Our 10-night epic St Kilda and Outer Hebrides cruise with Chris Gomersall, which departed on July 16th, was an outstanding success in terms of wildlife seen, anchorages and stopovers. It was an excellent cruise for spotting cetaceans, with 9 minke whale sightings, three pods of common dolphins, bottlenose dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, white-beaked dolphin and harbour porpoise. In addition, 2 basking sharks were seen and close views of an otter cub at an anchorage in Loch Nevis late one evening. It was also an amazing success in terms of bird life, with a total of 83 species of birds seen. Bird highlights included both golden and white-tailed eagles, and sooty shearwaters at sea.
Anchorages on this cruise started out on Tobermory, Mull; and included Vatersay (linked by a causeway to Barra); then Fladday, off Skye; the St Kilda Archipelago (2 nights); Leverburgh, Isle of Harris; Loch Rodal, Isle of Harris; the Shiant Isles; Loch Seaforth (the boundary between Harris and Lewis); Portree, Isle of Skye; Loch Nevis, Lochaber; Canna, the Small Isles; Loch Scresort, Rum, the Small Isles; Fishnish, the Sound of Mull
The week on board the Emma Jane definitely fulfilled evereything we asked for when we booked this cruise! Our main wishes were to search for wildlife, and have unique whiskey experiences. We had a spectacular week with sunny skies and calm seas, and were really lucky to spot the first minke whales of the season! Lunga and its amazing puffin colony were definitely a highlight for us, as this was our first encounter with these beautiful sea parrots. Our crew went out of their way to make sure we got to see as many species of wildlife as possilbe both on sea and during land excursions, and we had amazing experiences visiting Rum, Eigg, Cana and Mull - with dolphins, seals, eagles, a million different types of birds, ducks and geese, and even red deer and the gorgeous Rum ponies. Thanks to the special efforts of our crew, we had a very unique cask-whiskey tasting experience at Tobermory, which we truly cherish. This was our first trip to Scotland, and it proved to be both a wonderful family experience and a great holiday retreat. We would love to be back and explore further!
Tal Shulman: 20 April 2024Private Charter 6 Nights