27-28 August 2016, Risso's Dolphin's off Porth Iago, Llŷn Peninsula
The first day paddling with seabeyondisability's Ben Bostock and Tom Clark down the Llŷn Peninsula was a great experience. The highlight of the day was approaching Porth Iago and our destination of Porth Or (Whistling Sands).
We rounded the headland with the daylight soon fading at 7:30 pm to find some huge animals in the water in front of us. Moving very slowly they broke the water only to breathe noisily. My initial impression was that they were some kind of whales. Then the long curving dorsal fins made me think of orca. Finally, when the whiteness on their bodies became evident I thought of the Risso's Dolphin. This was confirmed a little later when two breached the water, revealing the lack of a bottlenose and extensive whiteness. The animals split, at least two large (the breachers) swimming West and a calf and adult into the bay. We were careful not to pursue the animals once we'd stumbled upon them and were very content to watch them move off.
A video link to the Llŷn Penisula's Risso's Dolphin's taken from Whale and Dolphin Conservation's Youtube channel.
