the boat which lifted our spirits even more and kept us on the look out for others.

Lunch was a soup with a roll. Trixie and Aileen were the next two to scale the mast. Both Ava, Marcus and Katy were allowed to take control of the boat for short periods of time. Our spirits were high as we sailed through until the heavens opened with rain. This was of sorts unexpected as we were hoping for a day without rain. This also may have been an omen to not allow Ava and Katy to climb the mast. Ava listened, Katy did not. Katy did spot a porpoise before we got to our anchorage.

Once we had stopped, people were excited to take a dip into the water and they tried to peer pressure Conall into doing it, but he held firm and stayed warm and dry on the boat. Meanwhile Trixie, Caren, Markus, Aileen and Brian took a dip in the freezing cold water. The birthday boy, Markus's cake was brought out and it was cut and handed out to everyone. It was a delicious chocolate cake made by Caren.

The evening fun continued as we were soon having a plankton party! With both microscopes on the tables, pipettes and pots, we each had a turn at collecting up some plankton and searching for it under the microscopes, which proved tricky when some of the plankton kept darting away out of view each time we spotted them, but we managed to use the book to identify some of the plankton we saw.

DAY 5

Our final day saw us travelling back up the Sound of Mull as we headed back to Tobermory. Once back at the harbour, we had a delicious lunch before getting into teams to give Silurian a deep clean ready for the next survey, before sitting down for our final debrief to reflect on all we’d done during the week.

We explored Tobermory, some of us taking the time to walk to the lighthouse, working up an appetite for our final dinner together aboard, Silurian. To round of a fun filled week, what better way than more games! Dobble, Exploding Kittens, Uno and a new games for us, Spoons, was enjoyed by the whole crew.

The crew would like to thank the dedicated teens, Trixie, Katy, Ava, Aileen, Markus and Conall, for all their hard work. We would also like to thank our dedicated crew, Brian, Zoë and Caren for giving the teens such an incredible experience.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the teen researchers on this survey, we travelled almost 360km, recording 5 species and over 27 hours of acoustic data recordings.

If you are 16 or 17 years old and are feeling inspired to spend a week at sea, working alongside scientists as marine mammal field biologists, why not join our Teen Research Expedition next year?