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NEWS FROM NORTHERN LIGHT CHARTERS :: JULY 2006 Sun 2 Jul | Aiming for Iceland The three Norwegian Rescue Ships - Hans Hansson, Hjalmar Bjorge and Elizabeth G - left Oban yesterday. The Smith twins in their RIB "Power of Scotland" got some good photos of the three boats leaving Oban (below). Photo: Cameron/Struan Smith
The three vessels cruised the Sound of Mull where Hjalmar Bjorge and Elizabeth G peeled off into Tobermory whilst Hans Hansson continued north overnight to anchor at the Shiants at 0530 this morning. After breakfast guests went ashore for a walk; back on board for lunch and, after a fire drill, the boat set off north in fine clear weather and smooth seas. Before they were clear of the anchorage a basking shark was spotted and, ten minutes later, a minke whale (below), which the vessel followed for about half an hour. Next stop the Faroe Islands (with a squint at Albert - the albatross - on Sula Sgeir en route). Photo: John Maughan
Excellent weather for a change and Hjalmar Bjorge and Elizabeth G are at St Kilda once again. Mark left Tobermory at around 4.30 this morning to reach Hirta, enabling the dive group to get in the water, mid-afternoon. The vessel encountered the same group of bottle-nosed dolphins as last week whilst travelling through the Sound of Barra again. There are five adults and one calf and they bow-rode the boat for some time. An eight night trip, reaching St Kilda, concluded for Chalice guests today. A good mix onboard including six of our own guests and six who travelled with Heatherlea who provided a guide in the form of Kenny Taylor, author and wildlife expert. Kenny's trip report provides a factual example of the encounters to been seen and heard on a cruise such as this so here goes... Saturday (24 June): Sound of Mull - tysties (black guillemots), terns and mixed auks and gulls; common sandpiper calling and common terns fishing the inshore; red deer on the low hills then after dinner two otters swimming and hauling-out together in loch shallows and shore. Sunday (25 June): At Ardnamurchan two harbour porpoises; in the Sound of Barra manx shearwaters, auks, gulls and gannets, plus a bonxie; female hen harrier on near hill (Eriskay), ashore to see yellow flag irises and hear loud singing of wrens and meadow pipits; two ravens riding the updraughts; hear a corncrake; see ringed plover and male hen harrier beyond the beach. Monday (26 June): Chorus of singing grey seals from haul-outs and lots of tysties skittering around at the Monachs. Shearwaters, fulmars, gannets, and a single minke whale, briefly, in calm water heading to St Kilda. Ashore on Hirta to the sound of snipe drumming and the chacking of wheatears; small groups of Soay sheep - mainly ewes and lambs - and a single whooper swan; puffins though surprisingly sparse across on Dun; an unusual pied-billed grebe, perhaps blown in from the west on the severe gales of the previous week.
Wednesday (28 June): Wheatears and twite on Scarp but no eagles; kittiwakes, terns, auks and shearwaters as we make passage to Skye. Thursday (29 June): Tysties and eiders in the shallows at Canna and a single red-throated diver; lots of orchids on Sanday; boost to bird list with species such as robin and pied wagtail; rainy but walkers rewarded with basking shark in the waves below the small puffin / guillemot / kittiwake colony. Friday (30 June): Another basking shark; best seabird concentrations (beyond St Kilda) on Canna’s cliffs with good guillemots and kittiwakes and a fair sprinkling of puffins (more than St Kilda) plus shags, razorbills and assorted gulls; red deer grazing the slopes on Rum; skylarks at Muck and native greylag geese grazing a far field; shearwaters round Ardnamurchan to Tobermory; two flamboyant bottlenose dolphins in the harbour for several hours. Saturday (1 July): The dolphins reappear then ashore for morning walk with dipper and grey wag seen; common seals with pups in the Sound of Mull; in to Loch Spelve with more common seal mothers and pups nearby, a single short-eared owl and a single otter which catches and eats a fish in the water, then comes out roll in rain-wet grass to clean its fur before scampering along the shore. Sunday (2 July): Cruise in to Oban with more tysties en route. Mon 3 Jul | Otter shocker Now then, it's not every day that you glance out of the window and see a pair of otters nonchalantly climbing into your garden pond for a swim is it? That's exactly what I saw this morning! (Apologies to Dorothy who had phoned to book a holiday next year...I know I started talking rubbish when I witnessed this extraordinary sight...) Otters are cute right? Well, um, not when cornered by a bull terrier...and we now have two. Cyd, our first BT, is long gone so I guess I can admit she once had an altercation with an otter on the beach in Lochbuie. I should say now that the otter was fine and Cyd definitely came off worse but I have never quite got over the trauma of smacking the otter over the head to make it let go of the dog. I later found out that (as far as I could make out) otters are the only European mammal with four sets of canines - that's eight, sharp, pointy teeth - and this particular otter sank most of them into Cyd's snout. 2 otters + 2 bull terriers = 24 fangs = potentially a lot of mess. Thankfully a later walk with Seven, on a lead, indicated they'd left as quickly as they'd appeared.
