Meet the Team – George
A Master in his Field
Keeping on the theme of Mischief skippers, we come on to the last, but certainly not the least, George! Everything going on here with Dolphin Mischief is essentially old hat for George, who has been out on the Moray Firth for 25 years! George’s strengths as a skipper are not just in his excellent handling of the RIB, but also in his extensive marine knowledge. He’s a keen diver, and used to dive for the Highland Council, surveying the firth, undertaking conservation projects, and even doing diving boat surveys privately! Out of all the team, George has probably come closest to our dolphins, having encountered them on dives before too. According to him, these big show-offs are actually incredibly shy once you’re in their domain, and prefer to keep a distance. They will, however, ogle you incessantly until they know what you’re up to! While George’s main marine biology passion was in the slightly smaller aquatic life of the firth (namely nudibranchs, or sea-slugs, which he wrote a book on!), he’s still incredibly excitable when it comes to encountering our bottlenoses out near Chanonry.
Oh The Places You’ll Go…
George is a fascinating character, and incredibly enthusiastic about the Moray Firth and all the secrets it holds. Incidentally, George himself discovered one of these many secrets along with a few diving buddies while exploring the waters off Cromarty; a sunken submarine! The sub in question had actually gone missing from its original position, called locally as The Barge, decades prior to George discovering it. He was aiding in the recovery of a net which had entangled on something near the sandy depths, when they discovered that the net was not attached to The Barge wreck as described, but in fact the missing submarine Tantivy! Selflessly, George and co. went on to inform the MoD of their discovery and sought to buy the wreck in effort to preserve it. Many divers have since been down to see the submarine and enjoy the microhabitat it has now created for soft corals and fish, so it’s just as well that it was George that found it!
George is full of exciting tales; perhaps his next book should be about his own adventures! Go on an adventure of your own with George and learn the secrets of the firth when you book aboard Dolphin Mischief!