| DOLPHIN/WHALE WATCH WEEKEND IN WEST CORK |
| Dolphin Days Ireland hosted their first official dolphin/whale watch weekend in Union Hall on the weekend of September 3rd. 12 guests joined Vanessa & Mike for the full weekend. The weekend was a huge success. We hope to make this an annual event. We privatly hired the Voyager run by Nic Slocum of Whale Watch West Cork and Nic took us from Baltimore out to sea bringing us east along the coastline and then back to Cape Clear Island. |
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| back row left to right: Peter Milovicz, Edina Timar, Orna Farrell, Alan Lokko, Leo Fitzgerald, Claire Lokko, Emma Lokko, Peter Nemes, Rita Wagner, Antonio Rillo, Mike Vanhorn. Front row left to right: Fiona O'Mahoney, Vanessa Fagan Vanhorn, Fiona Fogarty. |
| Guided by Nic we toured the various small Islands in the area and we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a pod of Harbour Porpoise hunting near Union Hall. Three of our team caught sight of a black back & fin rolling in the water, a possible Minke whale, as no blow was seen. The highlight of the day was when we were joined by a pod of around 30 to 40 short beaked common dolphins that bowride in the wake of the boat for about 45 mins. Everyone was walking on air as the dolphins gave us a great show, of breaching and racing all around us. |
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| Many of our group observed up to three of the dolphins travelling with young calves. The young calves were just as energetic as their mother's and had no problem keeping up in the great ride. |
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| For the latter part of the trip we docked at Cape Clear Island and had a much needed pint at Cotters. Cape Clear is beautiful scenic place. The island is an excellent location for dolphin or whale watching from land. The island is about 30 mins from Baltimore and it has a ferry service that runs through out the day. The whole day was successful and everyone enjoyed the weekend. |
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| Whale West Cork is run by Nic Slocum & Nic runs tours from Baltimore to sea through out the seasons. Nic is an excellent guide and he makes sure a great day is had by all. He is also very respectful of the animals and alsways stay with a code of conduct to keep the animals a safe as possible. |
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| (C)FIONA O'MAHONEY |
| (C)MIKE VANHORN |
| (C)VANESSA VANHORN |
| (C)MIKE VANHORN |
| (C)MIKE VANHORN |