well Gurnard, you've done it again, fantastic shots of the marvellous creatures, an amazing adventure in the smallest of rigs, in what must be amongst the best scenery to be found anywhere, and just 3 weeks after a bit of abdominal surgery, if that doesn't deserve a gold star I don't know what does, top man Gurnard
__________________ Member of S.A.B.S. (Wirral Division)
Thanks again for the comments guys..its appreciated.
Yup.. it was a long dark winter for me Chris ..I know you have experience of that too ..but thoughts of the spring kept me going through the painful parts .. knowing there is always calm after a storm.
My daughters sometime nag me for my lone adventures on the hills and the sea.. telling me I could die.
I just smile and say .. “never feel sorry for me if you here I passed away by falling from a cliff or drowning at sea .. but do feel sorry for me if I pass away in a care home.”
We all have to die some day... but some ways are better than others
So I have no fear of 4 meter long dolphins weighing 650Kg when sitting in a small 9ft boat.. I cant think of a better way of going if one did accidently squished me if it misjudged its flight path.
I have been in larger boats with dolphins around..but its not nearly as thilling an experience. But that again.. is just the way my mind works.
that's a stunning photo, I'd be having that framed mate yeah, know where you're coming from, I thought many times about sitting with my feet in the warm sand at Pilots Cove looking across Caernarfon Bay towards Snowdonia, funny where your mind wanders while you lying in a hospital bed, can't beat good health and a good family, a good boat helps too keep the stories coming mate, look forward to them
__________________ Member of S.A.B.S. (Wirral Division)
Thanks again for the comments guys..its appreciated.
Yup.. it was a long dark winter for me Chris ..I know you have experience of that too ..but thoughts of the spring kept me going through the painful parts .. knowing there is always calm after a storm.
My daughters sometime nag me for my lone adventures on the hills and the sea.. telling me I could die.
I just smile and say .. “never feel sorry for me if you here I passed away by falling from a cliff or drowning at sea .. but do feel sorry for me if I pass away in a care home.”
We all have to die some day... but some ways are better than others
So I have no fear of 4 meter long dolphins weighing 650Kg when sitting in a small 9ft boat.. I cant think of a better way of going if one did accidently squished me if it misjudged its flight path.
I have been in larger boats with dolphins around..but its not nearly as thilling an experience. But that again.. is just the way my mind works.
This photo was taken by my brother...
if it bothers them that much tell them to buy you a plb
Many thanks again guys for the kind comments ..and I must admit..I really liked the adventure too... so give it +10
It will be hard to follow but Im sure I will have a summer full of fun on the water.
It wasn’t all dolphins or aborted attempts to round Ardnamurchan point .. I spent over 20 hours on the water over the three days.. visiting lovely sandy beaches ..exploring sea lochs ..clambering castles ..and watching the sun set.
Hopefully this thread will inspire you to start the new season .. look what you are missing if it doesn’t.
Crystal clear water
Beautiful beaches
Stunning Scenery
Taking time to enjoy the shallows in a small boat.
Clambering up castles
Sheltered sea lochs
And stunning sunsets... all on Ł20 worth of fuel too...but that doesn’t include the beer bill .
Yup..Arisaig area is pure paradise..thanks again to all who read my witterings
Apologies for linking to another forum but he is not a member of this one. If its against Forum rules..feel free to delete.
You'll get no objections here, the other site is not running commercially, and the internet is a big place - its good to see they are still managing the effort involved in maintaining it.
I don’t normally cross link.. but my brother had his professional DSLR outfit with him ..and there is a big difference in quality compared to my compact snap and shoot..so its worth a look.
I sure you are all bored of the dolphins now ..as even in real life.. I eventually got bored and went a different direction the next day..simply because.. as soon as they spied the little grey Guppy.. they were bounding over wanting to play again.
I guess they don’t read the Marine code ..which states not to approach a Guppy less that 50 yards..let it come to you
As an update to this thread.. I have found the wee grey F-Rib is definitely a dolphin magnet.
This year they have been like busses.. none come for ages then they all arrive at once. I have had four very close encounters with either the bigger bottle nose variety and the slightly smaller common dolphin this year.
It is always a thrill seeing them from a small boat.. they do slap the bottom ..as can clearly be seen (and heard) in this short video of my last encounter with the common variety. They grow up to 2.5 meters long and my boat is 2.75m.
I suspect this hunting pack thought I was suitable seafood ? The sea was thick with them and I have no idea how many but they were breaking the surface all around the boat for perhaps 50 yards or more. They escorted me for around 10 minutes until I stopped the boat ..they got bored .. then left me in peace.
If only the mackerel were as plentiful as the dolphins in the far north west this year.
Yup ..I agree Willk.. definitely hunting .. Im Billy No-Mates so courting wasn’t on their mind.
You were also correct .. dolphins are just flappers once you suss out how to attract them. I owe that to you as in a previous reply you mentioned getting a big displacement wake going..and sure enough .. over they come.
Among my best recent sealife sightings where I took photos .. were Beluga Whales and a huge Whale Shark. Far better than them common flappers
However I was standing on a huge floor and not in a wee boat .. in the biggest aquarium in the world .. Atlanta... Georgia.
breezy
