ORCA Wildlife Report P&O Cruises Britannia

Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk

ORCA Wildlife Report – P&O Cruises Britannia

Monday 16 August 2021 - Sunday 29 August 2021

Voyage one

Monday 16th August 2021 – Thursday 19th August 2021

Having arrived at the cruise ship P&O Britannia on the Sunday I was looking forward to my first Cruise Conservationist

assignment since the COVID lockdown. I had a beautiful cabin on deck eight that allowed me easy access to all the ships

facilities that I required. The crew were quick to explain everything to me and to introduce me to the wonderful layout

of Britannia. We steamed away from Southampton Dock on the Sunday evening and headed out into The Solent. I had

my binoculars to the ready – this was going to be fun!

ORCA Cruise Conservationist David Gill


Monday 16th August 2021

On Monday morning, I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise and I was quickly into my ‘groove’ with an early morning

watch. I had two lectures to present on each of our days at sea. The first title ‘Marine Wildlife of Southwest England’

proved popular with the audiences. I set it up as a ‘quiz’ engaging the viewer with a series of images and background

for the species most likely to be seen on our voyage. With each cetacean I added a story that I knew would be thought

provoking and add drama – some sad, some funny, some challenging!

The quiz element was challenging and ensured the audience was ‘kept on their toes’, moving from the known (pre-

learned) to the unknown (didn’t know that before!). I ask myself in these scenarios – what knowledge do the audience

want to leave the auditorium with…

The reception after the lectures was always very positive – people always enjoy telling their stories about what they

have experienced around the globe. As the voyages progress people use the platform to tell me what they have seen

during the previous day.

Then it was off to Deck 17 – pounding up the stairs from deck eight was hard work – but proved to be a good work out

to get the heart pumping!

P&O have introduced the challenge of ‘walking one mile’ around Deck 17. This is where I was heading – why? Because

the viewing platform was excellent, I can communicate with the people sitting around the swimming pool with a loud

shout of ‘dolphins’ and it’s a relatively simple place to find. In my blue ORCA top, I am very easy to be identified amongst

the walkers.

The sea conditions remained good throughout the first voyage – there was little swell moving Britannia and by and

large the sea state remained calm with few ‘white horses’ to confuse me and other observers.

I recorded data from the many watches I made throughout all the voyages, with the help of the new ORCA

OceanWatchers App.

Sunrise over the English Channel


These are the details I record on the app:

Time: 14:00 to 16:00

Effort (describes the abiotic (non-living) elements of the Watch)

Location: 50.24N 3.14W (Dartmouth in view to NW starboard side)

Sea State: four very few white horses

Swell: 0

Glare: from port side mid-section

Precipitation: 0

Visibility: good to 20 kilometres

Wind Force: (Beaufort Scale) three south west

Weather: Fair and cloudy seven okras (Namely seven/eighths of the blue sky

obscured by cloud)

Sightings (describes the biotic elements of the Watch)

Common dolphins to port side - seen leaping and feeding. Max 20. Adults

only. Heading east. Definite sighting.

Associated with shearwaters. 100+

Gannets x three

Arctic Skua x one

Time: 16:00

Location: 50.12N 3.18W

I would often include a location map as well. The blue dot locates the position

of the ship at the start (and/or end) of each Watch.

I know the South Coast very well – as a geologist I know the Jurassic Coast

extremely well and was able to record a series of images as we moved along.


On Monday 16th August over 20 common dolphins were sighted! Whilst in Torbay picking up a passenger, we stopped

off Berry Head, to the south of Brixham. There, in the setting sun I spied a lot of splashing in the waters beneath the

cliff. It was too distant to see what was causing the splashing but suspected cetacean activity. Berry Head is a hotspot

for cetaceans – notably bottlenose dolphins (often seen playing in nearby Brixham Harbour!) and harbour porpoise.

The splashing was not the work of porpoise, who tend to make very little surface disturbance since they move slowly

and ‘sulkily’. Whilst I can’t confirm I would say they were dolphins. What really told me was when a small boat was

passing Berry Head – it turned and made its way to the disturbance on the water beneath the cliff face. Yes – I felt

confident it was dolphins. Numbers unknown, species unknown!

