Good value seabird cruise from Martins Haven (Pembs)

jerry12953

jerry12953

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Jeremy Moore
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I just did this evening cruise from Martins Haven (Pembs) - very good value at £16 for two hours, I thought. And if you get the same wildlife guide as i did (Steve Sutcliffe) it's money really well spent! He was warden on Skomer for 10 years and really knows his stuff.

The boat takes 50 but me and the other really keen bird photographer on board stood up just by the door to the cabin where visiblity is quite good.

The trip runs Tues, Weds and Fri until the end of July, subject to weather conditions, of course. Book in advance and be at Martins Haven at 6.45 pm for loading.

http://www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk/boat-trips/cruises/seabird-spectacular/
 
DeadpanDodo said:
Skomer is lovely and puffins are guaranteed this time of the year.

Occasionally the trip can be more exciting than usual!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-22672780

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...oat-sank-hitting-rocks-sight-seeing-trip.html
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That happened a couple of weeks before my first day trip to skomer. In a couple of weeks I'm staying on skomer for the third year in a row. Considering they run two boats and do several trips a day their safety record is very good.

jerry12953 said:
I just did this evening cruise from Martins Haven (Pembs) - very good value at £16 for two hours, I thought. And if you get the same wildlife guide as i did (Steve Sutcliffe) it's money really well spent! He was warden on Skomer for 10 years and really knows his stuff.

The boat takes 50 but me and the other really keen bird photographer on board stood up just by the door to the cabin where visiblity is quite good.

The trip runs Tues, Weds and Fri until the end of July, subject to weather conditions, of course. Book in advance and be at Martins Haven at 6.45 pm for loading.

http://www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk/boat-trips/cruises/seabird-spectacular/
Click to expand...

Sounds like a worthwhile trip.
 
Actually they have five boats altogether and in good weather they must be busy up to12 hours a day! Once the landing trips to Skomer have been done (up to 5 every morning) they then do a round the island cruise (or something similar) and then start bringing people back off Skomer. (another 5 trips), and then there are the evening cruises. I can't imagine how much money goes through their hands on busy day - none of those trips are cheap. That's why I recommended the evening seabird spectacular which seemed good value compared to the rest.

I hope there are still some seabirds left for you on your visit, Rob!
 
jerry12953 said:
Actually they have five boats altogether and in good weather they must be busy up to12 hours a day! Once the landing trips to Skomer have been done (up to 5 every morning) they then do a round the island cruise (or something similar) and then start bringing people back off Skomer. (another 5 trips), and then there are the evening cruises. I can't imagine how much money goes through their hands on busy day - none of those trips are cheap. That's why I recommended the evening seabird spectacular which seemed good value compared to the rest.

I hope there are still some seabirds left for you on your visit, Rob!
Click to expand...
Looks like it's now six boats, I had always thought they only had the 'Dale Princess' and 'Lady Helen'.

http://www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk/our-boats/our-boats/

There will be plenty of sea birds for the next month or so, its coming up to peak Puffin season with Chick feeding. There should be around 20,000 puffins and over half a million Manx Shearswaters (though they come back at night), along with plenty of Guillemots and Razorbills.
 
The cut-off point for most seabirds is early July, isn't it? After that they'll all be away. The manxies will still be there, of course, but underground.

According to Steve Sutcliffe on the seabird cruise there are 600,000 manxies on the island! Or did that include Skokholm as well? And did that include the youngsters which are too old to breed (ie less than 8/9 years old) but visit the colony later in the season? I just can't remember. Whatever, the numbers, statistics and facts are just mind-blowing. So much new info. has come in the last few years thanks to those tiny transmitters that researchers attach to the birds.

i hope you have a great time.
 
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