AK Wildlife Cruises

We enjoy amazing encounters with the eight species of whale and dolphin, ranging from the small harbour porpoise up to the huge fin whale. In winter super pods of common dolphin arrive and our bottlenose dolphin pod are present most of the year. The local seal haul out is the largest on the south coast of Cornwall and can appear anywhere during the trip. We have nesting peregrines, which seem to be breading very well along the Cornish coastline.

Summer sees the return of one of the largest fish in the world, the basking shark, second only to the whale shark. Growing to 12 metres in length they are a jaw-dropping fish to watch whilst aboard Free Spirit. We also see ocean sunfish as well as a number of other fish species, the odd leatherback turtle and jellyfish in their hundreds. We get great views of Manx shearwater, storm petrel and other pelagic seabirds during summer and our local auk colony enjoys large numbers of breeding razorbill, guillemot and even bridled guillemot. Rarer birds such as skua and Balearic shearwater turn up on our trips too and our eagle-eyed crew will almost certainly spot them for you.

The diverse, rich wooded Fal estuary is the third deepest natural harbour in the world and is alive with a variety of wading and woodland birds, deer and seals. With over sixty miles of coastline and beautifully wooded banks to explore, the Fal Estuary makes a wonderful alternative when the sea is too rough to go offshore. The Carrick Roads is a vitally important wintering destination for black-necked grebe, but many other birds including red breasted merganser, Slavonian grebe, sea ducks, divers and waders also frequent the estuary in high numbers and osprey use the Fal estuary on their passage migrations.