You just can't keep the two of us off boats. So an opportunity to whale watch had us chomping at the bit. After clambering into oversize romper suits and a Mae West (life jacket) we set off on a 12 seater RIB.

In all of my sailing life, I have never seen a sea so calm and oily. This is the North Atlantic Ocean for goodness sake not the local pond.

First stop - Puffins. Cute little blighters but very camera shy. Point a camera at them and off they fly or they disappeared into their cliffside burrow.

However, the marine mammals were much more obliging. We had just left the harbour before being joined by Harbour porpoises, inquisitive and playful. Further out we spotted our first pod of White Beaked Dolphins. They decided to investigate us and spend 30 minutes playing around and under the boat. Being a RIB we were low down in that water and could have leant out and touched them.

Further on we noticed a large collection of birds which is always a good sign and we were right. After a few minutes a Minky whale emerged. We followed him for half an hour before he disappeared from sight.

The guide mentioned we may see Sperm Whales but it was still a bit early in the season.

The captain decided to give us a thrill ride home and so opened the 800 horses on the back and let rip at over 45 knots. Go baby go