Conditioned as we are to the to the sea haar and the easterly winds, when the sun shines it brings out the old joie de vivre, so, on a whim, LotH and I went off down to the harbour acting the tourists and took a trip in the latest addition to the local fleet – the Glass Bottomed Boat.
As the North Sea fish stocks diminish, the fishing community are turning, in some cases reluctantly but in others eagerly, to catching a new species - the visitor. It must be a lot easier life than fighting the elements and literally risking life and limb for uncertain returns. The trawlers, prawners, crab and lobster boats have been joined or sometimes replaced, by sub aqua dive boats, sea angling boats and, now, the Glass Bottomed Boat.
LotH and I boarded from the pontoon jetty with its gently slopping ramp. Another concession to the new market, you can’t expect land lubbers to climb down harbour ladders.
As the North Sea fish stocks diminish, the fishing community are turning, in some cases reluctantly but in others eagerly, to catching a new species - the visitor. It must be a lot easier life than fighting the elements and literally risking life and limb for uncertain returns. The trawlers, prawners, crab and lobster boats have been joined or sometimes replaced, by sub aqua dive boats, sea angling boats and, now, the Glass Bottomed Boat.
LotH and I boarded from the pontoon jetty with its gently slopping ramp. Another concession to the new market, you can’t expect land lubbers to climb down harbour ladders.
An easy life
The harbour seals are so spoiled they nosed expectantly round us as we chugged out to sea. Entrepreneurial local merchants or fish cadgers as they are called, have started selling fish to the visitors to feed the seals. A win-win-win situation. The fish sellers get rid of any unwanted fish, the tourists have a great time interacting with the wild life and the seals have a pleasant superannuated existence, eating and sleeping on the rocks.
There had been word of minkes moving up and down the coast, following the mackerel but neither they, nor the porpoises were to be seen but the trip was otherwise a great success.
Gannets soared up, folding their wings and diving like arrows, kittiwakes dipped into the water like children ducking for apples, and guillemots, swimming like penguins, shot under the boat, all in search of the sand eels which seem to be plentiful again. We even saw a solitary puffin. There are only about ten breeding pairs on the Head but even this is an improvement on previous years.
There had been word of minkes moving up and down the coast, following the mackerel but neither they, nor the porpoises were to be seen but the trip was otherwise a great success.
Gannets soared up, folding their wings and diving like arrows, kittiwakes dipped into the water like children ducking for apples, and guillemots, swimming like penguins, shot under the boat, all in search of the sand eels which seem to be plentiful again. We even saw a solitary puffin. There are only about ten breeding pairs on the Head but even this is an improvement on previous years.
The shallow draft and the expertise of the local skipper who knew every rock of his native coast, let us get close into the breeding birds on the cliffs and outliers Shags, herring gulls, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes, all alight, take off, sleep and breed on the crowded ledges. The gannets have their own colony further up the coast on the Bass and other islands in the Forth.
High density accomodationDespite the absence of the big sea mammals, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Seeing the land from the sea is a bit like coming into a town by train rather than car, you see familiar surroundings from a different angle. It made us feel even more like holiday makers so, after disembarking, a stroll to a harbour-side restaurant for lunch seemed obligatory.
We are so quick to dash off to foreign climes we sometimes ignore what is on the doorstep.
As Wallace and Gromit would say… “ a Grand Day Out”.
We are so quick to dash off to foreign climes we sometimes ignore what is on the doorstep.
As Wallace and Gromit would say… “ a Grand Day Out”.
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