Category: Uncategorised

All aboard for the dive trip of the century..as we left Padstow Harbour, “Atlantic Diver” cut through the glassy sea in the warmth of the newly found July Sunshine..awesome in itself you would think…Chris  let out full throttle and off we sped for a 30mile journey to the wreck site the REWA…2 Puffins flew past followed by numerous Gannets and hundreds upon hundreds of Manx Shearwaters…spectacular watching them take off from the waters surface, circle and reland again. Then over about half way through, a pod of about 80 Commom Dolphins  including calves were actively hunting, blowing bubbles from below and coralling in circles. Behind them was a pair trawler and having read recent research it would suggest that the dolphins have a familiarisation with the fishing vessel….or was it the other way around?

About 2 mile on and we spotted 1 loan Bottlenose Dolphin …unusual we thought, on its own …when…suddenly the tell tale bubbleblows surfaced and we realised there were more, at least 25 surface and porpoised out of the sea, some came to join us in our journey whist others reained actively hunting. Again calves were present and one adult had pocks marks all over its body. The water visibility was so clear that we could see ever y rake mark on their bodies’…..just breath taking. During this we passed 4 Potuguese Man-of-war jellyfish just below the surface, there may have been more but we passed rather rapidly.

Smiles all round and divers safely enjoying their dive, we waited still spotting for more Cetacean encounters. Two divers surface when….A MINKIE WHALE surfaced scooping up great mouth fulls of plankton….quick get the cameras….again it surface and again, circling Atlantic Diver and eventually came 100m to our port side…at this stage we realised that it was over twice the size of our 10m Blyth Catamaran and so with the surfacing pattern and the dorsal fin size and shape,we reidentified as a Fin Whale…..WOW absolutely AWESOME…best day ever. Divers continued to surface and some saw the whale…what a sightb that would be underwater during your decompression stops!!! Loving this job !! Thanks guys for booking our boat!!:0)

A beautiful 3.6m Thresher Shark was bycaught in bass fishing nets 100m off Tintagel yesterday and landed in Newquay Harbour . Sadly occassionally cetacean like harbour porpoise, dolphins,and Seals and in this case Sharks become net entangled and often drown as a result. The target fish was Bass which we can only guess the shark was feeding on as they eat small fish, squid and other small sharks. The commercial fisherman kindly allowed us to record the size of the sharks dorsal fins and tail fin as this is a "BAP" ( Biodiversity Action Plan) species which the government has funded to monitor the health of the species. All sightings or landings of this species are useful to determine the population's health. The shark was landed whole and all of the carcus sold .

Just had to share the boats in the gorgeous sunshine today. Seven Bottlenose Dolphins were in the Gazzel briefly …lucky passengers on Newquay Sea Safaris and Fishing Trip had a top side view from the top deck viewing seats. Happy happy day as the Bottlenose Dolphin pod is now reduced to only 29 in total , that we know of…lucky us. Kittiwakes were also very active feeding in the wake of the boats and sitting around in large rafts.

What an awesome day today…Summer was here!! Three cheers for sunny days I met up with St Agnes VMCA  volunteers and Cornwall Wildlife Trust staff, Matt Slater and Nicki , to help spread the word about how amazing our Cornish Marine Life is. We shared the fun of Rockpool Rambles, making Marine Art from beach litter, marine art craft, Cornwall Seal Group and Story telling and too much more to mention. Blue skies and warm Cornish sunshine blessed us as families and friends learned about the local fishermen who pot for Lobsters and Cornish Crab. Matt and John delivered a superb lecture about the sustainability of the Cornish potting fleet and how we should all support this wonderful industry thet provides fresh food for us with minimal impact to the marine environment. At present much of the Spider crab is sold abroad as there is a keen market for it there, BUT its a sweet tasting crustacean…kind of a cross between crab and lobster and Matt suggested we try it and champion it as our own home grown Cornish delicacy…..yummy, I know I love it!!…Try It. and support our local fleet.

