News

Common dolphins are actually normally not all that common in the Hebrides, but this has changed recently. The number of common dolphins found in the waters off western Scotland has substantially increased; the encounter rate has more than doubled in the past 12 years according to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust

Have a look at the blog our Australian guest Murray Foote has produced to document his St Kilda and the Hebrides cruise with us in 2014.  The images and information are truly superb and we are very grateful to Murray for sharing them with us.

Basking sharks have been spotted off the island of Coll over the Easter weekend, much earlier in the year than expected.

The Hebrides is still the best place in the world for sighting basking sharks

Basking Shark Scotland (BSS), based in Oban recorded 250 individual basking shark sightings last year, despite many places in the UK recording their lowest numbers in many years. The sightings ranged from Caithness to Dumfries & Galloway, but the highest concentration of sightings were recorded in the Hebrides.

Pip Pedley is one of our onboard chefs for this season and she has provided us with her favourite mussel recipe!

One of the delights of our cruises is mingling with the local population when we happen to meet them. The history of the people who populate the islands we visit is invariably fascinating and they are justly proud of their roots and ancestry.  Barra has a population of 1,000 and the main name is MacNeil.  There are of course MacNeils all over the world who are also proud of their heritage

Scottish rope grown mussels produced by Inverlussa Shellfish based in Loch Spelve on the Isle of Mull will take a starring role on BBC TV’s James Martins “Home Comforts” programme later this week. 

THE diaries of a teacher and minister’s wife who lived on St Kilda before the isles were evacuated are to be put online by the National Trust of Scotland.

The name “The Small Isles” really doesn’t do justice to a unique group of four islands, just south of Skye, each with its own amazing character, culture, scenery and geology.  

It’s really pleasing and amazing to see a scallop fisherman on the Isle of Mull featured in a massive advertising campaign in Heathrow Airport. Our good friend and supplier of ethically fished seafood, Guy Grieve of the Ethical Shellfish Company stars in one of four new animated adverts displayed across Heathrow to coincide with the festive season and attract more international visitors to Scotland. 

The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) has provided research information on a recent solitary bottlenose dolphin that has appeared off the Island of Mull this week.

Guests on many of our 2015 cruises will be invited to take part in important research on the distribution of the larger marine animals which we encounter on our voyages throughout the Hebrides.

After several years of bad news on seabird populations on the west coast of Scotland, Dr Richard Luxmoore, Senior Nature Conservation Adviser for the National Trust has reported that several species have had their best season in 10 years.

This is Sean Guthrie’s account of his cruise which appeared the The Herald on July 20th 2014

THE value of much you take for granted or overlook can be driven home in the unlikeliest of circumstances, in this case a week among strangers on a converted rescue ship ploughing the seas around the Inner and Outer Hebrides

Guests on Elizabeth G watch as the Queen’s Baton arrives on St Kilda! Elizabeth G is enjoying a glorious morning as the Commonwealth Games Baton arrives on St Kilda carried by open-water swimmer Colin MacLeod.  Watch the video here>