Howling winds and dolphin fins for the twelth research expedition of 2022
OUR TWELFTH RESEARCH EXPEDITION OF 2022 LEFT TOBERMORY FOR A SEVEN-DAY SURVEY MONITORING THE SEA OF HEBRIDES ONBOARD SILURIAN - OUR RESEARCH VESSEL. WILD WEATHER RETURNED BUT OUR TEAM OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS POWERED THROUGH WITH A LOT OF LAUGHS AND CONTINUED TO COLLECT VITAL ACOUSTIC AND VISUAL DATA WITH SOME FANTASTIC SIGHTINGS. HERE HANNAH LIGHTLEY, SCIENCE OFFICER ON BOARD, RECALLS THE EXPEDITION…
DAY 1
The sun was shining in Tobermory as we were having breakfast much to the delight of the crew and volunteers. Science officer Hannah was very positive and enthusiastic about the trip ahead making everyone feel very excited and eager to get started. The morning included a presentation on survey efforts, detailing each role onboard Silurian and how we would be collecting data, followed by a safety briefing on deck.
Next, it was time to practice estimating distances and what to say when we encounter an animal, rubbish, or creels. As we were getting ready to set sail, thunder clouds rolled over Tobermory Bay and the rain began. Lucky enough we were kitted up for the weather in our bright red oilies so we were off!
Within the first hour, Marcell spotted a harbour porpoise which was our first sighting of the day. Soon after, four grey seals were spotted in quick succession. Then, a pod of common dolphins were seen travelling towards Silurian. The dolphins joined the boat and were travelling alongside for a wee while, and we even saw a calf! Everybody rushed to the mast to catch a glimpse and some even listened to their whistles through the hydrophone headphones – a truly immersive experience!
In the afternoon, the sun reappeared and a minke whale was spotted, and “WITH WHALE!” was called. The whole group headed towards the bow to search for the missing minke, to no avail. We waited around 10 minutes before slowly moving back towards the transect line we were originally on and we were treated to another pod of common dolphins.
The plan for anchorage changed due to the strong tidal currents, so Alan our skipper instead decided to anchor further along the Isle of Coll at Arnigour. At this point, we were no longer on effort, yet nobody in the group wanted to leave the deck in case of missing any sightings!
DAY 2
The day started with a “cha-cha-cha chart chat” followed by Alan giving us a chart recap of our journey yesterday, as well as our plans for the next few days based on the wind predictions. We then got kitted up and ready to begin our first full day of surveying, with monitoring boats and birds included in the mix.
Not even 30 minutes into our first watch and a harbour porpoise was spotted at the mast, which put us all in great spirits. Following this, we saw a bottling grey seal, and then the big spectacle… COMMON DOLPHINS BOW RIDING! We encountered this group several times during the morning with the dolphins choosing to bow ride each time, allowing everyone onboard to capture some great footage, pictures and of course memories - we could even hear them vocalising without the headphones!
As well as some amazing cetaceans, we saw hundreds of birds, the majority of which were kittiwakes, shags, and gannets. Sadly, we also recorded five dead seabirds suspected to have died from avian flu. Our spirits were lifted when we managed to get all three of Silurian’s sails up in the afternoon accompanied by bright sunshine and three more grey seals. Distant splashes of two unidentified animals were also spotted as we finished the day at Traig Gheal, a beautiful anchorage on the Ross of Mull.
DAY 3
At the customary ‘’cha- cha- cha chart chat’’ Alan explained that today’s route would be determined by the weather: ‘fresh’ northerly winds up to Force 6 were to be expected. Wanting to be ‘on effort’ for as long as possible, everyone took some sea-sickness medication and prepared for a ‘rollercoaster’ ride.
Once we had left the shelter of Mull, the wind did indeed pick up, and the sea state was not ideal for spotting cetaceans. Hannah teased us with the possibility of sighting John Coe and Aquarius, who had been seen the day before heading south off Mallaig. Spirits remained high, despite the ‘rollercoaster’ ride, and before long we spotted a harbour porpoise and shortly after an unmistakable minke just a few metres off the boat. We initially saw lots of Manx shearwaters riding the winds, although seabirds were scarcer for the rest of the day. We later saw another harbour porpoise and three grey seals.
The crew did a sterling job keeping everyone safely tethered and providing a constant supply of hot drinks and food, and Hannah very kindly covered below deck so that data loggers could stay on deck when it was a little rough. The meds must have worked well because no one was ill despite the tricky conditions.
We anchored in Loch Tarbet on the Isle of Jura, after a somewhat shorter survey day because of the bad weather. This gave us time for an hour ashore, exploring caves and walking to the top of a hill for some stunning views of Silurian anchored in the bay in the evening light. We also investigated some promising caves, which turned out to be wild goat hollows, and not full of pirate treasure, French Brandy or other contraband! Hannah and Caroline brought back a few tiny pets (ticks) and some hardy souls risked a sea dip off the back of the boat before dinner and were very glad of a hot drink afterwards.