Wed 5 Jul | Encore! Encore! Hans Hansson spent a second night in Torshavn, at the Faroes, today. The day was spent shopping and sightseeing. After dinner all ventured ashore again and found live music in the Cafe Cleopatra. You can count on Big John, the mate/engineer, to liven up a party and sure enough his contribution was very well received and got a big round of applause! Gordon is planning to leave Torshavn tomorrow, heading for Saarvagur, although the forecast is rather poor. Fri 7 Jul | Wonderful weather... well it's a shame that this is news enough to make a headline but great weather has been a bit thin on the ground so far this year. Rob and Mark returned Elizabeth G and Hjalmar Bjorge to Oban today after a week's dive charter. The previous week's weather was excellent too and the guests on both boats, for both weeks, experienced a really good quality visit to St Kilda. Afterwards Eleanor, who organised the current charter aboard Elizabeth G, wrote, "I just wanted to send you an email to let you know what a brilliant holiday we had to St Kilda last week. We all agreed this was by far the best UK (if not world) liveaboard we have been on and fully appreciated the efforts gone to by Rob, Trish and Nicola to give us a great holiday. The diving was relaxed and the food brilliant. We all came back feeling healthy and well holidayed." Tue 11 Jul | Hello from Husavik Hans Hansson is now in Husavik on the north coast of Iceland. The vessel left Sorvagur in the Faroe islands on Friday morning arriving in Seydisfjordur (east coast of Iceland) on Saturday afternoon in time for dinner and a visit to the town and local pub. Departing on Sunday morning all aboard saw white-beaked dolphins as they left Seydisfjord but they didn't hang around for long. The weather, and immediate forecast, weren't great so a decision was taken to head straight to Husavik instead of visiting Rausfarhavn. Hans Hansson crossed the Arctic Circle at about 2200 on Sunday evening in a big northerly swell and brisk NW wind. Gordon, alone at the wheel (and without a camera) saw a humpback whale in Skjalfandi Bay at 0330 on Monday before berthing at Husavik (below) at 0630. Photo: Gordon Fitton
After breakfast the guests went ashore to visit the town and the excellent whale museum. Today, Tuesday, our guests are travelling inland to see some of the many interesting sights close to Husavik such as Dettifoss Falls (the biggest waterfall in Europe), Lake Myvatn with its hot springs and volcanic action, echoing cliffs etc. The plan tomorrow is to visit Lunde island to see the thousands of puffins that nest there, spend some time whale watching in Skjalfandi Bay and land on Flatey Island for a picnic.
Fri 14 Jul | End of Iceland Gordon, completing Hans Hansson's first adventurous trip from Scotland to the Faroes and round the coast of Iceland, reports on the last few days. Unfortunately on Wednesday the weather was fairly appalling but, unlike the local whale-watching boats, Hans Hansson steamed out of Husavik. Conditions were not suitable for a landing on Flately so the vessel continued westwards to Siglufjorder where they berthed late in the afternoon in driving rain. The weather improved in the evening and guests went ashore for a walk and a visit to the excellent museum. This records the history of the small town which was the biggest herring port in Iceland until the recent decline of that fishery. Thursday morning was beautiful with clear skies, bright sunshine and southerly breezes which flattened Wednesday's swell. Hans Hansson left Siglufjorder after breakfast and retraced her course to Skalfandi Bay and Flately Island. Passing Eyjafjorder they spotted a whale spouting and spent the next hour and a half following this and other humpbacks. All onboard were treated to the full repertoire of humpback behaviour and some excellent photos were taken. Photos: John Maughan
Guests were finally landed on Flately after lunch and in perfect weather! The island was idyllic in these conditions and guests enjoyed walking amongst the unspoilt meadows, sighting many ground nesting and other birds, including numerous puffins. With all back onboard Gordon headed west to berth for the night in the attractive little town of Dalvik in Eyjafjorder in time for dinner and contented conversation recalling the day. Hans Hansson left Dalvik this morning and headed south down Eyjafjorder towards Akureyri, Iceland's second city and capital of the north, which lies at the head of the fjord - the longest on the north coast. The mountains enclosing the fjord are spectacular and make a splendid backdrop for the verdant coastal fringes with their beautifully kept farmsteads. In an agreed change of plan the vessel berthed in Akureyri in time for guests to catch the afternoon flight to Keflavik and the onward connection to London.
