Anyone who regularly reads our Facebook and Blog will by now know that Irene & I (Michael) are experts at not seeing dolphins and whales!
However, it all appears to have gone a bit wrong this year and we seem to have stumbled on a new way of finding them: By complete coincidence! After years of going specifically to see them and failing miserably and missing them by arriving the day before, the day after, minutes after and before, sailing out in boats, on kayaks the answer was there all along! Don’t try!
19th June, we weren’t looking for them in Ramsey. In fact, we were following the Parish Walk and following a toilet emergency, we found ourselves on South Shore, and there, right by the pier, only about 150m out were Moonlight & Starlight*!
Last Saturday, 25th September, we didn’t mention dolphins once as we headed out to Peel for what has been a rare excursion out of Douglas the last few weeks. We left the car in the Fenella Beach park and before we’d even reached the road, there once again were Moonlight & Starlight, right in the centre of the Bay, between the two yellow markers.
One of them did a fantastic breach, fully out of the water but of course, as we tried to get ourselves nearer by moving towards the breakwater, they seemed to be heading North and away from us but at least we’d seen them!
Therefore, we walked back along the top of the Breakwater, to perhaps grab a cup of tea. We could see the seals playing in the waves in the distance as high tide approached but frustratingly, the gate, part way along was locked, so we had to turn around. And there, probably about 100m away were our two cetecean chums apparently, just hanging around, intertwining with each other as they dipped beneath the water. if some dude hadn’t shut the padlock for seemingly no reason at all, we might not have been so lucky!
If you want to come to the Isle of Man to not see dolphins, either by using our new method or more traditional modes, why not stay at the Welbeck Hotel & Restaurant? Book now through our website, though we much prefer the old fashioned way of actually talking to you +44 (0) 1624 657663 or email mail@welbeckhotel.com https://www.welbeckhotel.com/
- For those of you not in the know, Starlight is the first bottlenose dolphin to be recorded as born in Manx waters, around the Point of Ayre area 2019. Her mother, Moonlight was originally identified in Scotland but thought to be lost before being spotted again near Scandinavia, then appearing here two years ago. Ordinarily, dolphins are just visitors to the Island, mainly bottlenose in the winter and Rissos in the summer, with occasional excursions here by common dolphins too but our mother and daughter pair seem to have stayed around the Island, most regularly appearing in Peel and on the West coast. The other cetaceans usually spotted in our area are Harbour Porpoise and Minke whales, the latter usually arriving in numbers around this time of year, following the spawning herrings.Ms. Roberta Harbisher, one of our residents who was also in Peel on Saturday but saw no dolphins would like to point out that she saw a pod far bigger than ours’ at Dhoon Bay last week!
For anyone more interested in their story, see https://mwdwresidentbottlenose.weebly.com/story-and-sightings.html?fbclid=IwAR255Ou1v2FWGVlGpqFEhiiXIDObDZ8CQYAQNX-R1rTjng1lt6lI0gAcFAA