Survey Route: Ilfracombe – Lundy

On the return voyage it was very quiet until we were about a third of the way across, when a large pod of Common Dolphin was spotted

I was joined on the top deck by many passengers keen to watch a plethora of seabirds, including flocks of Razorbill, a procession of Kittiwake and the occasional Fulmar

On the crossing there were lots of Manx Shearwater, along with a few Gannet, Fulmar, Guillemot and one group of around twenty Razorbill

On the return trip more Manx Shearwater were flying past, seemingly enjoying the slightly increased wind speed.

we were briefly joined by a pod of three Common Dolphin on the port bow

On the approach to Lundy two Harbour Porpoise were briefly seen wheeling around off Rat Island

We saw one dolphin on the outward leg, it was swimming very slowly and was lost after one surfacing, fortunately, we saw enough in that one view to identify it as a Bottlenose Dolphin

As I walked across, I was delighted to see lots of Sand Martin swooping around

With a full complement of passengers, we left Ilfracombe harbour in glorious sunshine, with a gentle breeze and perfect flat seas.