Whales, Dolphins and Basking Sharks with Noble Caledonian

BOOK BEFORE 28 OCTOBER 2011 AND SAVE £100 PER PERSON

An 8 day expedition cruise to the Isles of Scilly, Ireland and the Channel Islands aboard the MS Island Sky. 7 nights from £2195  18th-25th May 2012.

Join Noble Caledonia for this unusual expedition cruise which will appeal to those who wish to explore our coastal waters, observe the marvellous seabird and marine life and walk across untouched coastal wilderness areas. Although you will set sail with a schedule, it will not be set in stone. The captain and expedition team will keep a flexible approach allowing you the opportunity to fully experience the unexpected, whether it be a sighting of dolphins or any unusual event.

In just eight days you will be able to stroll along the leafy lanes of beautiful Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, visit the neighbouring islands of Bryher and St Agnes, land on uninhabited Great Saltee Island with its huge colony of gannets and explore the bird colonies of little known Les Sept Iles by Zodiac. On Lundy Island you will enjoy the antics of the puffins and later in the day sail around Grassholm, one of the world’s largest gannetries. No coastal cruise in this region would be complete without a visit to the Channel Islands and you begin your island adventure with calls at two of the most attractive, Alderney and Sark.

Your exploration of these protected coastal waters will be made all the more enjoyable by the use of our Zodiac landing craft, similar to those used by Jacques Cousteau. Zodiacs enable us to land in remote places, providing for an unusual perspective and make the otherwise inaccessible readily available. The expedition staff have a wealth of local knowledge, having undertaken numerous expeditions around Britain and Ireland. The experienced team will go ashore with you and provide evening round-ups of the day’s events and briefings on board.

For more information visit www.noble-caledonia.co.uk or adventure cruise specialists The Cruise Line.

Gig Boats, Isles of Scilly

Here we are on the The Isles of Scilly courtesy of Zegrham Expedtitions. The Isalnds have a particularly long and distinguished history when it comes to pilot gigs. Local pilots who know the waters around the Islands like the back of their hand would be taken out to any vessel requiring assistance of any kind and put aboard. The boats from each Island would race to the vessel, and the first one there would get the contract for the pilotage. St. Agnes was particularly successful regarding being first to put a pilot on board as it had the best access to the western approaches. At it's height as an industry, St. Agnes had four pilots living on it. Gigs were made in different shapes in order to fit the purpose for which they would be used, for example, long gigs with fine lines were built for speed whereas a wide gig would be build for stability and for carrying cargo.

The Isles of Scilly is currently home to thirteen gigs, the number would have been more than twice that when they were used as working boats. The gigs now are used as a sports event and the weekly races are seen by many as one of the main social activities on the islands bringing the community together. Every Friday evening in the Summer, the men's gig race takes place, usually about eight or nine gigs will take part in this. Wednesday night is women's gig racing night.  Have a great day now.

Landing on Tresco

Well here we are landing on Tresco in the isles of Scilly from one the ship's zodiacs. A lovely place and I can remember the American birders going nuts over a blackbird. To us it seems so normal but to them it was a most beautiful jet black species with a bright orange bill. Almost tropical, in fact just like Tresco.

Have great day now