The third survey of the year circumnavigates the Isle of Skye

our third research expedition of 2023 left tobermory for a seven-day survey monitoring the waters off the west coast of scotland on board silurian - our research vessel. In lovely conditions, the team circumnavigated the isle of skye encountering five species of cetacean. the volunteer team on board recount their expedition…

DAY 1

After meeting at the top of the pontoons, we joined Silurian, met the team and unpacked in to our cabins. We moved to the mooring and learned about the species we hoped to record on our survey; minke whales, common dolphins and killer whales! We shared a delicious curry and headed to bed, excited for the first day of sailing.

DAY 2

We started the day with training before we left Tobermory, making sure everyone understood the survey protocols and how to move safely around the boat. We set off past Ardnamurchan and the gorgeous weather stuck with us all day. As we settled into our various roles on board, we continued on round Ardnamurchan, spotting the iconic lighthouse as we headed further out. Despite the stunning weather, the cetaceans were scarce until we got closer to the Small Isles. As we approached Eigg where we were anchoring for the night, we had an incredible minke sighting coupled with a large group of 7+ harbour porpoises as the Minke dove down. We stayed 'with whale' for a short time before anchoring in the stunning Lag Bay for the evening, complete with picturesque scenes and almost mirror calm water! A great start to our trip!

DAY 3

After enjoying our breakfast whilst anchored in gorgeous Eigg, we set of for a long day of sailing. We soon got to use our newly learned bird and boat ID as we settled into the rota for the day. Spirits remained high with weather and sea conditions on our side, despite being slightly more overcast than yesterday. With second breakfast to fill us up, we continued on our journey up Skye. The birds were out in force today, with many more sighted than yesterday. We had guillemots, Manx shearwater, gulls, razorbills, and even some puffins bobbing around on the water. Shortly before lunch we finally heard that magical word - SIGHTING - as a pair of common dolphins came over to play along the bow. We stayed 'with whale' long enough for every to catch a glimpse before the dolphins swam away and we went back on effort. The afternoon saw even more birds and additional sightings of a seal and multiple harbour porpoise. As dinner was being prepared, we arrived at our anchorage in Loch Bay to the north of Skye, ready to settle for the night.

DAY 4
We could call today "puffin day" -- we saw hundreds -- but we also counted arctic skuas, and several fulmars as well as lots of other auks. The weather today had it all...glorious sunshine, crazy wind and plenty of clouds. For one happy moment, we had all three sails up, and were almost able to turn the engine off and sail unassisted, but in the end we couldn't keep the right speed for the survey. It was also a good day for delicious food --risotto in mugs while we worked, and our multi-talented science lead, Jenny Hampson, managed to bake a delicious lemon drizzle cake on the boat while also inputting environmental and acoustic data from the day's survey effort.

We worked hard today and covered 42 miles, sailing eastwards to go around the Cleat Islands before heading down the east coast of Skye. But it wasn't all hard work - some of us were treated to a trip over to Rona in the inflatable dinghy courtesy of Bruce Crawford, our First Mate, and there was a short pre-dinner boogie,  with games around the table afterwards.

DAY 5

Today began bright, early and very windy! We were quickly blown awake by a stiff breeze and plenty of sea spray. Although sightings were slim apart from a couple of bottling seals, the scenery made up for it. After a tight squeeze under The Skye Bridge, we sailed through the swirling green waters of Kyle Rhea and in to the Sound of Sleat where the sea state picled up significantly. We scanned for fins amongst the large waves without any sightings, but were rewarded with a swim around the boat and a delicious haggis dinner at our anchorage on the Rue Peninsula, near Arisaig.

DAY 6

Our final day of surveying and the rain finally caught us. We travelled south from Arisaig, past the Eigg and our first anchorage. There were lots of feedin birds, including diving gannets, and to Jenny’s delight, a storm petrel!

As we rounded Ardnamurchan Point there were lots of manx sheerwaters… and finally a minke whale! And another minke whale! We went with whale, but weren’t able to get any photographs of them as they were covering a lot of ground. Katie then spotted two leaping dolphins in the distance.

Once the crew brought us back in to Tobermory, we gave Silurian a good clean and shared happy memories of the past week.

Across 7 days, the group surveyed 346 km of the Hebridean waters encountering 5 different species of marine mammals and recording over 31 hours of acoustic recordings.

A big thank you to volunteers Katie, Rhiannon, Jan, Elizabeth, Sue and Beverly. Your incredible efforts have helped contribute towards the monitoring and protection of marine mammals within the Hebrides.

THANKS ALSO TO NATURESCOT FOR SUPPORTING THE DATA COLLECTION ON BOARD SILURIAN.