Mon 17 Jul | Isafjordur orcas Hans Hansson had a wonderful encounter with a pod of orca (killer whales) on the way to Isafjordur on Iceland's NW coast today. I wish I could say the boat was packed with appreciative guests but unfortunately it wasn't...the vessel is relocating to Kelflavik to start the next charter on Saturday so only the crew were onboard. Not that the crew don't deserve awesome encounters! Big John sent these pictures below...the left shows a large male (those dorsal fins can be two metres tall in a fully grown male) and the right a female and calf. Photos: John Maughan
Tue 18 Jul | 4 season in 1 day Hjalmar Bjorge guests have encountered all sorts of weird and wonderful weather and wildlife today. They set off in thick fog this morning - a mayday on Channel 16 alerted the Coastguard to a very small fishing boat that had been hit by a cruise ship in the fog. Luckily the larger vessel had seen the small one at the last minute and cut his engines to give only a glancing blow. The small vessel was actually okay but a Maritime Safety Investigation will ensue. During an otherwise uneventful journey to the Monach Islands the vessel came across another couple of dozen basking sharks (yawn, more basking sharks...). Hjalmar Bjorge anchored in fog at the Monachs although this quickly lifted and a beautiful, hot, sunny day followed. Before guests went ashore they were entertained by the antics of a minke whale that spent about 45 minutes round the boat, swimming in extremely close and even spy-hopping for a better look. This experience contrasted with guests finding a very dead, very stinky juvenile minke washed up on a beach at the Monachs. Phooey... Chris texted from Chalice today to say they were en route to the Shiant Islands and were surrounded by lots of dolphins. A truly sensational cetacean day! Thu 20 Jul | Singing seals Lots of wildlife seen over the last few days by guests on all boats. Chalice had a half a day and a night at the Monach Islands yesterday where cook Annette started counting the number of seals in a large colony. She got to 70 and gave up! There were other colonies two or three miles away and last night, in the very still conditions, guests could hear the eerie, almost unearthly noise of the seals singing. A very strange sound which really has to be experienced to be believed. The previous day Chalice guests had seen cute seal pups at the Shiant Islands plus amazing birds. They also saw basking sharks near Taransay, renamed "Costa del Taransay" by skipper Chris in the 25 degree heat. In common with the "Costa dels" there are miles of sandy beaches and turquoise coloured seas but thankfully no other holiday makers. Perfect! Yesterday Hjalmar Bjorge guests experienced, once again, the resident pod of half a dozen dolphins in the Sound of Barra. We have been seeing the same group of five adults and one calf for a couple of months now and they always welcome us with a bow-riding session!
Fri 21 Jul | Gorgeous glaucous Okay, maybe "gorgeous" is a bit over the top but it's always exciting to spot unusual birds. An immature glaucous gull was seen by the passengers, guide and crew aboard Hans Hansson in the harbour area Keflavik today; also an adult Iceland gull and a snow bunting. The most common bird, so far, fittingly seems to be the Arctic tern. The most common birds seen at sea around Iceland have been guillemots, razorbills and puffins, a few gannets, arctic skuas and great skuas. There was a fleeting view of two red necked phalarope that the vessel disturbed on the sea surface plus a single storm petrel. Other recent sightings include a whimbrel, another couple of glaucous gulls. Ashore a pair of redwings was seen and also heard singing.
