Isle of Man and the ellusive basking sharks! Wednesday, June 25, 2008

BARRY AND I PADDLING THE DOUBLE TODAY

In June every year basking sharks are often seen feeding around the Isle of Man. These amazing creatures which can reach up to 12 metres long often feed on the surface with their dorsal fin and tail wiggling menacingly above the water. Thankfully they only eat plankton so there's no fear of becoming dinner, just the exciting possibility of looking down upon one of these amazing creatures if they chose to swim up to your kayak. I've been hoping to get over to the Isle of Man to film them for a few years and finally on Monday evening, Barry and I flew over for a few days with our fingers crossed. Keirron, from Adventurous Experiences looked after us and tried his hardest to make us and the sharks meet but alas, it wasn't to be this time. On the positive side, we had a lovely sunset paddle on Monday, and saw a lot of the beautiful west and south coasts on Tuesday as we walked the cliff paths, scouring the water for any sign of a black fin. Today was pretty windy, a force 6 SWerly was whipping the sea up so we decided there wasn't much chance of spotting sharks and we'd just go for a fun paddle. Keirron took us to Port Erin and we surfed north to Peel Castle. Barry and I got to paddle the double which we paddled over to the Isle of Man from Anglesey about a year ago!

In a way, it's good that the sharks are so unpredicatable and we can't just plan to go and film them - after all the unexpected, untamable aspect is one thing I love about being out in nature..... but hopefully next time the sharks will give us just a little peak! "This is the Sea 4" needs you!
KEIRRON