Hide and Seek!
Ready or Not!
Well, today started off a little like that cormorant in the picture above; a bit dull (weather-wise!) and full of yawns (the sun makes our guides sleepy!). It was a very relaxing start with some spots of sunshine which would have been perfect for a nap, but we had no time for such relaxation, as we were out hunting for dolphins! Sadly, neither of the double trouble duo had appeared for breakfast around the Kessock Channel, and we were left to giggle at seal antics and scout for otters instead. However, on our busiest sailing of the day, Kesslet and Charlie pulled through for us, appearing at the yellow cardinal buoy just as we left the marina! We spent a little bit of time with them, but they weren’t exactly overly active, just sitting in the tide and surfacing here and there in very unpredictable movements. There was no hunting activity, and was we later found out, this may have been because they had spent the morning snacking elsewhere, as Charlie was spotted by the Craig Mee marker buoy at Rosemarkie with an already headless salmon earlier. They come to see us on our way back down the firth very briefly, and again on our way back into the marina, but whatever the matter was with them, they weren’t exactly for showing off today; but it was still nice to see them!
Afternoon Antics
As we left for the sailing of the day, we hoped the pair would have stuck about to be spotted again. We looked as we left and couldn’t see hide nor fin. Nothing in the channel, but a little white vessel seemed to be circling under the bridge for some reason. We had our suspicions but had seen no fins. The Scot Navigator made her way out of the harbour with the Ardgowan pilot vessel as we were coming back towards the bridge, and we eagerly watched the front of the larger boat in anticipation of the dolphins approaching for a bow ride as they had done not a week prior with the Scot Isles. Still no fins. It wasn’t until we passed under the bridge when the call went out and Sue came running up the stairs; “Dolphins! Just at the pillar of the bridge!” One of our younger passengers had seen them surface as we passed below the bridge but was a little too gobsmacked to yell out! It wasn’t until Sue asked what she saw that we found out to tell everyone else! By that point they were specks in the horizon, so we hoped to see them coming back again too. Sure enough we did! They surprised us by surfacing right on our bow for a short moment, before appearing at our rear, surfing the waves in time with each other. Charlie raised his tail and slapped it down loudly, almost as if in a parting wave. And then they were gone, carried out by a falling tide off behind us. Wonder what’s gotten into our local dynamic duo; hopefully they’ll save a little bit more energy for their next visit!
Kesslet and Charlie surface behind Dolphin Spirit, with Beauly in the background