We start the day with fine, warm and sunny conditions, however as predicted the rain clouds gathered and by mid afternoon it started to pour! However this sudden downpour didn’t deter our passengers who were treated to our first sighting, this season, of both a basking shark and an ocean sunfish. We had received a report of a basking shark just off the pier in the harbour area on Tuesday night at about 10.30pm so we weren’t too surprised to spot our first this season during one of our cruises today. We watched the 4 metre fish feeding close to Big Sand Beach for a few minutes before we lost it in the heavy rain.
First Basking Shark of the Season
As we continued on our course we thought we had sighted a second basking shark but taking a closer look through our binoculars we realised it was in fact another first for the season the ocean sunfish. We first recorded this elusive fish in Gairloch way back in 2004 and we have continued to see them every year since. An unusual looking fish approximately 1 metre in diameter was seen laying at the surface before diving down into deeper water.
First ocean sunfish of the season