'Elated' ferry passengers were hugging and kissing after seeing eight orcas in Pentland Firth
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Ferry passengers could barely contain their excitement after seeing a group of eight killer whales in the Pentland Firth during Orca Watch week.
"Everybody was just elated – they were hugging and kissing," said William Bremner, skipper of the Pentland Venture. "We could hardly get them off the boat."
The encounter happened after John O'Groats Ferries agreed to run an unscheduled sailing at short notice on Thursday evening following reports that whales had been seen in the waters around South Ronaldsay.
“We had enough crew to go back out and I'm glad we did," William said.
There were more than 70 passengers on board.
North of Swona they saw seven adult orcas and one calf from an as yet unidentified group.
“There was a breakaway group that came back towards us," William explained.
“We'd been up past Swona, about a mile south-east of Switha, and we turned round and saw a small male, a female and quite a large calf.
“After travelling with them for a few minutes, more appeared on the other side, towards Hoxa [on South Ronaldsay]. They were fantastic sightings.
“We try to accommodate the people that are on board but first and foremost the consideration is to the animal itself. We don't want to frighten them.
“We've never had issues with the orca. They will come alongside us, they'll dive under the boat, they'll look up and look in your eye – it's quite an amazing thing.”
William has had hundreds of orca sightings in his time as a ferry skipper.
“I've had amazing sightings over the years," he said. "I've had things like three pods of nine at a time with calves.
“I went into Burwick one time and the sea was red – there were pods there training their calves to hunt the seals.
“Again they just seemed to run along with the ferry – it's just part of their thing. They weren't bothered about us, they weren't showing any stress.
“We could hardly get away from them the last time when we came back from mooring the landing pontoon at Burwick. They were actually chasing us, as in coming along and saying 'hello'. It was unreal."
Orca watcher Steve Truluck had been on the ferry trips all week.
"John O’Groats Ferries have been incredibly supportive of the event, as always," he said.
"We had an amazing week on board the Pentland Venture seeing orcas, minke whales, porpoises and seals as well as the seabirds and fantastic scenery in the Pentland Firth."
Steve, who developed a passion for watching whales and dolphins after moving north to live at Hopeman on the Moray coast, is skipper and guide for Hebridean Whale Cruises at Gairloch.
Fred Fermor, of John O’Groats Ferries, said: “We had a wonderful evening on Thursday. The boat came in to the pier as usual at 6.15pm and a shout went up that orcas had been spotted in Burwick.
“We turned around and set out with about 70 passengers on board to see if we could see them – and indeed we did.
“It was a fantastic experience for everyone and really great to meet them off the pier. They were ecstatic.”
The boat didn't return to John O'Groats harbour until almost 10pm. Delighted passengers formed an impromptu guard of honour on the pier as they gave the ferry team a round of applause.
There were further good sightings on the wildlife cruise on Sunday afternoon, the final day of Orca Watch. Two male orcas were seen about 30 metres from the ferry just opposite Freswick, heading south. Passengers then spotted a minke whale too.
Orca Watch is organised by Sea Watch Foundation and the 2022 event ran from May 28 until June 5, using the library at the John O’Groats Inn as its base. The aim is to collect as much data as possible on whales, dolphins and porpoises in the waters around Caithness and north Sutherland as well as Orkney and Shetland, with everyone encouraged to join in land watches, boat trips and talks.