I recorded the sighting in my notes as such:

Sighting: Splashing south of Berry head – three kilometres distant. No ID possible. Stayed in one place for 10 minutes -

interrupted by RIB. Circled but splashing continued.

Comment: Wind picked up as approached Start Point still calm but now blowing four to five from Southwest

Location: at 19:30 50 13N 3 27W’

Golden Cap – the highest cliff on the south coast of England

Common Dolphin – note the pale tan on its flank (guests often describe this as silver)


Tuesday 17th August 2021

As we moved west towards Cornwall, we were observing more and more northern gannets – this powerful ocean going

bird is common in these waters. They also indicate the presence of fish in the sea water when they mass and dive

vertically hitting the surface at over 60 kilometres per hour (they have very strong neck muscles!)

Gannets are relatively easy to spot even from some distance – being white with black wing tips. Interestingly the

younger birds are a lot more mottled – in fact the one-year-old birds possess the same shape as their adult

counterparts, but they are almost black all over.

Gannet’s massing means fish. Fish means dolphins. Keep looking!

First Watch on Tuesday – looking Northeast

Northern Gannet


My second lecture in the series of three presentations is titled ‘Citizen Science’. However, I was also keen to tell the

audiences about what we had seen the previous! What I found really worked was giving people an idea of exactly where

we were and where I thought we were heading!

The maps downloaded from GPS from my mobile phone proved invaluable since I was able to put them up on the large

screen in the auditorium. People liked that very much! I was able to locate the various Points (for example Portland

Bill, Start Point, The Lizard, lighthouses etc.) together with any major settlements we had passed or were about to pass.

In this presentation I was able to explain to the audience the important role of the volunteers in helping ORCA build a

database of sightings. The ‘call of action’ was to get up on Deck 17 and do some data collecting – just like Citizen

Scientists. I explained what I was looking for:

Date

Time

Which side of the ship – port or starboard

Species - previously covered in my first presentation

Colour

Numbers of animals

Behaviour of animals

Movement (direction) of travel – in relation to the ship

Anything else significant – same size, different sizes?

I also explained the importance of ‘verification’ – that is to get at least one other person to agree the sighting.

Sightings on Tuesday 17th August 2021

9:30: Common dolphins spotted off port side, 20 juveniles. Spotted by passengers and staff whilst eating breakfast

(proof you don’t need to be on Deck 17 to see dolphins!).

15:50: Two common dolphins on port side

17:25: Three+ common dolphins on starboard side going Northeast

17:30: Four common dolphins port side swimming towards ship going Southwest

Wednesday 18th August 2021

The day started with lots of different types of gulls hanging around the ship. There was no land to see!

Sightings of birds on the first Watch:

Greater black backed gull

Lesser black backed gull

Herring gull


Pied wagtail (Pied Wagtail – why is this land-based bird found on the P&O Britannia? Answers on a postcard

please!

Sightings on Wednesday 17th August

09:10: Minke whale spotted port side - travelling in a straight line appearing and reappearing every 30 seconds or so.

One animal. Moving Northeast.

10:30: Six common dolphins heading north port side – juveniles around 75 centimetres in length. Porpoising.

Stay for a few minutes then disappear to the stern of the ship. No bow waves.

12:30: Reported and verified

Possible Minke seen off stern of ship – described as large and grey, low in the water. Appeared from description to be

logging. No dorsal fin seen.

Between 15:45 and 16:45: Groups of juvenile commons dolphins (less than a metre) coming in on both sides of the

ships on and off all afternoon. Group sizes varied from three to six.

16:00: Larger pod of common dolphins seen on starboard side – around 50 moving west


Voyage two

Thursday 19th August 2021 – Sunday 22nd August 2021

Friday 20th August 2021

Lecture attendance (estimated):

09:30 40 people

11:30 120 people

I was pleased with this attendance because this was ‘the morning after the night before’ and it was obvious from these

numbers that lots of people were interested in the nature around them.

