Whalewatch Explorer - 12th August 2013

Glorious sunshine for most of the trip as we encountered a minke whale which at one point surfaced meters off our stern! Three separate basking sharks were also seen giving close passes. Harbour porpoise, common seals, grey seals and white-tailed eagles also enjoyed by all on board. Arctic and great skuas in bully mode and a huge number of feeding gannets firing into the water at great speeds. Auks, kittiwakes, storm petrels, shearwater and fulmars were the other bird sightings. A beach landing for lunch and a rich plankton sample capped off another great marine excursion.