While my comrades were navigating the shallow reefs , a herd of cattle came down from the adjacent pasture to drink from one of the streams . There was a near vertical sand dune behind me , so there was nowhere to flee as the 100-strong herd surrounded me and began munching on some flowering plants . I wondered if it would end up being the best big animal encounter of the trip .
Despite a promising break in the weather , our four days at sea came to an unproductive end . There was nothing to do but raise a glass to fickle nature and be grateful we had at least visited a special
View over Cliand Bay part of the UK in a year of restrictions .
Nevertheless , Alex Diffley and I had both had two extra days to wait for the car ferry , time I had allotted to land-based photography . We still had a day of credit with Shane , who had just enough space for the two of us on a day of near-perfect weather . We were back in the game .
The ‘ coathanger ’ shark
So this was to be our last roll of the dice . With flat seas and all day to look for sharks , Alex and I were at the jetty early to load onto Shane ’ s boat and claim our favourite spots . Having stopped taking my motion sickness tablets after the first two zombified days , I went to the back of the boat and began scouring the surface for fin-like objects .
For a while it felt as if we were going to get skunked again , but we were covering so much sea and could see so clearly , shark success was on the cards . Against the ancient backdrop of the Treshnish Isles , Shane had found a tide line , an area where two different currents converge , concentrating the plankton into a delicious conveyor of copepod goodness .
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