We were welcomed with perfect ‘cetacean’ watching conditions to start this voyage:

Sea state: one

Swell: 0

Glare: 0

Precipitation: 0

Visibility: 15kms

Oktas: 0 cloudy (no blue sky)

Wind gentle breeze from Southwest

Fawley Oil Refinery near Southampton Docks

Location at 06:15 in the morning:


Sightings started slowly but the further west we got the more we began to see!

Sightings

Gannets only - one immature

Reported and verified

09:00: Some common dolphins seen off stern - about

five in number

Between 14:00 and 15:00: Lots of common dolphins

coming in on port side - between two and six

adults 1.5m and smaller juveniles

12:40: Large whale to port - there for four minutes

Motionless. Some splashing before sinking into the

water

The frequency of sightings increased the further west

we got. I explained in my presentations that we were

getting closer to the deeper Atlantic Ocean.

The deeper water is indicated by the darker colours the map to

the right. These are the abyssal plains of the Eastern North

Atlantic Ocean. The paler blue colours closer to the land masses

of the UK and Europe shows the continental shelf. This shelf has a

depth of water around 200 metres whilst the water of the deeper

plains sinks to much greater depths – around 2000 metres.

Where the continental shelf and the abyssal plains join is the steep

slope known as the continental slope.

The continental slope encourages ‘upwelling’ – as water moves

from the deeper areas it hits the slope and rises. This brings

nutrients to the surface which encourages small animals and

plants (called planktonic life) to feed in these upwelling areas over

the slope.

Jurassic Coast looking North towards Exmouth

Northern Gannet

Continental Shelf/Continental Slope/Abyssal Plain


This is an important source of food for many larger animals – creating the start of the food chain. Planktonic life eaten

by small fish. Small fish eaten by bigger fish. Bigger fish eaten by even bigger fish – you get the idea! Whales and

dolphins are at the top of that food chain, and this is why they are found in these parts of the ocean in some number.

As our voyage continued west, we were getting closer and closer to the source of the food chain!

Saturday 21st August 2021

Sightings

Between 06:15 and 06:45: Very large flock of gulls 200+

Gannets

Three common dolphins on port side jumping towards ship

Four common dolphins on star board side

By the afternoon the weather had deteriorated and there was a heavy mist – this of course does not deter our dolphin

friends:

Reported by a guest at 13:50: One ocean sunfish observed beneath the ship to the starboard

14:30: Common dolphins to port travelling in opposite direction - estimated 6 in number.

The location of the Britannia at 06:15, marked by the blue circle

The Lizard in the mist and rain some 10km distance away


15:15: Watch cancelled due to inclement weather and poor visibility (heavy rain)

Location: 50 20N 4 24E

16:15: Many common dolphins on starboard side – estimated 20+

16:25 : Possible bottlenose dolphins x four at stern of ship? Heading north - bulky and heavy in the water. Moving

slowly but with purpose. Not feeding.

Voyage 3

Sunday 22nd August 2021 – Thursday 25th August 2021

Location: Southampton Dock 50 53N 1 24W

Monday 23rd August 2021

The third voyage saw a marked improvement in the weather. We had been dogged with a cool, nagging Northeast

breeze for most of the second voyage but by now conditions were improving once more. The first morning we were

greeted with an amazing sunrise.

Despite this improvement in the weather and the perfect conditions, sightings remained limited as we travelled west

towards Devon and Cornwall.

Sunrise and perfect conditions!


We were limited to gannets until the ‘flood gates opened at 08:45’ – we were inundated with sightings from both sides

of the ships. The sightings were dominated by juvenile common dolphins moving at speed towards our slow-moving

ship. They were about 75 centimetres long and porpoising out of the water. Everyone that was on deck 17 could see

them coming in! However, they tended to move off quickly – the ship was barely cruising at the time. I would say no

more than six knots so, as can be seen in the image above, there was no bow wave.

