Dolphin Time at the Tate

Super-scenic St. Ives

St. Ives. Hard to believe it’s part of the UK and not some far-away destination of exotica…especially when it is bathed in sunshine. The cultural carrot of the Tate St.Ives ensures the streets are choc-full of visitors year round. I never imagined there’d be a lengthy queue at the pasty shop in early February.

The streets are narrow, the car parks are full. So the transport of choice to access this jewel of a town is, needless to say, a kayak.

St. Ives Bay seems to be an irresistible marine megafauna hotspot at the moment. A Black-browed Albatross was hanging around a few weeks ago, hundreds of dolphins mill about and there has been a regular sighting of a Humpback Whale tantalisingly close to the shore. It was time for a visit!

Carbis Bay…it’s a cracker!

Mark and I paddled out from beautiful Carbis Bay beach. Facing North-east it is protected from the meat of the Atlantic groundswell. Even so the occasional fairly hefty set of waves thumped onto the beach in a rather alarming fashion, so we had to get our timing right.

Despite a lot of swirling gulls that every so often shallow-plunged in to the water to catch a little fish, sandeel I think, our morning paddle that took us a couple of miles offshore towards Godrevy Island was uneventful in terms of wildlife.

Mark looking, but not seeing

I felt a bit small and vulnerable as giant waves exploded in a cloud of spray upon the distant island. The offshore wind picked up and clouds started to roll in. I’m quite glad I radioed in to the NCI station on the headland nearby to let them know what we were doing. Not just for our own safety but also so they knew that the two kayakers zig-zagging around far out in the bay were not entirely deranged. Needless to say, they had already got us ‘on visual’. They do a great job (all voluntary!).

In exchange for Mark doing all the driving I had promised him a flaky-crust pasty…extra large. Just one little problem. Low tide meant the harbour wall at St. Ives offered no protection against the waves so our timing, plus a little surfing, had to be perfect. Surfing is good, but not so great with a camera in a not-very-waterproof drybag.

Shore-break successfully negotiated, lunch was taken on the sea front. We had a chat to chums Pete and Kim and background music was provided by an idiotically friendly Starling when it wasn’t picking at the surplus fragments from our exceptionally tasty pasties.

All stoked up we were good for the afternoon adventure.

We paddled as far as ‘The Island’ and loitered. The tide has just turned and we were hopeful it might bring in the big stuff. The dolphins appeared just as we were about to pull the plug.

St Ives Common Dolphins

They were first scattered about and very slinky, but then got together for a bit of a social and a bit of close kayak investigation. Blooming excellent.

An absolute thrill as usual, even better because for me it was my first dolphin encounter of the year. They seem to have passed me by up to now. Maybe it’s because I have been doing a bit of otter spotting up the rivers.

The dynamism of dolphins is hard to beat.

Common Dolphin doing its stuff

It’s in front of you!

Two had mangled fins. One half-missing and the other with a nasty gouge. This pair stuck together all the time so presumably were mother and older calf. Probably both injured at the same time…it would be an extreme coincidence if they had both sustained such an injury on separate occasions.

I wonder what had happened…both tangled up in a fishing net maybe??

Dolphins with damaged fins

We enjoyed the flurry of fins for half an hour before they moved away. Common Dolphin pods cruise at about four mph so following them in a kayak is always challenging. Maintaining that speed for a long time in the sort of craft that Mark and I were paddling, especially as we were wrapped up in a load of thermals which restricts arm movement, is difficult.

Funnily enough, Otters and Basking Sharks also cruise at about four mph. If they want to leave you behind in their wake, they can…and do. It’s all part of the fun of wildlife watching from the kayak.

Bubblewrap Dolphin ( don’t panic…it’s wrapped in air bubbles as it breathes out…at speed!)