DAY 4
A bottling grey seal was a welcome sight first thing this morning. Due to a few hours of survey effort lost yesterday due to bad weather, everyone was eager to get back to work. After a speedy breakfast and ‘cha-cha-chart chat,’ everyone was out on deck awaiting the survey to start after missing a few hours due to bad weather yesterday.
With the chance of spotting marine mammals ranging from moderate to poor throughout the day, everyone was on high alert looking for a distinctive fin or bottling head. A harbour porpoise was soon spotted through the crashing waves, as were a pod of common dolphins, much to Hajni’s surprise! The common dolphins continued to bow-ride for a while, much to everyone’s excitement in the choppy conditions.
Later, Hannah and Madison spotted a minke whale around 100m away from Silurian, but as Hannah and Caroline rushed to grab the cameras for Photo ID, it unfortunately lived up to its sneaky nature and disappeared into the sea. Everyone was still on the lookout for John Coe and Aquarius, with Caroline’s hot chocolate doing the rounds which brightened the spirits after another wet and wild day. As we were about to come ‘Off Effort’ and into the anchorage, two bottlenose dolphins were spotted by Sophie and Hannah on the mast and soon ‘WITH WHALE’ was shouted. We observed their behaviour, which was completely different to that of the common dolphins, whilst Hannah and Caroline tried to get photo ID shots to try and match with HWDT’s catalogue.
Once back on the track line and trying to approach anchorage in Bunessan, a group of five common dolphins were in a playful mood and began bow-riding. We continued to watch them beneath the waves and after nine hours of the survey Hannah called ‘OFF EFFORT!’. Not wanting to leave the deck, everyone sat around the bow, getting front-row seats to their antics. After a long day, we squeezed in a shore visit to the local pub ferried there and back by Sam, and even Madison who swore she’d never get on the tender, overcame her fear of the small dinghy to come along and see the bright lights of Bunessan bay.
DAY 5
Alan and Hannah discussed the worsening weather forecast (high winds and heavy seas) at breakfast which sadly scuppered our plans to head out west to the one and only Stanton Banks. Limited to heading north back towards Mull, we set off with hope in our hearts for an easier day weather-wise and were soon rewarded for our hard work with two pods of common dolphins coming together and joining Silurian. With dolphins all around we went back ‘on effort’ despite them still playfully following Silurian. In the common dolphin craziness, we also spotted minke travelling between the waves.
Despite the heavy seas and high winds, we battled on up the west coast of Mull, past Ardnamurchan Point, encountering more common dolphins and another minke whale (and two fulmars which Hannah got really excited about). The seas were very hairy as we approached tonight’s anchorage at Loch Scresort on Rum. Alan did a great job bringing us in in pretty “rugged” conditions and despite the tough sighting conditions three small pods of harbour porpoises were seen as we rolled and lurched our way into the loch.
DAY 6
Strong winds meant we remained at Rum for the morning. After a lie in listening to the gales around the boat, we had breakfast and geared up to go for a shore visit on Rum. On the island, we walked to Kinloch Castle and had a peak through the windows accompanied by an adorable labrador! Everyone got super excited to have a new friend follow us around, and we spent some time throwing sticks and pinecones for him to play with. Leaving him at the pier was a sad sight, and as we sadly left him, he soon forgot about us to go on his next adventure.
Arriving back at the boat we were then treated to brunch- a full English! This was by far the best second breakfast/lunch of the trip and really hyped everyone up for an afternoon of surveying. Due to a slight issue onboard and worsening weather, our plans had to change and instead we were to sail back to Tobermory with everyone excited at the thought of a hot, seven-minute shower.
The waves were high (2-2.5 metre swell!!) and the wind was harsh making the boat heel side to side soaking everyone with seawater. Spirits remained high and both crew and volunteers were still ready to go and eager to stay on effort. It was very harsh survey back to Tobermory and everyone did so well to still stay on effort and not be seasick. Despite the choppy conditions a grey seal and a harbour porpoise were spotted from the mast – RESULT!
DAY 7
On our final morning, we hid from the wild weather and surveyed up and down Loch Sunart. This narrow loch meant lots of course changes needed to be relayed down to the science station as well and many creels to be assessed. Everyone had a chance to be at the helm to enjoy the calmest conditions of the week. Sightings of three harbour porpoises, a grey seal and an unidentified seal sighting were recorded and after four hours of data collection, we headed back into Tobermory Bay for the final time.
The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning the boat ready for her next trip followed by an evening meal, a Twix prize-giving ceremony (much to Rob’s delight), poems from Alan and Caroline and a big boogie in the local pub to celebrate a fantastic week onboard Silurian.
Across the 7 days of wild weather, the group surveyed 273nm miles of the Hebrides encountering 6 different species of marine mammals with 73 separate sightings.
A big thank you to volunteers Madison, Amandine, Sophie, Hajni, Marcell and Rob as well as crew Alan, Sam, Hannah and Caroline. Your incredible efforts during a tricky weather week have helped contribute towards aiding the monitoring and protection of marine mammals within the Hebrides.
Showing the track line of the area surveyed and sightings during HWDT 12.
THANKS ALSO TO NATURESCOT FOR SUPPORTING THE DATA COLLECTION ON BOARD SILURIAN.