THE SHETLANDS


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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Caithness County
July 29th 2011
Published: July 29th 2011
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It was grey and drizzly when we boarded the small boat to take us to the Isle of Noss, a natural preserve. Our Captain, Jonathon, was trained as a geographer at the University of Edinburgh and his future son-in-law was crewing today. There were fifteen aboard including Jonathon and Kevin so it was cozy in the cabin. The boat was specially designed for working in these waters. It has no propeller and can turn on a dime and has a very shallow draft.
Our first stop was a cave on the island of Bressie. Once inside the cave, Jonathon deployed a robotic underwater camera and we explored the sea life beneath us. The upper zone had kelp, yellow near the surface and red the further away from the light we went. The water is cloudy with photo plankton (plants), an incredibly rich source of food for the next layers of life the zooplankton (microscopic animals). In turn the sea worms and anemone, starfish and urchins feed on the zooplankton, photo plankton and tiny baby shrimp and crab.
We saw lobsters, crabs, a seal fishing, and baby fish all without getting wet or cold. I hadn’t expected this and really enjoyed our underwater journey. My quest for puffins was both successful and not. We saw lot of puffins, smaller birds than I expected, but not up close and personal. It was now raining quite a bit so I took out my underwater camera. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t take good action shots and the birds hardly ever pose so I captured a wing hear and a foot there.
The highlight of the tour was a giant Gannet colony. These are aggressive but fascinating birds. They mate for life, brood one egg per season, nurses the chick for five months and then it is goodbye baby. The young bird is now bigger than it’s parents and dives down off the cliff into the water where it experiences a rude awakening. Mom and Dad ignore their cries for help, their wings are to weak to fly, and they are too buoyant to dive. What they need to do is paddle and flap out to deeper water until the wings are strong and burn up the extra weight. By then the hunting instinct kicks in and they are off. For the first five years they are single, hanging out at their equivalent of Club Med. At five years old, the male secures a nesting place and builds a nest. Females judge the males by the attractiveness of the nest and the location of the site. We all were provided with hats for the obvious reason.
Enough with the birds!
We cruised in and out of rain. Here and there seals popped their heads up and quickly disappeared. There are whales in the area that find seals a tasty treat so the seals are very wary. On the way back, a Giant Skua followed the boat looking for a treat. He came so close I could have touched him. What a treat to be up close and personal with such a magnificent and globally rare bird.
Today’s discovery was that the Shetland Islands are the northern remnant of the Appalachian Mountains. They broke off when the North American plate drifted to the west.
Just for a moment yesterday I thought I was being hit on. This would be a first for me while cruising. I was sitting at the Castle of Mey when three HAL cruisers walked by. They stopped for a picture and I volunteered to take one of the group. We got to visiting and I told them I had rented a car. One of the gentlemen told me that if I was to do that again he would like to share the cost. AH HA!!! So I smiled and asked how I could contact him, like that was going to happen. “I’m the ships priest, Father Doyle, and you know where to find me.” So if I do rent another car I have a navigator and I don’t expect he will back out at the last minute.


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