One of the highlights of Mingulay was the proliferation of puffins (which had been absent at this time last year). They were busily popping in and out of hundreds of burrows with beaks full of sand eels and always amuse and delight our guests with their antics. All too soon it was time to head off to Coll and Loch Breachacha (with its two castles) with – surely not – more basking sharks en route and an otter for good measure. Sat 22 Jul | Last chance eagle Chris’ guests aboard Chalice are due to finish their eight night "Not St Kilda cruise" tomorrow having seen some wonderful wildlife and lovely locations. The only much-anticipated sighting Chris had not delivered during this trip was a white-tailed sea eagle so this morning he headed back towards the Sound of Mull. After a quick stop at The Chocolate Factory in Tobermory (essential if you ask me) guests were eventually rewarded with firstly a buzzard, secondly a golden eagle and, finally, the sea eagle! A sensational cetacean Saturday. Hans Hansson departed Keflavik around 0600, in cool, cloudy conditions. Heading NW into the Denmark Strait the boat came across the first of three pods of white beaked dolphins who briefly bow rode. The later groups were more extravagant in their behaviour albeit a little further away. All aboard saw a succession of minke whales heading south purposefully, at least nine before reaching Olafsvik.
Highlight of the day was a pod of fifteen to twenty feeding orca as Hans Hansson rounded the Snaefells peninsula. Around thirty five minutes was spent with the killer whales as they swam very close to the ship. Photo (above left) Chris Fitton (above right) John Maughan
Sun 23 Jul | 200 dolphins!!! An unbelieveable encounter for guests aboard Hjalmar Bjorge on their way to St Kilda...around 200 common dolphins in the Sound of Barra!!! Mon 24 Jul | Bags of Brunnich's Hans Hansson spent yesterday at Olafsvik in great weather (lovely sunshine) where guests walked along the coast to Rif to see phalaropes in the brackish ponds. They left at 0600 this morning for Patreksfjordur, a lush green location names after St Patrick of Ireland. It was a flat calm morning and all aboard saw three minke whales even before breakfast! By noon they had reached the world famous seabird cliffs at Latrabjarg where there are thousands of guillemots, razorbills and puffins on the sea for several kilometres. Around one in twenty of the birds was a Brunnich's guillemot. After rounding Bjardtangar Point a raft of about twenty red necked phalarope flew from the sea surface. The vessel anchored in Tunga Cove in Patreksfjordur in time to land and walk around the beach before dinner. Photos: (left and middle) Chris Gomersall (right) John Maughan
Tue 25 Jul | The perfect steam Hans Hansson weighed anchor at 0600 today and sailed to Isafjordur in beautiful weather, light airs and mirror calm sea. Sadly today no whales! A lovely cruise in perfect conditions ending in Isafjordur, an attractive little town, in the early afternoon. Chris Gomersall, who is guiding our cruises round Iceland, spotted a glaucous gull and leapt off the boat in hot pursuit of a photograph whilst everyone else went ashore for a leisurely exploration of the town.
Hans Hansson left Isafjordur at 0400 for the sea passage around "the Horn" (Hornstrandir), the sticky outy NW tip of Iceland. Calm conditions provided good whale watching opportunities and several small groups of white-beaked dolphins and a lone minke whale were seen.
Thu 27 Jul | Flash of fin in fog Hans Hansson guests went ashore at Kálfshamarsvik before breakfast to watch great northern and red-throated divers again - it was a lovely morning. The snow bunting flock had swelled to 20 or so, and amongst the roosting waders our guide Chris spotted a migrant knot on its passage south. Back aboard two grey seals watched as the vessel weighed anchor and set sail. On the passage round to Siglufjordur the boat encountered lots more dolphins, all white-beaked again. The largest pod of about 12 came bow-riding for a few minutes. Photos: Chris Gomersall
In the afternoon the vessel sailed into patchy fog but all aboard were lucky enough to catch sight of a possible fin whale (or other large rorqual) surfacing off the starboard bow before he disappeared into the fog. Arriving in Siglufjordur the densest flock of fulmars ever was seen, dining out on scraps from the fish processing plant. Highly entertaining with lots of clucking and squabbling over the leftovers. Sat 29 Jul | Akureyi attractions Yesterday’s journey made by Hans Hansson from Siglufjordur to Akureyi saw pods of white-beaked dolphins at the mouth of the fjord, some groups of up to 20 individuals. Lots of surging, breaching and occasional bow-riding made for some challenging photography! The first harbour porpoise of the cruise was also seen. Guests spent today exploring Iceland’s second city (pop 15,000) along with passengers from two other visiting cruise ships. Of interest were stained glass windows rescued from old Coventry cathedral and the botanic gardens. Redwings, and a redpoll (another first for this cruise) were seen in the gardens. Sun 30 Jul | Puffins aplenty After Hans Hansson left Akureyri and made her way up Eyjafjord several pods of harbour porpoises were seen plus a few common seals. There were also lots of arctic skuas harassing feeding flocks of terns. Despite a freshening easterly wind Gordon managed to anchor the vessel safely in a lee under Flatey island where they anchored for a couple of hours. Plenty of puffins swarm around and queue up to be photographed on jetties, banks and low cliffs! Photos: Chris Gomersall
