Ever wondered what a Skipper buys his wife for her birthday!!!! Chris found this rum cask in need of renovation and fixed it up ,adding some original Rum Tub Brass Letters ….Hic…rum was lovely!
"Up Spirits" was between 11am and midday when 70mls of rum ration were given to the crew onboard the old ships….wonder if skipper will be dishing out the rum to leyla and I this summer???
Atlantic Diver was called by fellow Marine Mammal Medics at BDMLR (British Divers Marine Life Resue) to go to the aid of a whale ,spotted by a St Ives Fisherman ,which was believed to be net entangled. Chris Lowe , Annabelle Lowe and Mark ( air ambulance crew and BDMLRMMM) dashed to Atlantic Diver at Newquay harbour ,cast off and sped at superfast speeds that I have never seen her do before down to attempt rescue of the stricken whale. We carefully passed harbour porpoise and a sunfish on route passing through plankton slicks before slowing to begin the search of a needle in a haystack , for the encumbussed whale. Josh the BDMLR rescue rib met us after their equally fast launch from Hayle and both boats began the almighty task ahead.
Conditions were great for spotting and before long we saw what appeared to be a Minke Whale ,with small dorsal fin , feeding in the middle of a really soupie Plankton slick. Josh stood by to observe and spotted long whitish petoral fins….it was a Juvenile Humpback Whale!!!…net entangled around its dorsal fin and body beneath. Tactics were discussed and then brave Marine Mammal Medics: Faye, Dan ,Tim , Richard one other and with Phil at the helm began the process of attempting to cut through the thick rope. (” This is a job for trained medics only, as they say DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME”>>”Call the professionals BDMLR on 01825 765 546 if you spot this or any other marine creature in distress) After several exhilarating and exhaustive attempts it was decidied to leave the whale as the sun was begining to set , whale was beginning to tire and both rescue boats had a fair way to return through pot laid sea before safe return to harbour. The whale continued to feed as we saddly left it dragging along the netting.
This experience has highlighted to all the need to clean up our seas, collecting rubbish at sea as do several of the Cornish fishing fleet , (Newquay Harbour Included..thanks guys) through “Fishing for Litter” http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8604000/8604632.stm
Organising or taking part in Beach cleans and the most importantly …..throw your litter in a bin or take it home. Recycling is easy.
A plea to all at or around the sea to report sighting of this whale to BDMLR as soon as possible after you spot it, with details of location, behaviour, direction of travel..many thanks. Many thanks too to all behind the scenes who worked so hard to try to free this beautiful whale.
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Another fun overwinter job is to service “Atlantic Diver’s” liferaft. At Liferafts and Inflatables, Ed Banyard offers an amazing service and even invites customers to see their Liferaft inflated. This gives an ideal opportunity for skippers and crew to familiarize ourselves with the life saving piece of equipment. We open the liferaft box and begin to inflate. It has two tubes for safety that inflate one at a time. A bag full of emergency survival kit is checked too and amusingly, it contains a SMALL handpump….skipper Chris immediately allocates possible job of keeping raft well inflated to Annabelle in the guise of “It will keep you warm love!”…hmmm I pulled the short straw there then!Luckerly this one inflates with a compressed gas cylinder and the job is done in seconds. For more info about the process please click on link below:
http://www.liferafts-inflatables.com/?page_id=12
A few hours later on the same day Ed and his team have the Liferaft back to Atlantic Diver and we are ready for sailing the ocean wide again. Passengers can feel safe that crew are confident in the deployment and handling of the liferaft.
Ever wonder what it looks like being deployed at sea…check out ed’s website for some video action…enjoy! Please click on the link below:
Despite the changeable Easter weather…a family from Belgium were enjoying a Sea Safari aboard Atlantic Diver and learning that Lobsters are actually "Blue" when they are fresh from the sea . They learned about ; Spider Crabs, Edible Brown Crabs , Star Fish and Lobster as well as meeting Medallion Man the semi -resident Grey seal to Newquay Harbour.
For more info about the lives of lobsters please visit our friends at The National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow or click on the link below for more info:
Chris and I were snorkelling today near to Newquay harbour when we swam right over the top of Medallion Man , Newquay's Semi-resident Grey Seal. He was fast asleep on the sea bed bottom, right next to a bed of kelp. It was really funny as the slight swell was rolling slightly backwards and forwards much in the same motion as a baby's cot would swing. He continued to snooze gently and then meerly peeped at us through one open eye before returning to his slumber. Lack of breath meant he returned to surface occassionally and at one point he hauled out on a close by rock and rolled onto his back for a real good back scratch…just like a big bear would do up and down a tree trunk. We amused him for a few seconds as he lolled off the slippery rock and over to us before again returning to log on the sea bed bottom….I Love MM!!!
