Mull Adventure Blog - Part 6
And so it has been, dear reader that the days and weeks continued. New experiences were had and new lessons learnt every day but an old routine of sorts has come to pass and it makes the entire experience feel utterly fantastic. Days on the boat have been fun, days in the office a laugh and on the occasional days off I have had a chance to catch my breath, sit back and admire where I am and what I’m doing.
Unfortunately, part of this routine appears to involve a mistake I am commonly making (among many others) over dolphin and porpoise fins. Many of our best beloved passenger’s mistake porpoise sightings for dolphins and so if people say they’ve seen a dolphin I always assume it’s a porpoise. Many of my avid readers may well remember the same mistake being made on the trip that Andrea and Helen joined me on. Dear reader I did it again! Bottlenose dolphins popped up to say hello this time, in a most unexpected circumstance. They even surprised Popz!
Events in the office have sometimes taken me by surprise also. For example I was completely unprepared for the moment when, happily (or has happy as one can be completing such a task) I was logging feedback form information into the database when along came a couple of passengers we’d had on board who came from none other than SOUTHWELL! As I inputted the address, I kid you not; I actually shed a few tears! Matters were not helped by a song with distinct memories of university life starting to play over the stereo and I shed a few more. It hit me then (as it repeatedly does many times a day) that this was not just another summer with university waiting for me to return to. This is me, for the rest of my life. Indeed a scary thought to be thinking in the middle of a visitors centre full of tourists in the middle of the morning time! However, the moment passed and I carried on, plagued for the rest of the day by the echoes of the past three years of my life.
Back on the boat and trips have been good (as they always are of course!) When it comes to SLS, spirits are never dampened by mere bad weather, especially when extra high fives between the crew occur constantly over good sightings and jokes about the link between the mysterious missing bog brush and Ewan’s hair come into play! I assure you we are all professionals but some serious fun is had on that boat! I’m even driving Greenie although I still can’t quite remember how to start her up properly. In the office as well I’m finding that I KNOW things now! I can answer the phone confidently and enjoy the challenges that are often brought in with the tourists, of course with a smile on my slightly salty and wind burnt face!
And so we have arrived at the day of the Coll Cricket Charter where the trip we had was not for our best beloved holidaymakers but for a local cricket team situated on the Isle of Coll who were coming over to play Mull in a friendly tournament. Now for those of you who may not know, Coll is a small Island with a population of around 220 people and, as I was to find out, a far larger population of the infamous and dreaded Scottish Midgie! However I get ahead of myself, as before we reached Coll we had to get there to pick up our cricket players. This involved Ruth, Popz and myself all waking up at an obscenely early hour to take Sula Beag out to Coll. As the dawn broke over my caravan I groaned and cursed the idea of waking up (as I do most mornings!) and then scrambled out of bed and off to Tobermory then away we went to Coll. The morning skies arranged themselves in front of my eyes as we headed up the Sound and I found myself admiring what a glorious way it was to wake up in the morning! This being said I had already achieved the somewhat irksome task of waking and therefore was in a much better state of mind to enjoy the morning as it was!
We arrived on Coll, passing many a sleepy Atlantic Grey Seal among the rocks on the shoreline and loaded up with bats, balls, cucumber sandwiches and the players themselves. These players turned out to be rather interesting characters...”jolly good chaps” you might say! Whilst the loading was in process all of us were being viciously attacked by vast hoards of hungry midgies and we were all grateful that they were not this bad on Mull itself. And so we headed back to Mull, keeping our passengers topped up with tea and coffee and trying to avoid being hit by their practice swings!
Once back on Mull I found myself with a few hours to spare as I wasn’t needed until we had to take the cricketers back to Coll after their match. Being a beautifully glorious day I decided to go along the coastal walk that heads towards Rubha Nan Gall lighthouse and look out for porpoise over the Sound of Mull. This I did, becoming invariably muddy in the process and, although I didn’t spot any porpoise I had a lovely few hours up there. Meanwhile Ewan had volunteered to play for the team and helped lead them to victory!
The time came for the Cricketers to be returned home, jovial and triumphant and clambering aboard the boat laden with celebratory whisky and the coveted cricket trophy! A few too many “wee drams” (which were not so wee) later we were once again back on Coll and turning round for the last time to head towards Mull. Popz let Ruth be our skipper for most of the journey and we sat and enjoyed the evening, heading towards the darkening skies and admiring the spectacular scenery and light that the Hebrides has to offer. We were joined by a few pretty juvenile Kittiwakes and the occasional gannet who joined me in watching the clouds shift into ever changeable shapes (many resembling elephants!) I got to sit on the bow, listening to the waves whispering secrets to each other whilst the water rushed towards and beneath me. The sky showed me every imaginable shade of blue and grey it had to offer and I had never felt more at peace with the world. It was a stunningly calm evening and one that will stay with me for a long time.
Eventually the surrounding islands disappeared into the darkness and Ruth, Popz and I gathered in the wheelhouse, following the blinking lighthouses back into Tobermory. The day had been long and varied and different but as I drove back to the caravan my tired head could still recall that scene of beauty, one that could not be captured in an image, no matter how skilled the photographer and one that drifted in and out of my dreams that night like my own version of heaven.
