Karen Dean contacted Sea Watch Sightings Officer this afternoon with amazing photos and a stunning video of a pair of short-beaked common dolphins which she sighted on August 2nd while sailing along Loch Linnhe on the South-West coast of Scotland. This is her story!
We left Lochaber Yacht Club at around 19:00 in the Club rib for a trip along Loch Linnhe. Initially we saw a pod of harbour porpoises near the shore opposite Fort William, two adults and a calf. They were swimming to the South disappearing after a few minutes.
We continued along the loch, it was a lovely still evening with the water like a mirror. As we approached Drimarben we saw the fins of the dolphins. There seemed to be one adult and a juvenile and they came to bow ride the boat.
Adutl and juvenile short-beaked common dolphins. Photo credit: Karen Dean / Lochview B&B
We stopped the boat and engine and they swam around us for a bit before heading away. Once we restarted the engine they appeared again, very happy to play and pose for pictures. We circled for a while with them following the boat and in all they were with us at least 30 minutes. They definitely preferred the boat moving slowly for them to follow rather than us staying still to watch them. When we headed home they followed for a short distance before disappearing back to where we had initially spotted them. It was a fantastic experience and a night to remember for all of us.
Thanks Karen
Click here to see Karen’s stunning video of the common dolphins bow riding!
