A crew called Danni and I were on the South side of the Island of Ulva, with a boatload of passengers on a trip to Staffa. The day was sunny and calm - which is of course the way it always is west of Mull.
Danni, as was her sun loving want, was sprawling across the foredeck, nominally searching for "sea beasts" as she called anything at sea that didn't fly. This term covered seals, dolphins, porpoises, whales, otters etc.
I had spotted the seal away ahead of us a few minutes before - owing to my superior sea beast spotting powers. Eventually however Danni did shout back to the wheelhouse that there was "something different" in the water over there. "What", I sarcastically replied, "that seal by a floating fishbox - big deal" (we see hundreds of seals most days).
However, as we got closer to the seal it seemed as though it was playing with the fish box. "Maybe an interesting experience for the passengers after all" I mused.
Closer again and I thought "hmmn, that's a weird looking seal". Danni was shouting from the foredeck - "its not a seal, its a turtle."
And it was - a six foot leatherback turtle. The "leatherback" was what I had assumed was a fishbox. We stayed with it for five minutes before it gave me a look of disdain (as if to say "seal indeed") and disappeared beneath the waves.
I had had a great lesson in humility - to this day I never dismiss another's sighting until I can be certain I've got it right.
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