Even if they are seen in silhouette, Killer whales and Pilot whales do differ considerably in one aspect: Orca please log in to view this image Pilot please log in to view this image and as Killer whale dorsal fins are pretty much unmistakable I would have thought it was difficult to get a sighting wrong.
There is a pod of orcas that loiters around the Scottish coast...maybe they're on holiday . Probably is pilot whales though. Or heavily tattooed dolphins
As I said, difficult to get a sighting wrong, unless there is someone in Brighton who hasn't seen a film involving a Killer whale.
Probably lots of people TSS, who just saw some big black and white things in the sea and thought they were orcas without thinking about what they actually looked like. If I didn't have my glasses on when I spotted something like that, I'd have been guessing what the black and white blurs were
Black and white blurs. Not pilot whales then. They're generally all-dark. I only debate the point because, apart from the sighting being anything at all remotely whalish, they were just as likely Orcas as Pilot whales. Whales go where the food takes them. Yes, Orcas are generally seen off the Scottish coastline, if at all, but they'll occasionally go up the Channel too. During my time sailing, mostly in the Solent and Channel [although quite a bit in NZ too], I've seen loads of things you wouldn't expect to be there. The weirdest one was seeing a ruddy great Sunfish just off Egypt Point, IOW, while sailing our Albacore dinghy. It looked as big as the boat. Frightened the bjesus out of me. There were several Great White sightings off the Cornish coast last year. Perhaps it's Orcas with their newly found taste for shark's liver..!
I've only ever seen dolphins and porpoises in the wild, no other whales - perhaps I should take up sailing TSS. The sunfish must have been a freaky moment for you, very bizarre creatures.
I have seen seals, dolphins, porpoises, sharks and all of those just in the Solent. They just get bigger and more diverse in the Channel. It was a very warm summer's day in the Solent and the sunfish was swimming very close to the surfrace so that it looked like some bloody great monster. That day, I was leaning out, balancing the boat, and seeing to the jib, while my mate was helming and taking care of the main. So my head was about 6 inches to a foot from the water. Then that thing appeared. It was pretty much the weirdest thing I've seen in the Solent. Very nearly a poop-ones-pants moment..! Coincidentally, same year: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/5212392.stm
By the way, it's Summer. I can recommend SAILING to anyone. If you are ever given the opportunity to have a go, take it. Worry about your decision later. The chances are you will love it. And there are plenty of leisure sailors who can't swim, as well. Afterwards, if you think there was just might be a tiny bit of enjoyment there, look up your local sailing club on the Net to see if they do dinghy lessons. Actually sailing the boat is a 1000 times better than being the passenger, and I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. Learning to sail a dinghy first is, far and away, the best way to start. It is relatively cheap as well. In fact, although I've sailed in plenty of big boats, my old sailing club mate from Cracknore Hard SC still refers to me as that dinghy sailor, because it is still my first love. I'm actually thinking about getting another myself before I get too old and stiff. Big boats will soak up your money faster than a house in need of constant maintenance. A dinghy will take a few quid off you once or twice a season. Apart from that, if you have access to public slipways like off the Itchen or Calshot, it is practically free apart from getting the boat to and from. A new hobby that is fantastic fun..! Adult dinghy lessons can be had here: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/calshot/watersports/dinghy-sailing/adult-sailing.htm and for kids too: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/calshot/watersports/dinghy-sailing/young-sailors.htm You do not need 1:1 tuition. In fact you'll learn better in a group.
Agree 100%. I had some RYA1 group lessons a few years back at the Cotswold Water Park. We all had Picos to learn in, a lovely little boat which can be sailed single-handed with just a mainsail or two-handed with a jib. They're pretty bomb-proof, as demonstrated by the fact that when we had to deliberately capsize them, they were harder to turn over than to put right. Anyway, the group nature of the lessons was great, and even more fun later on when we were put in the larger Wayfarer and Stratos in 3's and 4's, with the instructor in a motor boat keeping an eye out from a distance. As you say, learning together means you all get up to speed fairly quickly.
One of the victims of the roller coaster crash at Alton Towers has had her leg amputated above the knee. Horrible. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33040618
Spoiler: GoT I dont think I've ever seen a characters fanbase disappear so quickly. Daznaks pit looked really good but is it me or do the dragons change randomly in size?
Right in the middle of having one of those music moments. It's only because I was going through some old TDK cassettes I recorded way back when, and I didn't label a few. I used to do this. I'd buy the LP and a blank cassette. I'd play the cassette to death and just re-record it, keeping the LP in best condition. I got pretty good at making great sounding recordings too, but I'd not write on the labels until I was happy with them. Well this cassette never did get labelled and I've fired up the Aiwa deck and it works perfectly. On goes the cassette and it's Quadrophenia. Not the film but the original double album. And it sounds as fresh and new as when I first got into it all those years ago. What a lovely surprise. Must dig out the LP. please log in to view this image
Ah yes, Pete Townshend's masterpiece, I must listen to it every few months and it never gets old. I was a Mod when I first bought it, revivalist, not original I hasten to add! The concept of the album is good, Jimmy, a disaffected youth, disillusioned with his boring, menial job and home life and the girl he fancies is going out with an "Ace Face". The only thing that makes him belong is the cult of Mod and he is suffering a mental illness as well. The music is superb with moments of real anger, anguish, longing, passion and tenderness and you cannot fail to be moved by it. The whole band are on top form, Entwistle and Moon are the best rhythm section in rock history and Daltrey's vocals are faultless, while Pete is just, well, Pete. If you have never listened to it, then, I strongly advise that you do, on vinyl, if you can, plus, you get a handsome booklet of photos telling the story of Jimmy with the LP.
Spoiler: GoT What mother ****er burns a kid at the stake? What a ****ing ****. As for Daenerys, always useful to have a dragon in reserve.
