I've been looking forward to this Sea Safari trip from Plymouth to Santander for a couple of months, as it was my first Wildlife Guide role on an ORCA Sea Safari. I picked up Moira Gainey in Plymouth and we arrived to find the rest of the team were already in the Brittany Ferry terminal. The team was Ellie (from the ORCA office team and the Sea Safari leader), Neil and Hannah Parkinson, Laura Bacon & David Hill. Ellie took the opportunity to give us a final briefing before we checked in. This was an earlier departure from Plymouth than the Sunday departure that I'm used to on the ORCA surveys. The advantage we would have more sea time as we left Plymouth. However, we would also be further into Biscay and the Channel on the following two mornings. So swings and roundabouts over the timing.
We promptly boarded the Pont-Aven, stowed our bags in the cabins as the ship departed on time at 15:45. We had a couple of minutes to unpack the cameras & clothing for the top deck and headed for the bar. Not for drinks, but because this was the meeting place for the thirty passengers who were booked on the ORCA Sea Safari. First up, an introduction to the passengers about ORCA and the Cetaceans we might encounter on the Sea Safari from Dawn: who is one of the two ORCA Ocean Conservationists who share the weeks on the Pont-Aven for the season. Ellie finished up with a quick briefing, introduced David & myself as the go-to peeps for any Bird-related questions, before inviting the ORCA Sea Safari passengers to join us on the top deck for the rest of the day.
We were on deck by 16:30, which gave us had a good crossing that afternoon with lots of time for engagement with the passengers. As well as looking for Cetaceans (and Birds), we were also passing the ORCA bins and an ORCA tablet around within the ORCA team, so that any Cetacean sightings could be logged, along with the regular logging of the position and sea conditions every thirty minutes (or if the sea conditions changed).
There were a few Short-beaked Common Dolphin sightings that afternoon and early evening. In between these sightings, there a chance to start getting to know the passengers who had signed up on the Sea Safari. There were regular Gannet, Manx Shearwater and Cory's Shearwater sightings which allowed me to point them out to the passengers. It had been a good start to the Sea Safari. The priority on the Sea Safaris is to spot and identify the Cetaceans and to ensure the ORCA team are recording the sightings. Equally important is to ensure the passengers are seeing the Cetaceans, providing good passenger engagement and making sure the passengers are having a good time. I didn't managed to get any worthwhile photos, but getting photos is a much lower priority.
The alarm went off in the cabin on day two of the ORCA Sea Safari at a comfortable 06:00, about forty-five minutes before we were due on deck. This allowed time to have some breakfast, wash it down with a couple of cups of tea and brew a couple of small flasks of fresh brew coffee to take on deck. All essential early morning tasks to prepare for a long session on the top deck of the Pont-Aven.
It was just getting light when David & I got onto the deck. With the earlier departure from Plymouth, we were in central Biscay and over the deep abyssal plain. Some of the ORCA team and passengers were already there and enjoying the early morning. About fifteen minutes later, the sun decided to wake up.
It was a bit breezy on the top deck, but it quickly warmed up in the sunshine.
The morning's trip towards Santander was over the deep abyssal plain. The Bay of Biscay is a good area to see Fin Whales. They are the second largest animal every known to live, with only Blue Whale being larger. Northern hemisphere Fin Whales can reach up to twenty-four metres: they a bit smaller than the maximum of twenty-seven metres in the Southern hemisphere. In comparison, Blue Whales can reach up to thirty-three metres in length. They feed on small invertebrates, a variety of Fish species and Squid. They will also practice lunge fishing where they swim around in circles, blowing bubbles to compress Fish into tight shoals, before they lunge through the middle of the shoal. During the morning, we saw a number of definite Fin Whale sightings, as well as, a number of blows which were probably more Fin Whales. Unfortunately, there weren't any Sperm Whale or Cuvier's Beaked Whale sightings: both of which are often seen in Southern Biscay.
A hitch-hiking Chiffchaff popped up briefly on a few occasions on the ferry. It will have used a lot less energy on the crossing from the UK to Spain, than if it at flown South. I also, saw a Wheatear bomb over the top deck on one occasion. They would have been pleased to see the land. Finally, we saw a few Yellow-legged Gulls close to the shore.
We quickly tied up and within fifteen minutes of docking, the gangplank was attached and we were able to disembark. There was another few minutes to clear customs and check-in for the return crossing. We were ready to have a couple of hours in Santander, but I will cover that in the next Blog Post.
This is the last ORCA Sea Safari to Santander of the season. If you are interested in an ORCA Sea Safari in 2025, then you can register your interest on the ORCA website. Further details of the dates will appear in due course. Hopefully I will be able to be one of the Wildlife Guides again in 2025.