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Back on the North Sea; NEWT’s 4hr pelagic 12/05/21
As we spend so much of our time on, or by, the sea it seemed poetic that as restrictions eased sufficiently to allow us to start running tours again, our first trip was a pelagic. The North Sea was at its ever-shifting best; lumpy swell and whitecaps eventually giving way to oily-smooth water reflecting the…
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Going back to basics
NEWT having a period of hibernation, while we deal with another enforced lockdown, has been an interesting time. We’re walking every day (1.6 miles in a morning or at lunchtime, then 6-10 miles on both Saturday and Sunday). Occasionally I’ll carry my big lens (150-600mm) with me, but mostly I prefer to travel light… Like…
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Murmurings; Otter mini-Safari 29/10/20
Other than a few nights at the Battlesteads Observatory, I’ve had a month at home with my feet up recovering from an operation in late September to fix an old foot injury. Even the drizzly, murky weather didn’t curb my enthusiasm for getting back out with clients so I met Maria ahead of a few…
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NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 22/09/2020
Our pelagic season ended with a 10hr Northumberland Ultimate Pelagic, and the sea demonstrated what a fickle mistress she is. The previous afternoon we’d had White-beaked Dolphins and good conditions offshore…and now the sea was ominous and brooding as a stiff southwesterly started to pick up and we were treated to a sea that was…
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NEWT’s North Sea Pelagics 21/09/2020
Our final 4hr daytime pelagics for 2020 were very contrasting. Our morning sailing was a great few hours offshore but didn’t produce any cetacean sightings so in the hour between sailings, I suggested to Allan that we should just head straight out in the afternoon…and just at the point where we were about to turn…
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Joyriders; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 02/09/2020
Wednesday’s 10hr Northumberland Ultimate Pelagic sailed with the intention of heading out to the furthest reaches of the Farne Deeps but just over 2hrs in, Mark and Martin looked at the weather and decided that it wouldn’t be safe to head as far offshore as planned. Checking the forecast for the rest of the day,…
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Northumberland Ultimate Pelagic 15/08/2020
Saturday was our first 10hr pelagic, after August 5th had weather that wasn’t great. White-beaked Dolphin put in an appearance early in the day, a Minke Whale was well to the ENE of Alnmouth and Harbour Porpoise were regular throughout the day. Amongst mist and rain we had some sublime conditions, extraordinary light and incredibly…