The Rockpool Ramble found….Cushion Stars, Strawberry Sea Anenomes,Bull Huss Mermaid's Purses, Five Beard Rocklings of various ages,Brittle Stars, Purple Top Shells, and multiple crab varieties as well as spiney Star Fish, a Flat Fish, Sea Slaters , all varieties of seaweeds and loads more.

Families and friends created Marine Art made from marine litter, Marine crafts  from Jean's excellent selection of interesting things, listened to story telling and Cornwall seal group Sue sayer and Kate, taught us the perils of netting rubbish to grey seals and how they live painfully with net entanglement..good reason to pick up beach garbage as we go along…thanks to all today for helping to premote how amazing our marine environment is and how we can protect it but most of all to support the Marien Conservation Zones , so that future generations can enjoy days like today.

A special thanks to Chris …the new VMCA Ranger who fit us inbetween his night shift….now there's dedication!!

20th April ..Sun , sea and seals. A bunch of seal enthusiasts took to the high seas aboard Atlantic Diver on a stunningly hot April’s day to record seals along the spectacular North Cornwall coastline.

Male, female and some gorgeous hauled out juvenile grey seals were dotted about.

Two Cornish Choughs also flew Jurassic Park style across the rugged cliff tops.. Hurray! Our Cornish birds be back.

Basil the recued seal pup has now been nursed back to health by the dedicated Animal Care Team Staff at the Gweek National Seal Sanctuary.and has over tripled his weight.  Alongside the staff and other BDMLR Marine Mammal Medics…we watch  the exciting moment of the seal’s  release back into the wild to try their chances again to survive against the odds. Basil’s big moment is about to begin…..the seals dash down to the sea but Basil is unsure and hides under the National Seal Sanctuary Jeep.Basil spots something interesting in the shallows.Another released seal pup waits in the shallows and looks back at Basil….enticing him to join her.The other seal is eventually enough to lure him out to sea 

Who could blame the little seal pup with icicles hanging from the cliffs on the beach…but the draw of the beautiful shimmering blue water of North Cornwall’s Atlantic Ocean eventually attracts Basil to take the final plunge.

Basil finally heads out to sea!…

For more of what we do during the winter please read on…The above pic is of a seal Chris , Kate, Kate’s mum and I rescued earlier this winter season. He was named “Basil Fawlty “by the Animal Care Team Staff at Gweek National Seal Sanctuary who have done a superb job of caring for him. He was called this because of his enormous swollen head( faulty head)  he had from head injuries he received perhaps from rough seas and rocks or possible bite injury. Click here to see how he is progressing and hear more of his story…

Chris and I are both British Divers Marine Life Rescue Marine Mammal Medics and throughout the year but particuarly in the Winter season (which is Grey Seal Pupping time) we are on call as volunteers ,alongside a whole team of superb medics in the Cornwall area to attend Marine Mammal rescues. Here follows one day in our diary ….On a freezing cold day in January on a windy beach a lone seal pup hauls out at the high tide line and lies exhausted and dehydrated …too tired to make it back to the sea. He is now vulnerable to dog attack and major disturbance…Fortunately a member of the public call British Divers Marine Life Rescue and describe the state of the pup then wait for medics to arrive., keeping themselves and dogs back out of the way so they do not scare the pup. Philip and Lewis, 2 new recruits ,arrive first, amid a heavy shower of hail stones and assess the seal’s condition. Phillip takes the sharp end whist we take his temperature and assess his wounds. Dave Jarvis our senior medic indicates the seal needs treatment. We very carefully place the seal into a specially designed BDMLR seal bag being careful not to get bitten and carry him back across the beach.(NB..NEVER attempt to rescue a seal yourselves this could be very dangerous for both you and the seal…please follow the BDMLR advice:

please click for link…… http://www.bdmlr.org.uk/index.php?page=stranded-animals

to call BDMLR:  BDMLR hotline: 01825 765546 (office hours) or 07787 433412 (out of hours)

Once safely removed from beach the seal pup is made more comfortable in a larger transportation box , so he doesn’t overheat. Lewis and Phillip British Divers Marine Life  Rescue Marine Mammal Medics check he is fit for travel . Then off to meet the vet….