Now juveniles love to play….my interpretation of the situation was that the dolphins would hear the ship moving

towards them and approach at speed as if they wanted to play. Once at the ship they quickly realised there was no bow

wave to play in so went immediately into the slip stream of the ship at the stern. They would hang around for a couple

of minutes and then slip quietly out of sight to the stern – gone!

This seemed to happen all the time – throughout all four voyages. Obviously, I am in no position to read the mind of a

young dolphin so I may be squeaking up the wrong wave (or whatever the saying is in nautical terms!)

Sightings

09:15: Common dolphins six port side stern - captured on video

11:00: Five common dolphins port side

Common dolphin


We arrived to Torbay around lunch time.

Unfortunately, the weather had changed and

not for the better – however visibility remained

good, and the sea remained calm.

A large container ship passed the Britannia on

the starboard side and passengers enjoyed

watching common dolphins playing in its bow

wave. I rest my case about the bow wave!

Some of the dolphins did visit the Britannia

shortly afterwards.

Berry Head and Torbay to the North

Common dolphins approaching the Britannia – we were used to seeing pods of up to 10 individuals!


Tuesday 24th August

Another beautiful sunrise greeted us this morning – for those who were up and about at 06:15! The sea was less calm

now as we steamed Northeast towards the rising sun. That nagging wind had returned - it was cool standing up on Deck

17 first thing in the morning! The dolphins didn’t like and no sightings were made that morning. A couple of gannets

escorted the ship trying to stay out of the wind. Clever birds were almost hitched a ride behind the ship…

By lunch time we were approaching the Island of

Lundy in the Bristol Channel. Still no sightings!

We circumnavigated the island. I was on the look

out for seals that I know frequent the island as I

had observed them on the rocks on a previous

visit there some time ago. Alas we were too far

offshore for me to locate any despite my efforts.

I was also aware that puffins nested on the

Island in the Spring and early Summer – I was

hoping we might see some late arrivals but again

we were too distant from the shores to properly

identify them. I kept looking!

Lundy Island viewed from the west


By 14:00 we had left the Island and started back towards Cornwall and the

Scillies!

By 15:00 nothing had been seen apart from the fly past of a low flying

fighter plane! However, the luck was about to change!

Sightings

Two puffins sitting on the water

One dolphin on port side - porpoising then disappeared

And then the sight that will stay with me for a very long time!

16:30: Off NW of Newquay

Birds massing and feeding off port side

Gannets diving

Much disturbance in water beneath surface

Snout of minke whale (definite sighting) raised above surface of water

More splashing and back appearing of minke

Despite so few sightings today it was amazing to see the whale feeding so dramatically – I was so pleased so many

guests were able to witness this wonderful sight.

Sunset on Tuesday 24th August


Wednesday 25th August 2021

Up until 08:10 I had seen nothing today but gannets. I went for breakfast returned to my cabin to clean my teeth. As I

looked out of my cabin window there they were!

08:10

Cabin window - starboard side six common dolphins close to ship porpoising!

I scampered up the stairs to deck 17 to check them out over the port side of the ship and…nothing! They had simply

disappeared within a few minutes! Fortunately, other guests had witnessed them so I knew I was not going totally mad!

Some said they had seen them on the starboard side so I can only assume they had dived beneath the ship and surfaced

on the other side of the ship. Amazing!

Common dolphin

Our position at 07:15 The lizard


As always, throughout the trip I had edited each of my lectures

according to what we had seen the day before and what to look

for on the day.

My third lecture title ‘Threats and Challenges to Marine Life’ was

a tougher nut to crack, I didn’t want to repeat the same old

messages about ‘Saving the Planet’ - I needed to something

slightly different!

I made the lecture interactive asking the audience to consider

various scenarios and coming up with solutions – we talked a lot

about the 3 R’s – refuse, reuse, recycle

Sightings

12:15: Six common dolphins port side

13:20: Three common dolphins starboard side

16:10: Blow seen on starboard side - three conspicuous blows seen by a number of guests - about 5kms distance from

ship off starboard side

Location: Southeast of Eddystone lighthouse - 2kms off port side

My third lecture title – name up in lights!

