The 2010 Season has started! After some stormy days during the delivery trip from the canal (Corpac) to home port Tobermory (many thanks for the help Susie and Lewis!!), the Silurian set sail with students from the Marine Mammals MRes from the University of St Andrews. Every few days, a new group of students came onboard for an introduction in onboard fieldwork with visual surveys and acoustics. Each group had a variety of weather conditions and affiliated sea conditions, ranging from calm flat areas to very windy sailing situations. First porpoises, seals, sea eagles and otters were reported (especially in Loch Sunart), and we were able to visit some astonishing anchorages (e.g. Loch Moidart and in particular Loch Scavaig on the foot of the cuillins of Skye!). As during most surveys (if not all....), we had more acoustic porpoise detections than visual sightings, but it was good to see them again after hardly spending any time at sea during the winter. Looking forward to see the next group again in 2011!

Nienke