Silurian Archives

Silurian is HWDTs research and education vessel.

Most weeks April through October she is either monitoring the waters of the west coast of Scotland for whales, dolphins, and porpoises, or serving as a floating classroom for one of the many Argyll island primary and secondary schools.

Read the log below to find out what Silurian and her crew have been up to each week and all about the whales, dolphins and porpoises they spot!  To find out about the latest marine life sightings spotted elsewhere, click here.

If you would like to send the crew an e-mail with your questions click here.

Click here to view the Silurian Log archive.

Anchorage: Tobermory Harbour
Position: 56˚N 37.192N, 006°03.941’W
Distance travelled: 34.5NM

The birds ruled the waves on our final day of adventuring around the Hebrides; puffins, guillemots and razorbills all gathered in numbers on our passage from Canna back to Mull. The biggest flock of the day though were the shearwaters; two hours or so from the harbour at Tobermory, the seas suddenly turned mottled brown and white as 500 or so of the elegant birds rode the waves close to their nesting ground on Rum. With calmer weather guiding us through, we were able to resume ordinary duties, which included regular stints on the hydrophone; allowing us to hear a series of common dolphin whistles in addition to the usual cacophony of snapping shrimp. In spite of the sadness of returning to Tobermory, the clouds parted and the sun welcomed us back to port and the crushing inevitability of cleaning Silurian top to tail. With Johnson and Theresa scrubbing the deck and Andy, Hazel, Alison and Dan ensuring below deck was spick and span, a daunting job was soon behind us. The Arms provided a filling well earnt meal with a drink to wash down some wonderful reminiscing of days gone by...

Total distance travelled over whole trip: 204.4 nautical miles
Strongest wind: Force 6

From the crew: "thankyou all on board...what a wonderful bunch."

# posted by HWDT @ 4:04 PM

Anchorage: Isle of Canna
Position: 57°0 4.250N 006°27.951’W
Distance travelled: 39.2NM

Today was a day of minor glimpses, high seas and botanical rambling. Setting sail from Vatersay, yesterday’s calm waters now brooding and unsettled, we charted a course across the Sea of the Hebrides to Canna. With the usual spotting and recording duties suspended because of the weather, the team passed the wave-riding hours with a series of intellectual discussions (e.g. “What superhero would you be and why?”) as well as some hearty group renditions of “The Bare Necessities” and (of course) “Under the Sea”. Helped along the final stretch by a brief common dolphin encounter and a minke sighting, we arrived in Canna harbour by late afternoon and headed ashore to spend the evening among the wildflowers of Sanday, taking in a 1,300 year old Celtic cross as well as the eerie ruined prison of Coroghon Castle. With a final minke sighting to the west, we headed back to Silurian for an indulgent, steaming pot of sausage casserole. Went to bed with tired feet and satisfied tummies.

# posted by HWDT @ 3:57 PM

Anchorage: Vatersay
Position: 56°55.469’N 007°31.079
Distance travelled: 48.4NM

We all woke up to sunny skies in Loch Skiport and we set off in calm seas and high spirits. Heading out across the near-glassy surface of the Minch, we spent the morning scanning the horizon and taking the first tentative scrambles up to the crows nest. Hazel was the first to climb up and was lucky enough to be up at a great vantage point for our first sighting; three white-beaked dolphins just off the starboard side, the first of the season, spotted by Alison. Less inquisitive than their common cousins, the dolphins soon gave us the slip. Theresa was next to scale the rigging and the white-beaks were spotted once again. After another couple of hours of glorious weather and quiet seas, Johnson was in the crows nest when Hazel spotted the next sighting; a confirmed minke whale. We waited patiently for it to appear again and another individual soon surfaced 150m away from the boat giving us a great view of its back and dorsal fin. Alison was next into the crows nest, putting us all to shame, as she climbed it effortlessly. We soon anchored in the beautiful Vatersay- leaving Dan stranded up the crows nest- with white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Conquering our initial fears (both of the water temperature and Dan’s violently coloured swimming trunks), we braved the Atlantic facing side of the island for a bracing, invigorating dip. Feeling the sand between our toes we all hurled ourselves into the freezing water, the loudest of the girlish screams coming from the unlikely source of Johnson. We soon warmed up and enjoyed the perfect waters and went for a swim. We then warmed up back on board and enjoyed a delicious cottage pie courtesy of Dan. Later ensued a hilarious game of articulate with some worrying answers from Alison.

# posted by HWDT @ 3:54 PM

Anchorage: Loch Skipport, South Uist
Position: 57°19.50’N 007°15.43’W
Distance travelled: 46.8NM

Waking up refreshed after a tough day of rough seas yesterday, this morning was a pleasant surprise, with the sun shining and the seas fairly calm. Despite an initial bearing towards Skye, the fair weather and ideal sighting conditions allowed for a change of course, heading westward across the Little Minch towards South Uist and the Outer Hebrides. Optimistic about sightings, the crew and volunteers were rewarded early on with a group of boisterous, bow-riding common dolphins. After ensuring mast volunteer Dan had regained his footing, lost in excitement, the team gathered eagerly on the bow, wildly snapping with their cameras, as the dolphins obliged with elaborate shows of leaping across the waves and diving underneath the boat. After 25 minutes, they became bored with our boat and left us to continue on towards South Uist. Later on, as the seas became choppier and the swell grew, keen cetacean spotter Andy – being continually doused in spray, his face increasingly buried beneath a layer of salt – broke the deadlock and spied a second, larger group of common dolphins. This time, nine dolphins - including two calves - decided to bow ride and swim with the waves. At 5pm, after two visual sightings of common dolphins, an additional two acoustic detections of common dolphins and 13 acoustic detections of harbour porpoise we anchored in Loch Skipport where we got to go ashore and explore the island.

# posted by HWDT @ 3:51 PM