After a long arduous journey back from the vet …the little grey seal pup Phillip Phollop flops down into the sea, stops to rest for a minute, then disappears back into his own watery environment!

Bye Bye little seal …good luck!!

To watch the Soup Fin Shark in its natural environment…see below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QJ_S-z5M5PA

The first Basking Shark was sighted about 8 miles off Newquay this week, spotted by Daniel ..a Commercial Potter ( with thanks) feeding open mouthed at the surface. Other sightings have also been coming in as 1 in falmouth, 2 off Porth Kerris, 1 off Landsend and 2 in Lundy..the warmer weather has helped the Zooplankton to rise ,so the harmless plankton feeding sharks are feeding at surface. Today a happy angler also caught a very large Tope , weighing in at 22lbs and 1.8m in length. The male shark circled around the boat and entangled the anglers' lines, reminiscent of a scene from "Jaws", before being brought onboard "Atlantic Diver" to be measured and recorded for the Shark Trust and Substance. It was then very carefully released…keeping these sharks in a horizontal position helps to protect the soft internal organs so that a successfull release is possible. These sharks are known as the "Soup Fin" shark and don't eat people but instead eat fish, crustacean,endinderms and worms. They are usually bottom feeders. Our fishing and sea safaris are running daily aboard our two top, large catamarans. Mackerel are coming in well today.

Unbelievably adrenaline rushing viewing during a shark cage dive with the  best cage diving company in the UK. Eleven shark divers set off from Newquay Harbour yesterday onbaord "Atlantic Diver" to do one of the" top 10 things to do in Newquay" or even the UK. Doubters of the thrill of UK cage diving should feast their eyes on this footage as we experienced 4 Blue sharks, all female ranging from sizes…2.5m, 3m 3.5m and  2m.

Excited Shark Divers met at our "Newquay Marine Centre" overlooking the Harbour, to learn about the plight, biology and behaviour of the blue sharks which only feed in our British Sea when the water temperature is 12 degrees plus. 

We Sped 10 miles out to sea ,Aboard "Atlantic Diver" and set up the chum to attract the sharks to the cage.

After a two and a half hour wait…they appeared…thrashing around the chum …two female Blue Sharks . They gradually grew in confidence and made repeated drives passed the (by now adrenalined) Shark Divers!!!

Another Shark rolled up , then another ….shark Fest!!!

you tube video here

All in all we enjoyed watching their amazing hunting and reasoning skills as they swam around the cage, chum bags and boat. All on board were totally blown away by their beauty, grace and stealth. These iconic creatures are being taken in their millions for their fins and meat…a top predator rapidly declining. The Uk has catch limits for many of our sharks but this is not the case in Europe, as a Shark Trust Trustee I am in support of TACs for europe as is applies here in the uk, which our  fishermen adhere to. 

Tourists in Newquay would never be treated to such an amazing spetacular display of nature as the blue sharks forage far offshore away from bathers and they are only accessable by boat. Historically these sharks were in plentiful supply and indeed we did used to angle for them but  today we prefer to view them and encourage others to take care of our ocean and top predators by educating visiting wildlife tourists, as well as locals. 

To Book These Cage Dives…please call Skipper Chris or Annabelle Lowe on 

07860 927833

01637 850930

Unbelievably awesome Common Dolphin activity this week as we were recording cetacean for Whales and Dolphin Watching Week. We came across no fewer than six pods of Common Dolphins on one day alone , let alone Bottlenose Dolphins on two consecutive days complete with juveniles and Harbour porpoise. It was a great week until the british weather moved in but out there again today. 

The dolphins were feeding on sand eels which were in turn feeding on phytoplankton which was trapped at the sea surface. The Dolphins were coraling the shoals up tightly at the surface by porpoising closely together …gathering the shoal , whilst others under the shoal blew air bubbles upwards to keep the fish from swimming down. Then annnd here come sthe amazing part ….the dolphins now having trapped the sand eels ata the surface Hydro Planed , beaks open wide and scooped the eels up in lines of ridgid backed sinchronised rows of dolphins. The spalsh they created doing this was phenominal.

We sat and watched at a distance for ages as they fed in a huge area around us.