P&O recycling programme


16:30: Five common dolphins seen on port side

Voyage 4

Thursday 26th August 2021– Sunday 29th August 2021

On Thursday 26th August we departed Southampton 18:00

Friday 27th August 2021

Effort: 06:15

Location: 50 17N 2 56W

Eddystone Lighthouse to the right of this image. The city of Plymouth 14 kilometres on the left.

Portsmouth on the port side – home of ORCA!

Isle of Portland with Portland Bill lighthouse to the right


Sightings

13:05: Two common dolphins on port side jumping towards ship

14:35: Pod of common dolphins seen starboard side off the rear of the ship - about 10 juveniles

15:45: Minke whale spotted close to ship port side. Long back and dorsal fin seen once. Location - off Plymouth

Saturday 28th August 2021

My final day at sea after two weeks – I’ve been on some lovely adventures and met some really fantastic guests.

Sightings

06:45: Many gulls 200

About 13:00: Sighting in port side of five large individuals - going east off The Lizard. Moving sluggishly creating some

splash. Black and no beak. Sighted by many guests.

Isle of Portland with Portland Bill lighthouse to the right

Gulls – mixed species following the ship Location at 06:15


I would like to say a big thank you to all of the crew on the Britannia and to P&O for allowing us to undertake our

surveying work on board. A special thanks goes to:

All the Crew of P&O Britannia especially Paul the Entertainment Manager, Musi the Technical Director in the Headliners

Theatre and Padminder the Technical Director in the Live Lounge. I would also like to thank Steve Jones and the ORCA

Team and Tony and Lynn, fellow ORCA Cruise Conservationists.

Finally, I would like to thank lovely guests on board the Britannia who were very complimentary about ORCA and the

important conservation work we do! A special thanks goes to:

Paul Stevenson – for moral support and sharing all the excitement

Sarah D – for her fantastic videos

David G – for his fantastic videos

Darryl H – for his fantastic videos

Juliet (Madge) Booth – superb images of dolphins

ORCA is one of the UK’s leading whale and dolphin conservation charities, dedicated to the long-term protection

of whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans), and their habitats. For more information

about us, please visit our website www.orcaweb.org.uk

For a map and list of all the marine wildlife seen and recorded during this cruise please see the next page.

Start Point with lighthouse


Summary of sightings

Day Date Cetacean Sightings Other Sightings

Sunday 15/08/2021 Southampton Dock No sightings

Monday 16/08/2021 26 common dolphins sighted including two calves

Northern gannets

Greater black backed Herring and black-

Headed gulls Shearwaters

Arctic Skua

Tuesday 17/08/2021 Around 90 common dolphins - mainly

juveniles Northern gannets

Wednesday 18/08/2021 Minke Whale

Six common dolphins – juvenile

Possible minke whale

Greater black backed, lesser black backed, herring gulls

Pied wagtail

Thursday 19/08/2021 Southampton Dock No sightings

Friday 20/08/2021 Around nine common dolphins Northern gannets

Possible large whale

Saturday 21/08/2021 Around 33 Common Dolphins

Possible bottlenose dolphins - four individuals

Mixed gulls

Gannets

Ocean sunfish (x1)


Monday 23/08/2021 18 common dolphins Northern Gannets

Tuesday 24/08/2021 Minke whale Northern Gannets

One common dolphin Puffins

Wednesday 25/08/2021 20 common dolphins Northern Gannets

Thursday 26/08/2021 Southampton Dock No sightings

Friday 27/08/2021 12 common dolphins Northern Gannets

Possible minke whale? Gulls

Saturday 28/08/2021 Unknown whale species - five individuals Gulls


TOTALS - species count

Estimated Numbers

Common Dolphins 125

Bottlenose Dolphins 4

Minke Whale (definite) 2

Minke Whale (possible) 2

Large whale (unidentified) 1

Whale species (unidentified) 5

Documents

ORCA Wildlife Report P&O Cruises Britannia