Guests also saw a vast colony of arctic terns, and wading birds such as snipe, redshank, golden plover and whimbrel. Although now uninhabited, Flatey does have some summer residents, and guests were lucky enough to make the acquaintance of a friendly individual who was only too happy to tell them about the history of the island. Apparently the tiny church was dismantled and rebuilt on the mainland when the island was abandoned in the 1970s, only to be dismantled again and rebuilt on the island again a few years later when the original residents all moved far away to Keflavik. Mon 31 Jul | WHYW support Chalice is once again acting as a West Highland Yachting Week (Tennent's Week) committee support vessel this week. It begins in Croabh Haven and ends in Oban with daily races undertaken by visiting yachts. It's not often we hope and pray for wind on the west coast but it makes this particular week far more exciting! An unexpected task for Chris was taking Chalice to a particular spot today to enable those onboard to scatter some ashes at sea. Some thoughtful words were said by someone who had known the lady in question and off she went to travel the seas of the Hebrides forever after. We have facilitated a number of these events, where ashes are scattered at a chosen spot, and it's gratifying to be able to assist with such a task. Photo: Chris Jackson
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Tuesday
(27 June): Big group of Risso's dolphins at breakfast; cruise the stacks;
St Kilda wren songs loud and clear over the 'urrah, urrah' calls of
gannets; another minke whale; at least one Leach's petrel and a handful of
storm petrels on return crossing; at Loch Resort, common gulls and herring
gulls hawking for moths above the water; sandpiper calling. 
Tue
4 Jul | Delightful Dimun
Thu
13 Jul | Eagles everywhere
Sun
16 Jul | Shark sightings
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Sharks,
sharks and more basking sharks...either there's one group of them that
move from place to place very quickly indeed (not likely!) or there are
just shedloads of sharks in Hebridean waters this year. Hjalmar Bjorge
spent time with a group of baskers off Skerryvore today and Rob's guest on
Elizabeth G, travelling back in after a few great days at St Kilda, came
across a group of about 30 basking sharks, some over four metres in
length, off Hyskeir. Rob's guests are divers this week and the divers got
in the water with the sharks. After ascertaining that the sharks weren't
in the least bit perturbed by their presence they swam amongst them even
touching their tail fins. Exhilarating! 
Yesterday
Chalice cruised down the Atlantic side of the Uists (which can only be
done in flat calm conditions) and through the sound of Barra (more basking
sharks!!!) before spending a night on anchor at Vatersay. It’s a
beautiful anchorage and was much appreciated by the guests. One of them
announced he could happily live on Vatersay. "It's much prettier than
our village..." he commented. All awoke this morning to another clear
blue sky and big spidery sun. Eager to make the most of the day
Chalice soon set off to Mingulay which was picture-postcard perfect (and
complimented with the now obligatory basking shark just off the beach!).
Unusually Chris had to insist a couple of reluctant guests go ashore after
they said they wouldn’t bother and, sure enough, they returned after a
walk, full of enthusiasm for what surely must be one of the prettiest
islands in the Hebrides. A steep climb from the beach gives stunning views
over Barra and the Uists. %20chris%20fitton%20and%20(right)%20john%20maughan.jpg)
Wed
26 Jul | No. 1 for sun (fish)
Fresh
winds and poor visibility today meant all aboard Hans Hansson opted for a
day ashore exploring by hire car. Along the coast road from Husavik, by
the Oxarfjordur wetlands whooper swans, a large flock of pink-footed
geese, many common wading birds and a male merlin were seen. Next to
Jokulsargljufur National Park, the canyon at Asbyrgi with its extensive
woodland, and the impressive waterfalls of Dettifoss (the most powerful
waterfall in Europe). Lots of signs of geothermal activity around Lake
Myvatn, including the sulphurous fumaroles of Hverfjall. Some took a quick
dip in the spa before undertaking a circuit of Lake Myvatn, home to vast
flocks of wildfowl including Icelandic specialities such as harlequin duck
(right) and Barrow’s goldeneye.