'They suddenly popped up right in front of us'
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THE final day of Orca Watch 2019 brought an unforgettable experience for ferry passengers crossing the Pentland Firth as they encountered no fewer than six killer whales.
One of the event organisers described emotional scenes on the Pentland Venture today after a pod of four orcas appeared “literally right in front of the boat”. Two others had been observed earlier on the journey back to John O’Groats from Orkney.
It capped a memorable week of cetacean sightings in the waters around Caithness and the Northern Isles, with John O’Groats Ferries – which offered discounts during the 10-day event and ran a special wildlife cruise on Saturday – describing it as the most successful Orca Watch yet.
Organised by the Sea Watch Foundation in partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), Orca Watch is now in its eighth year.
Steve Truluck, one of the organisers, was attending his fourth Orca Watch in Caithness and he was full of praise for the role played by the ferry business. He singled out Ivor Thomas, who was skipper of the Pentland Venture over the weekend.
Steve explained that he developed a passion for watching whales and dolphins after moving north to live at Hopeman on the Moray coast and he joined WDC as a volunteer for its Shorewatch programme.
His interest in Orca Watch was sparked by Colin Bird, who was regional co-ordinator for the Sea Watch Foundation, and Caithness wildlife photographer Karen Munro.
There were tears, there were hugs, there were shouts – it was amazing.
“I met Karen, I met Colin, I met all the regulars here, but those two in particular really inspired me,” he said.
“I came up for my first Orca Watch four years ago and actually I failed to see them here and it really hurt me! I spent three days here, watching solidly, and saw absolutely nothing. Then I had to drop friends off at Inverness Airport, and as I dropped them off the phones went mental – orcas had arrived.
“I was absolutely gutted. That moment really hit me hard and I didn’t want that to happen to other people.
“The following year I turned up and I basically dedicated a whole week to Orca Watch, and I saw them.”
He recommended to the Sea Watch Foundation that it would make sense to get John O’Groats Ferries involved. “Here was a ready-made platform, a local business that could really benefit from all the people turning up, and the people who were turning up could really benefit by going on the ferry,” Steve said.
“Sea Watch Foundation thought it was a brilliant idea and I got in touch with Ivor. He and all the team at John O’Groats Ferries have just been incredibly supportive. I might burst into tears in a minute, I’m feeling so emotional about how good they’ve been.
“Today was a case in point. They spent and an hour half on the way back going out of their way to show us orca that we knew were there but we couldn’t see on the normal route. They completely put themselves out at their own expense, refusing extra money... just absolutely brilliant. And their behaviour around the animals is just impeccable.
“Honestly I can’t sing their praises enough – they have been amazing, and so supportive of Orca Watch.”
Steve explained that the first two orcas seen today appeared to be males known as Hulk and Nott. “Then, literally right in front of the boat, the pod of four that we were originally looking for suddenly appeared. It was incredible.”
Having a WhatsApp group has helped orca enthusiasts keep track of movements and share information.
“It’s very, very tricky to spot orca but the advantage of Orca Watch is you’ve got a lot of dedicated people, experienced observers, watching at the same time.
“A guy called Robert Foubister was in contact with us from Orkney Mainland and he basically told us exactly where the orca were, the pod of four. So we headed out in those directions and if it wasn’t for him there is absolutely no chance we would have seen them, even though we knew they were there.
“He just said ‘you’re going in the right direction, just stay exactly where you are’, and they suddenly popped up right in front of us. It was incredible.
“As you can imagine there were tears, there were hugs, there were shouts – it was amazing. Robert was telling me there were these four orca ahead of the boat, so keep going the way we were going.
“This is the power of Orca Watch. We’ve got hundreds of people up here all taking part in the land watches that we’ve been doing from Duncansby Head, Strathy Point, Dunnet Head, St John’s Point... literally all along the coast we’ve done land watches.
“At the same time what’s great is people like Robert Foubister, and myself, and a fair few others, have managed to get some really cracking photos which have proved the identity of some of the whales.”
One discovery was that the pod of four – observed several times, and previously thought to be all female – in fact contains one male. “That’s the power of citizen science,” Steve said.
“I’ve got photos of the actual male proving that it’s exactly the same male that we saw on Tuesday. They were first spotted off Sanday a week or so ago. So we can say very confidently where that pod of whales has been and where they’re spending time, which is all useful information. And we’re in regular contact with Iceland as well.”
Steve – who works as a guide and skipper for Hebridean Whale Cruises out of Gairloch in Wester Ross – acknowledged that the wind and rain during Orca Watch week had made life difficult for visitors.
“It has been incredibly challenging with the weather earlier in the week – my awning has been absolutely destroyed, it’s lying in tatters on the headland,” he said.
“So many people are dying to see orca, it’s on their bucket list, but to actually make that happen is incredibly difficult. But with people power and good use of technology and great expertise from Colin and Karen we can actually make it happen.”
As well as the spin-off for the ferry firm, Steve pointed out that a number of other businesses in the area had felt the positive effects of Orca Watch – and the local environment had benefited too.
“You hear a lot of bad press about people coming in campervans and not giving anything back, but I would really like to think Orca Watch has actually been giving something back,” Steve said.
“We did a beach clean at Sannick as well and removed a skip full of waste. We have genuinely tried, and I really hope it has benefited John O’Groats Ferries because they’ve been superb.”
I’m really delighted at the number of sightings there have been... It is really something that Caithness can be truly proud of.
Fred Fermor of John O’Groats Ferries said: “This has been the best Orca Watch in its eight-year history and we are very pleased it has been such a success. We’ve been really pleased to welcome the orca watchers on board MV Pentland Venture and without exception they have been the happiest and friendliest bunch despite at times contending with wind and rainy conditions.
“I’m really delighted at the number of sightings there have been and it all augurs well for next year’s event. In addition Orca Watch has brought a degree of commercial gain for us and others but moreover it is really something that Caithness can be truly proud of.”
Details of all Orca Watch sightings can be found on the Sea Watch Foundation website and on the Sea Watch Facebook page.