Next time on the Mull Adventure Blog...I grow a beard, team Yorkie attacks the west of Mull with cameras, and a rare cetacean comes to say hello!
Sarah
Guide
Unfortunately, part of this routine appears to involve a mistake I am commonly making (among many others) over dolphin and porpoise fins. Many of our best beloved passenger’s mistake porpoise sightings for dolphins and so if people say they’ve seen a dolphin I always assume it’s a porpoise. Many of my avid readers may well remember the same mistake being made on the trip that Andrea and Helen joined me on. Dear reader I did it again! Bottlenose dolphins popped up to say hello this time, in a most unexpected circumstance. They even surprised Popz!
Events in the office have sometimes taken me by surprise also. For example I was completely unprepared for the moment when, happily (or has happy as one can be completing such a task) I was logging feedback form information into the database when along came a couple of passengers we’d had on board who came from none other than SOUTHWELL! As I inputted the address, I kid you not; I actually shed a few tears! Matters were not helped by a song with distinct memories of university life starting to play over the stereo and I shed a few more. It hit me then (as it repeatedly does many times a day) that this was not just another summer with university waiting for me to return to. This is me, for the rest of my life. Indeed a scary thought to be thinking in the middle of a visitors centre full of tourists in the middle of the morning time! However, the moment passed and I carried on, plagued for the rest of the day by the echoes of the past three years of my life.
Back on the boat and trips have been good (as they always are of course!) When it comes to SLS, spirits are never dampened by mere bad weather, especially when extra high fives between the crew occur constantly over good sightings and jokes about the link between the mysterious missing bog brush and Ewan’s hair come into play! I assure you we are all professionals but some serious fun is had on that boat! I’m even driving Greenie although I still can’t quite remember how to start her up properly. In the office as well I’m finding that I KNOW things now! I can answer the phone confidently and enjoy the challenges that are often brought in with the tourists, of course with a smile on my slightly salty and wind burnt face!
And so we have arrived at the day of the Coll Cricket Charter where the trip we had was not for our best beloved holidaymakers but for a local cricket team situated on the Isle of Coll who were coming over to play Mull in a friendly tournament. Now for those of you who may not know, Coll is a small Island with a population of around 220 people and, as I was to find out, a far larger population of the infamous and dreaded Scottish Midgie! However I get ahead of myself, as before we reached Coll we had to get there to pick up our cricket players. This involved Ruth, Popz and myself all waking up at an obscenely early hour to take Sula Beag out to Coll. As the dawn broke over my caravan I groaned and cursed the idea of waking up (as I do most mornings!) and then scrambled out of bed and off to Tobermory then away we went to Coll. The morning skies arranged themselves in front of my eyes as we headed up the Sound and I found myself admiring what a glorious way it was to wake up in the morning! This being said I had already achieved the somewhat irksome task of waking and therefore was in a much better state of mind to enjoy the morning as it was!
We arrived on Coll, passing many a sleepy Atlantic Grey Seal among the rocks on the shoreline and loaded up with bats, balls, cucumber sandwiches and the players themselves. These players turned out to be rather interesting characters...”jolly good chaps” you might say! Whilst the loading was in process all of us were being viciously attacked by vast hoards of hungry midgies and we were all grateful that they were not this bad on Mull itself. And so we headed back to Mull, keeping our passengers topped up with tea and coffee and trying to avoid being hit by their practice swings!
Once back on Mull I found myself with a few hours to spare as I wasn’t needed until we had to take the cricketers back to Coll after their match. Being a beautifully glorious day I decided to go along the coastal walk that heads towards Rubha Nan Gall lighthouse and look out for porpoise over the Sound of Mull. This I did, becoming invariably muddy in the process and, although I didn’t spot any porpoise I had a lovely few hours up there. Meanwhile Ewan had volunteered to play for the team and helped lead them to victory!
The time came for the Cricketers to be returned home, jovial and triumphant and clambering aboard the boat laden with celebratory whisky and the coveted cricket trophy! A few too many “wee drams” (which were not so wee) later we were once again back on Coll and turning round for the last time to head towards Mull. Popz let Ruth be our skipper for most of the journey and we sat and enjoyed the evening, heading towards the darkening skies and admiring the spectacular scenery and light that the Hebrides has to offer. We were joined by a few pretty juvenile Kittiwakes and the occasional gannet who joined me in watching the clouds shift into ever changeable shapes (many resembling elephants!) I got to sit on the bow, listening to the waves whispering secrets to each other whilst the water rushed towards and beneath me. The sky showed me every imaginable shade of blue and grey it had to offer and I had never felt more at peace with the world. It was a stunningly calm evening and one that will stay with me for a long time.
Eventually the surrounding islands disappeared into the darkness and Ruth, Popz and I gathered in the wheelhouse, following the blinking lighthouses back into Tobermory. The day had been long and varied and different but as I drove back to the caravan my tired head could still recall that scene of beauty, one that could not be captured in an image, no matter how skilled the photographer and one that drifted in and out of my dreams that night like my own version of heaven.
Next time on the Mull Adventure Blog...I grow a beard, team Yorkie attacks the west of Mull with cameras, and a rare cetacean comes to say hello!
Sarah
Guide
posted by Sea Life Surveys at
1:56 pm
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