Click on link below for you tube footage of him asleep on the seabed bottom
127 Marine protected areas are preposed around our Uk coastline…they will only happen if we support the proposition…Please give your support and click on the link below to sign the petition and leave a comment to have your say about where and how they should be.This is for everyone to comment …members of the public, boat users, fishermen, potters, jetskiers, kayakers, surfers, swimmers, coasteerers…anyone with a passion for the sea and whats in it!..thanks
http://wildlifetrusts.org/MCZfriends
Tucked well back in the shelter of a Cornish Cave was a tiny female seal pup in trouble suffering from multiple bite wounds . She weighed in at just 17kilos and fortunately a kind member of the public called the "British Divers Marine Life Rescue 24 hour hotline" and a crack team of Marine Mammal Medics were sent to the rescue. The cliff team rescuers Dan and Chris scaled down the cliff and it wasn't long before she was assessed and taken to Gweek's Cornish Seal Sanctuary for rehabilitation. At this time of year the Grey Seals are pupping and breeding and the little weaners often get into trouble during the first few weeks of life as they are only under the protection of their mothers for the first three weeks of life. For information on what to do if you suspect a seal is in trouble please click on the link below:
http://www.bdmlr.org.uk/index.php?page=stranded-animals
Lots of exciting "Things to Do " this weekend at Newquay Harbour as Newquay Marine College will be hosting a fun and educational "Ocean Discovery Day" on Saturday16th March ,when second year Marine Conservation and Wildlife and the Media will be guiding FREE 1 hour sea safaris aboard "Atlantic Diver"…our superfast 10m Blyth Powerboat Catamaran. Marine Wildlife to spot for will be …breeding birds which have started returning to the coast , pairing up for that all important nesting event. Last Saturday 3 Bottlenose Dolphins were actively hunting and foraging in Newquay Bay and "Medallion Man "..a semi resident Grey Seal to Newquay Harbour is back after leaving his winter haul out site. Take a look at the below poster and call Leyla to book onto trip before all the free places run out. Weather is looking promising so far and its a fun filled day with rockpool rambles, Cornwall seal group stall, Blue Reef guides and lots more…looking forward to seeing you all and do come and support our local students.
"https://docs.google.com/file/d/1LAdevCQoK0tG8_3Ea7q6rR4k0pB8yN6_qEQD7LwpVFu7_2D_qu_Ht2If5OVr/preview"
any questions..add a comment below and we'll do our best to advise…happy boating..Annabelle
Sad news that a female seal pup that was rescued, rehabilitated and released back in the New Year by British Divers Marinelife Rescue Marine Mammal Medics and RSPCA West Hatch had turned up at Lundy Island….(a Special Area of Conservation and Marine Conservation Zone and idealic conditions for Grey Seals)…with thick blue netting entangled around her neck. The Lundy Island Wardens were extremely concerned for her well being and through BDMLR and Sue Sayer of Cornwall Seal Group organised a visit to the island so that BDMLR Medics could attampt a rescue.
Medics gather at Ilfracombe about to board the ferry the "Oldenberg" to cross the Bristol Channel to Lundy Island where the Wardens were investigating some blue netting they found on the beach which looked suspiciously like the netting around the seal's neck…could the seal have broken free….we spent the next 4 hours quietly observing the seals who were, logging, playing and hunting in breath takingly beautiful coves around the beaches . Photos were taken so that Sue Sayer who holds an enormous Photo ID data base of Grey Seals who attempt to id the seals to see if indeed the West hatch seal was finally free.
We watched as adult females and juveniles passed by…ahh what a lovely way to spend a day….we now await the results and thank all involved in the attempted rescue including the ferry staff .
Awesome Happy New Year at sea today as we spotted 8 Bottlenose Dolphins off St Ives in glorious Cornish Winter "Sunshine". Atlantic Diver was loaded with delighted Wildlife Surveyers who were treated to a wildlife extravaganza of Bottlenose Dolphins, Harbour Porpoise, Grey Seals, Guillemots, Razorbills, Gannets Diving, Kittiwake, Raven, Mediterranean Gulls, Rock Pippet and Little Egret…and unbelievably a Barrel Jellyfish.
The Dolphins were hunting and Playing today and followed our boat along the survey for some 30 minutes and were bow riding the front of "Atlantic Diver" from time to time using their tail flukes to bat the hulls from side to side.
We took images of their fins to carry out Photo Identification. Each Dolphin has a unique fin shape, markings or nicks missing as seen in images here and this helps us to identify each individual .
Our winter 2 hour Sea Safaris are continuing throughout the season weather permitting and as is proven today are as exciting as the summer months. A basking shark was spotted off Penzance just before christmas…a rare sighting but with wildlife anything can happen…off again tomorrow…still hoping for Orca Sighting which we have seen in the past at this time of year between Newquay and Padstow. Anyone interested in joining these special approx 6 hour surveys should contact us for details and dates.
