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
We really enjoyed our cruise and were made to feel very welcome on board by a very friendly and knowledgeable crew. The scenery was fantastic, and we enjoyed exploring the islands on foot with our great wildlife guide Lynsey. The anchorages and route were carefully planned by Rob the skipper to take account of the weather and wildlife reports. We were fortunate to see large numbers of dolphins, a few Minke whales, seals and white-tailed eagles, together with countless seabirds. The food was plentiful and absolutely delicious, prepared by Tony, the chef - it was just as well we went walking every day! Craig the bosun was extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble for any of the crew. There was a good library of books on board. I would certainly recommend Hebrides cruises to anyone who is interested in wildlife, walking, and good food!
Caroline and Meyrick Quincey: 28 August 2017Skye and the Small Isles: Hebridean horizons