Single Malts, Tall Ships and a Sore
Throat
It has been a wonderfully busy season for The
Green Blue in Scotland, but our talks and input has never been more
in demand than it was last weekend.
The World Cruising Club have just started
their Malts Cruise up the west coast and they asked me to give the
sailors a talk about the wildlife they might see on their way up
north and around the Small Isles. The area is heaving with wildlife
so it was a bit of a struggle to fit it all into an hours talk. I
started with the six types of dolphin in UK waters and then went on
to some bird life before talking about some of the issues which can
affect wildlife such as litter. It was very enjoyable and I was
made very welcome and with lots of good questions from skippers and
crew I left them deep in discussion, clutching copies of our
wildlife guide alongside their guides to the malt whiskeys of
Scotland!
Sadly I couldn’t enjoy the offered hospitality
as I had to hot foot it back down to the Clyde where I was expected
at the Tall Ships Festival in Greenock. The Tall Ships were last in
Greenock more than 10 years ago but people still talk about the
festival with excited tones so I was very keen to see the
spectacular for myself. I was not disappointed. The masts towered
over the road and the visitors streamed out of the railway station
as I approached the site.
A carnival atmosphere filled the air as people
munched on ice creams and candy floss while enjoying the site of
these marvellous old (and new) ships. Thousands of people were able
to get aboard and get a tour around some of the bigger ships but
few were afforded the reception I got from the vessels who had
booked me for a wildlife talk.
The sun shone bright and hot as I scrambled,
laptop, projector and wildlife guides in hand, from boat to boat. I
was nervous about speaking to the crews, mostly 14-16 year olds
from a wide variety of countries, but I should not have worried,
they could not have been nicer, more fun or more interested.
The ships set sail on Tuesday,
accompanied by the Red Arrows in a dramatic display of skill and
colour and I wound my weary way home to sooth my now sore throat
with a well-earned dram or two and to plan my own wildlife sailing
adventure.
By Sarah Brown - Regional
Advisor
Published
24/08/11
To receive The Green Blue's quarterly
newsletter, sign up here
Back to Latest News
|
| |
The Green Blue launches its new Green Guide for Marina
Managers click here
New case study on Sunsail's green fleet of F40s
click here
Congratulations to Claire France, winner of the prize
draw from The Green Blue Survey 2012