Half way

Finally no more fog! However in its place was a gloomy grey sky and a very grey looking ocean. Conditions weren’t bad for sightings with smaller swell and lighter winds than in the past few days. We were also passing over the mid Atlantic ridge so I was hopeful that there would be plenty of sightings.

I was wrong not a single cetacean sighting all day long. The birds weren’t much better I did see a small few Fulmars and Lesser Black-backed gulls and two Gannets one in the morning and one in the evening. It was disappointing considering the area we covered that there wasn’t more activity. And moving back into deep water (about 4000m) for tomorrow things weren’t looking good.

Gannet (Paddy O'Dwyer)

Conditions today were almost perfect sunny with light winds and low swell. It was the best day for sightings so far. But it starter poorly with no sign of birds or cetaceans anywhere. This continued for most of the day with fewer birds than yesterday. There only a few Fulmars, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and one Gannett. The highlight of the day had been a yacht that sailed past us heading west.

Yacht (Paddy O'Dwyer)

Just as I was beginning to pack up I spotted a blow ahead in the distance. I wasn’t sure if it was real or if it was my imagination after two days with no sightings. Sure enough it appeared again and was coming towards the boat. Once it got close enough I could see that it was a sperm whale. This lifted my spirits and was followed shortly after three more sperm whales all swimming slowly west. And another one that the captain Denis just called me for just as I write this.

Sperm Whale (Paddy O'Dwyer)

With the weather to be similar tomorrow hopefully there’s plenty more to be seen. We should be coming up on the Porcupine bank tomorrow evening this should present a good opportunity for more sightings as we move onto the continental shelf.