Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
 
Old 24 June 2009, 11:18   #1
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Iver, Bucks, UK
Boat name: Prime Rib II
Make: Humber Ocean Pro
Length: 6m +
Engine: Mercruiser 1.7 diese
MMSI: 235086032
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 443
Dolphins in the Channel

Thought this might interest.....

A friend and I had a couple of days off on Monday & Tuesday this week and the weather looked good….. so we decided on an overnight trip to Alderney.

On the way out, once we got away from the Needles, most of the trip was millpond calm. Half way across, (almost exactly) we noticed some fins about 300 – 400 yards on our starboard side. I immediately put the engine into tick over and scrabbled for my camera. By the time I found it the ‘fins’ were heading straight over to us. A pod of about ten dolphins, (if someone wants to correct me and say porpoises, I apologise – but they were all called flipper).

They circled us, peering up at us for 2 or 3 minutes before getting bored and leaving. A great sight! And yes, they definitely came to us not the other way round!

Off then to Alderney for a great visit. (Thoroughly recommend the Town House B&B in Alderney by the way – good and very reasonable price).

We set off back after lunch the next day with winds increasing to 15 knots, getting less as we headed back to the Needles, 60 N Miles north east. A little bumpier ride but no real problem. A great midweek weekend!

Mike C
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	D1.jpg
Views:	277
Size:	176.9 KB
ID:	43507   Click image for larger version

Name:	D2.jpg
Views:	308
Size:	234.0 KB
ID:	43508   Click image for larger version

Name:	D3.jpg
Views:	274
Size:	188.0 KB
ID:	43509   Click image for larger version

Name:	D4.jpg
Views:	231
Size:	196.2 KB
ID:	43510   Click image for larger version

Name:	D5.jpg
Views:	318
Size:	202.1 KB
ID:	43511  

__________________
Mike C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24 June 2009, 14:09   #2
Member
 
Country: UK - Wales
Town: swansea
Boat name: Too Blue
Make: BLANK
Length: 8m +
Engine: Suzuki DT225
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 12,791
Great shots - they were probably bored because they wanted a chase - they just love to play in the bow wave.
__________________
codprawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24 June 2009, 14:48   #3
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Poole
Length: no boat
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 673
There was a pod of 8-10 outside Poole Harbour just over a week ago, maybe the same lot. Went out on my canoe for a look but couldn't find them.

Maybe I should have gone more offshore!

Mark
__________________
MarkWildey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24 June 2009, 20:57   #4
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Iver, Bucks, UK
Boat name: Prime Rib II
Make: Humber Ocean Pro
Length: 6m +
Engine: Mercruiser 1.7 diese
MMSI: 235086032
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 443
Codprawn.... Thanks for the comments. Yes, they may well have followed us if I hadn't stopped.... but they were certainly inquisitive! I wish I had had a mask and snorkel with me!

Mark…. You would have had a long paddle! You will note the sea was a little calmer than the last time you and I tried to cross together with Jono a few years back!

Mike C
__________________
Mike C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25 June 2009, 16:17   #5
Member
 
martini's Avatar
 
Country: UK - Channel Islands
Town: jersey
Boat name: Martini II
Make: Arctic 28/FC470
Length: 8m +
Engine: twin 225Opti/50hp 2t
MMSI: 235067688
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,030
Plenty around Channel Island waters at the moment, spotted 8-10 in amongst the rocks at Les Minquiers and a few on Jerseys south coast in the last couple of weeks.
__________________
martini is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01 July 2009, 17:33   #6
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Iver, Bucks, UK
Boat name: Prime Rib II
Make: Humber Ocean Pro
Length: 6m +
Engine: Mercruiser 1.7 diese
MMSI: 235086032
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 443
For those keen to know, a nice lady called Gemma at the Seawatch Foundation ( http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/ )has identified the dolphins we saw.

They are the common Short Beaked Dolphin.

So, not porpoises!

Mike C
__________________
Mike C is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 06:47.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.