I've spent the last two days watching basking sharks. Yesterday they were about a mile out to sea and only visible through binoculars, but today they were only about 300 yards out
.

I'm pretty sure I also saw a Minke whale, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera to capture it and be sure.

Cool.

So what's the story behind this? Is it part of your job or your studies, or do you just randomly find yourself out to sea?

I live on a small island in the middle of the Irish Sea. It isn't famous for much, except for motorcycle racing, being home to a species of Shearwater, and the visits we get in the Summer months from the worlds' second largest fish.

I've seen the basking sharks from in a kayak before, but never from on land... which means I've never had my camera with me. This picture was taken from behind the 11th century Peel Castle, where I was walking with my parents (hoping to see some of the sharks.) We stayed for about 3 hours watching the water, where there were at least 2 sharks swimming.

There are also frequent sightings of minke whales and occasionally orcas around the coast. I think that I saw a whale's tail lifted above the surface of the sea - and definitely saw some very large splashes, but I'm waiting for somebody from Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch to report it officially. If it wasn't a whale, then it will either have been a Risso's dolphin (fairly common) or one of the sharks breaching. This would be very rare, but does occur occasionally.

Short write up at The New Scientist suggesting that seals navigate by stars:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg1 ... -turn.html