Summer Scenes of the British Isles with Saga – Our Own Marine Wildlife Gem

Since 2007, teams of dedicated volunteer ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyors have been invited on board Saga cruise ships to provide guests with incredible wildlife experiences through delivering presentations, running deck-watches, and generally being on hand to talk about any wildlife seen on the trips. ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyors collect vital data on the whales and dolphins they see during these trips, whilst also being out on deck to help guests to spot and identify the marine life they are seeing for themselves.

In July, Terry, Becky, Ian and Chantelle boarded the Spirit of Adventure for what proved to be an exceptional week sailing around the UK. Wildlife Guide, Chantelle, shares the team’s experience:

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the ORCA Summer Scenes of the British Isles survey team met at Dover port. Alight with anticipation, they boarded the Spirit of Adventure and prepared to discover all that our home islands had to offer in terms of spectacular marine wildlife. 

After having met with the Cruise Director, Deputy Cruise Director and the entertainments team on board, the survey team enjoyed a delicious dinner before settling in for the evening ahead of the 5am start awaiting the next day. On Wednesday 29th July, the survey team were lucky to witness a spectacular sunrise as they arrived on deck to begin their survey in the North Sea. 

Soon after, large amounts of circling gannets alerted the team to a potential marine mammal sighting, and sure enough two minke whales appeared. This was followed by two more minke whale sightings all before breakfast at 7.35am! A promising start. After some further survey time, the team headed down to the Playhouse theatre where Becky (the teams’ Wildlife Officer) delivered a well-attended talk about the wildlife in our waters. A quick lunch followed before heading back up onto deck to survey and talk with the wonderful passengers who joined us to watch, and a further minke whale was spotted.

That evening, it was time to head to our cabins and scrub up for Captain Tanners’ reception. ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyors are always poised to see more cetaceans and Ian and Terry were lucky enough to see nine harbour porpoises from their cabin window whilst getting ready!

The following day we sailed towards Kirkwall in Orkney, where three stocky Risso’s dolphins were spotted by the team and passengers alike. That evening, Captain Tanner treated everyone to amazing views of the Old Man of Hoy at dinner time, an impressive 137m tall sandstone sea stack which was bathed in golden light.   

The next stop was Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands, where a very energetic pod of common dolphins gave a great display for passengers and some even got some great close-up views of common dolphins on a rib trip from the port.

The evening sail away saw three members of the team conducting a fruitful distance sampling survey from the bridge of the ship, with 43 common dolphins, two minke whales and two unidentified dolphins seen.  

The 1st August was our second sea day of the trip, and an absolute treat was in store for everyone on board with a scenic cruise of St Kilda. This remote archipelago has dual UNESCO World Heritage Site status and a very interesting history. Although no longer inhabited by villagers, it now hosts the largest colony of Northern gannets in the world, with over 59,000 breeding pairs. It was incredible to sail through the sea stacks and lots of great conversations were had between the team and large numbers of passengers who had joined us on deck for the spectacle. Puffins and guillemots were also spotted, as well as a curious seal.

The afternoon distance sampling bridge survey yielded a variety of species again, this time including a basking shark – the UK’s largest shark species.

The following two days brought two more port stops at the Isle of Man and Cobh in Ireland, where the team and passengers recorded further sightings of common dolphins. 

The final sea day saw the Spirit of Adventure travelling along the coast of the South West. A new species for the cruise was recorded when bottlenose dolphins were seen on the bridge survey, alongside common dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and a minke whale. After a great day in the sunshine with many passengers, the finale came with Becky delivering the round-up presentation in the afternoon to inform everybody of the amazing wildlife we had seen.

The team would like to say a big thank you to Saga and the crew on board the Spirit of Adventure for their hospitality, to the passengers for their company, and to ORCA for the amazing opportunity.