An early start in darkness for our last survey of the year on this route, after checking the shipping forecast which confirmed that we should be back home before the storm was due to hit, and indeed there was little wind on arrival at Newhaven though it was cold. Boarding was very smooth, and we had time for a small breakfast while waiting for the light to improve enough to begin our survey.

Though we left the UK shores in cloud, this soon lifted and the day began bright, as it would remain.  However, the low sun almost directly ahead, did make observations difficult due to glare. Almost immediately our first encounters were with small numbers of Herring Gull and Gannet, but soon sightings dropped off until we hit a richer seam of increasing Gannet numbers, and a good count of Kittiwake.

A highlight of the morning was a close encounter with a Bottlenose Dolphin making towards us and across the bow. As we approached Dieppe, we encountered Razorbill, more Gannet and gulls of varying species, along with a Cormorant.

We had a pleasant few hours to spend in Dieppe, enjoying the sunshine tempered by a cold north-easterly breeze. By the time we were ready to depart a bit more cloud had appeared, though visibility was still pretty good and the glare had reduced. Due to the timings of the departure, we only had about 90 minutes of useful light in which to survey on the return, and on this leg some Fulmar made an appearance as well as a couple of Great Skua.

Our thanks to DFDS, Captain Birrien, his officers and crew for their warm welcome and ensuring an enjoyable survey.

Deborah & Alistair McKail, Research Surveyors for MARINElife (Registered Charity No. 1110884; Registered Company No. 5057367)

Weather:

Outbound: wind NE 3, sea state 3, visibility good, little cloud, significant glare

Return: wind SW 3, sea state 2-3, visibility good, moderate cloud cover