ITV Wales and RibRide meet The Biggest Twitch
ITV Wales and RibRide meet The Biggest Twitch
When Carole Green from ITV Wales contacted us to see if we would be interested in a boat trip with Holyhead based RibRide we quickly said yes! Carole was going on a fact-finding trip and thought we might be able to work with the guys at RibRide, a great idea.
At Holyhead Harbour we boarded the powerful RIB and made ready to sail.
The fast, and very stable RIB, is ideal for observing wildlife as we had open views all around. Phil and Tom from RibRide briefed us about the trip and safety on-board, including life-vests to be worn at all times. The huge out-board engines throbbed into life and slowly the RIB moved out of the marina into Holyhead harbour. A gentle pace was held until we cleared the breakwater and left the harbour. Then vroom! Tom opened up those engines and the RIB leapt into life, wow! What a fantastic machine, the RIB shot across the water and in no time we were nearing North Stack. Tom eased off and the RIB returned to a gentle pace allowing us lots of time to marvel at the rock walls and fantastic geology here.
We slowly crept around the rocks and into the bay below Ellin's Tower at RSPB South Stack, wow! Again we were amazed at the scenery, seen from a very different angle to the usual view looking down from the top.
It was so good to see that the masses of birds took no notice of the near-silent RIB as Tom expertly moved the craft slowly into a posItion where we had fantastic views both of birds on the water and on the cliffs. All around birds bobbed on the water, whizzed past our heads and crowded onto the ledges without any concern. It was just amazing to be amongst this mass of seabirds with the cliffs towering above us.
We hardly noticed the rain, there was so much to see and marvel at. The rock formations were amazing and wonderful to see from the sea, we could appreciate so much more from this angle. Puffins flew low past us with bills full of fish and Kittiwakes circled above us. We moved back towards North Stack and Tom took the rib closer to the vertical rock faces.
Tom and Phil really showed their skills at handling the RIB by gently manoeuvering the boat right into the cave, amazing! The colours of the rocks were stunning and it was a very unusual experience indeed to be in a cave on a boat. Just outside the cave we enjoyed great views of a huge bull Atlantic grey seal who seemed just as keen to watch us watching him!
The RIB really does provide a great opportunity to see the birds, wildlife and scenery of the Anglesey coastline and we were amazed at how different it all looked from the sea. The ability to get close to the wildlife without disturbance was sensational and something we know our clients will love to experience. We look forward to working with RibRide in the future to offer exciting wildlife-watching trips on this amazing boat. Watch this space!
Back in Holyhead Harbour it was great to see the RNLI lifboat, always ready to help anyone in trouble on the high seas, good to know.
If you would like details on wildlife-watching trips with The Biggest Twitch just drop us a line...
info@thebiggesttwitch.com
We look forward to enjoying great birds and wildlife with you soon.