Tales from the Trail: Sailing the Trail
Join us for our weekly blog as we share experiences from sites along the Hebridean Whale Trail - this week we take a journey down memory lane, as we sail out of Arisaig with Ronnie and encounter wondrous creatures amongst the waves.
My life has mostly been spent by, or on the sea but my first experience of cetaceans came when around 60 Bottlenose Dolphins came to play just outside my house on the Firth of Forth. I was lucky enough to see them many times on the east coast, sometimes at very close quarters from my 12 foot rowing boat.
© Ronnie Mackie
My luck got even better when I was lucky enough to win a week on a Basking Shark research boat skippered by the very knowledgeable Colin Speedie. This introduced me to sailing on the west coast. Inevitably, spending up to 14 hours a day trying to spot Basking Sharks meant that we encountered lots of cetaceans along the way. I was lucky enough to be invited back for the following 12 years.
© Ronnie Mackie
Our 'usual' trip was up the west coast of Skye, past Rum and Canna, and out to South Uist. We would then head south, sometimes as far as Barra Head, before turning east again to Coll. We were passing some of the best hotspots on the Hebridean Whale Trail so there was no shortage of whale and dolphin action. Risso's, Common, Bottlenose, White-sided and White-beaked Dolphins were all spotted along with regular Harbour Porpoise sightings. Minke Whale and Orca were seen and, within 20 mins of leaving Mallaig on my first trip, I was lucky enough to see a lunge-feeding Humpback Whale.
© Ronnie Mackie
Shortly after my first trip I had a 'work' trip on a converted Brixham trawler which took us past Seil Island as far up as Eigg. A very calm week meant that we were seeing Minke Whale and harbour Porpoise in every direction that we looked. The day after I got home I went out and bought a small sailing boat and the following year moved it to Arisaig. That has been my 'cetacean base' for the last 15 years.
© Ronnie Mackie
Sailing out of Arisaig, around the Small Isles of Rum, Muck and Canna, and down to Coll has been beneficial in the search for whales and dolphins and Whale Track has made it much easier for us to record our sightings. Staying in small anchorages or on island moorings has allowed quick access to the most prolific waters and has helped to maintain my enthusiasm through some rough times at sea.
© Ronnie Mackie
This summer was brightened up by a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins hanging in the waves alongside of my small boat just off Kilchoan. It eased the previous day's disappointment when I found out that John Coe must have swum past heading north as I travelled south past Ardnamurchan Lighthouse … I was looking in the wrong direction! I managed a beautiful day watching from The Pier on Eigg but for me, sailing around the Hebridean Whale Trail, scanning the sea and hoping for fresh encounters is something that has excited me for the last 20 years and I hope to go on doing this for years to come.
Ronnie Mackie
Ronnie whale watching from the Pier on Eigg this summer. © Craig Mackie