At Sea
As the MS Endeavour sails towards Dartmouth, the guests onboard have a chance to catch up on their sleep, take in a lecture, and prepare for the exciting adventures that await them on this trip from London’s Tower Bridge to Invergordon, Scotland. The British Isles are an amazing combination of archeological history, spectacular landscapes, and quaint towns. On this trip, the guests will experience some of each, and hopefully come away with as much appreciation for the Isles as I.
On the MS Endeavour, the underwater world is just as important to us as the terrestrial world and is an integral part of the British Isles. It too is filled with history, shown by the wrecks of Scapa Flow, and the amazing sealife that is abundant everywhere. There is so much to learn about the sea and the creatures that inhabit it. This is why we have an undersea specialist onboard who brings images from the sea floor to the comfort of the lounge via an underwater camera.
Pictured here is the velvet swimming crab. While the undersea specialist, Dennis Cornejo and I dove, these crabs were everywhere: under the rocks, hanging on the kelp, and scurrying across the sea floor. There were also shells littering the sand as well, for these crabs are one of the favorite delicacies of the grey seal. To be honest, I couldn’t help thinking about dinner either when I saw them!
The velvet swimming crab was given its name because of the short greyish brown hairs, which give it a velvety appearance, but the most notable feature is the bright red eyes. They also get their name from the rear-most legs, which are flattened to help propel them through the water, like a paddle. They are primarily bottom feeders crushing the shells of smaller crabs and mollusks to eat them. However they are quite quick and can catch small fish and prawns as well. The velvet crab is particularly fond of rocky areas where they can hide under the rocks, or dig in the sand. Don’t take them for cowards though, they are very pugnacious, and will rear up and show their claws if confronted.
As the MS Endeavour sails towards Dartmouth, the guests onboard have a chance to catch up on their sleep, take in a lecture, and prepare for the exciting adventures that await them on this trip from London’s Tower Bridge to Invergordon, Scotland. The British Isles are an amazing combination of archeological history, spectacular landscapes, and quaint towns. On this trip, the guests will experience some of each, and hopefully come away with as much appreciation for the Isles as I.
On the MS Endeavour, the underwater world is just as important to us as the terrestrial world and is an integral part of the British Isles. It too is filled with history, shown by the wrecks of Scapa Flow, and the amazing sealife that is abundant everywhere. There is so much to learn about the sea and the creatures that inhabit it. This is why we have an undersea specialist onboard who brings images from the sea floor to the comfort of the lounge via an underwater camera.
Pictured here is the velvet swimming crab. While the undersea specialist, Dennis Cornejo and I dove, these crabs were everywhere: under the rocks, hanging on the kelp, and scurrying across the sea floor. There were also shells littering the sand as well, for these crabs are one of the favorite delicacies of the grey seal. To be honest, I couldn’t help thinking about dinner either when I saw them!
The velvet swimming crab was given its name because of the short greyish brown hairs, which give it a velvety appearance, but the most notable feature is the bright red eyes. They also get their name from the rear-most legs, which are flattened to help propel them through the water, like a paddle. They are primarily bottom feeders crushing the shells of smaller crabs and mollusks to eat them. However they are quite quick and can catch small fish and prawns as well. The velvet crab is particularly fond of rocky areas where they can hide under the rocks, or dig in the sand. Don’t take them for cowards though, they are very pugnacious, and will rear up and show their claws if confronted.
