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Record-Breaker Year For Basking Sharks In Shetland Waters

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This year is shaping up to be a record-breaker for BASKING SHARKS in Shetland waters. We’ve nearly seen as many this year as we have in the business’s last 30 years of operating around Bressay and Noss.
 
Back in September we encountered several individuals which gave us amazing views and naturally as a WiSE accredited operator we watched them under a strict code of conduct to avoid unnecessary disturbance, letting the animals come to us rather than us to them.
 
 
Basking Sharks are the second-largest fish in the World, with the incredible Whale Shark taking the top accolade of being the biggest.
 
It truly was a magical day with two full tours and fabulous guests, we were very lucky to be treated to the basking sharks on both tours, plus a minke whale on the final tour of the day but unfortunately did not surface long enough for photography!
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Marie Completes Destination Development & Leadership Programme

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Only getting around to sharing this wonderful news now.  Back in July Marie successfully completed destination development and leadership programme through Edinburgh Napier University. She received the news back in July with an Email congratulating her and awarding her ‘University Certificate Of Credit’.  The course involved many hours of hard work with online courses and working as a group with other Tourism businesses throughout Scotland. 

Great to see that the hard work has paid off and a course Marie thoroughly enjoyed doing and achieving.  

 
Text below about the programme shared from Edinburgh Napier University.
 
The online programme is open to talented individuals who already have a strong track record in leadership within their own organisation and/or within their destination. Applicants must also have ambition, commitment and passion for developing themselves, their business and their destination, which must be demonstrated in the personal statement submitted with their application .
 
 

 

 

 
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Scotland Prestige Awards 2022-23 Winners – ‘Boat Tour Operator Of The Year Scotland’

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We’ve won – “Boat Tour Operator Of The Year – Scotland”!!!
What an absolutely amazing start to the month of August – we had beautiful weather yesterday and kind seas to allow us to get three full tours with fabulous feedback from all onboard The Noss Boat ‘Seabird’. No tours today due to the weather so we thought we would share our wonderful news with you all.
 
We received notification few months ago – 26th April to be exact from ‘Scotland Prestige Awards’ to inform us that we had been nominated for yet another award and delighted to now be able to share our wonderful news now that we are finally in receipt of our award certificate – titling us “Boat Tour Operator Of The Year – Scotland”. We would like to say a huge thank you to those who nominated us and to all who follow us on social media, all who supports us and to our many wonderful passengers.
 
Ever since the early days of Seabirds-and-Seals (1992) we have been committed to operating our tours in a responsible manner. Our business is wildlife tourism and run by passionate nature-lovers for those with an appreciation of the natural world. We advocate working with local communities and leaving a positive impact on the destinations we visit and this has always been a fundamental part of our business.
 
We are delighted to be keeping up the many awards that SeabirdsandSeals – Original & Best Noss Boat Tours has historically received, a business which our Skipper Brian has been actively involved with from the very beginning.
This has been an exciting year, we celebrated ’30 Years Of Seabirds-and-Seals’ back in May and an extremely busy one now that Tourism is finally back on track, after a particularly challenging couple of years.
 
We are very delighted to receive another award for the trophy cabinet. Over and out from ‘The No.1 Noss Boat’ as ranked on TripAdvisor!
 
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TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award 2022 – NO.1 Noss Boat

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We are absolutely delighted to receive the ‘TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice’ Award 2022 – another to add to the trophy cabinet. Our TripAdvisor awards have been consistent since taking over the business.

Winners are determined based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings posted on Tripadvisor over a 12-month period, as well as an additional editorial process. Travelers’ Choice recognizes businesses that earn consistently great reviews. Travelers’ Choice award-winners are among the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor.

Our customer feedback/experience is most important to us and we would like to thank each and everyone of you – Thank You!

We very much enjoy showcasing all Lerwick’s beautiful harbour, Bressay and Noss has to offer with great passion as reflected in our consistent 5-Star Reviews.  

 

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Seabirds-and-Seals - The Original Noss Boat Tours

Whale Of A Time Had By All – Onboard The Noss Boat ‘Seabird’ – 22.07.2022

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Happy Saturday and wonder what we shall see out at sea today, you just never know as every trip is unique – always something different to see out there. Yesterday was a very lucky day indeed for our first of 3 private charters with passengers from visiting cruiseship ‘Silver Whisper’. They were lucky to see sightings of the orcas (27’s pod) who put on a grand display, will we be as lucky today….you just never know!
 
The orca photos and all photos displayed taken by Marie who is Seabirds-and-Seals Co-Owner and Tour Guide.
 
We were also very lucky to see many puffins flying by the boat, sitting on the water or resting on the lower ledges around Bressay & Noss. We had guillemot jumplings making an appearance on the bare rock ledges out at Noss. As ever the gannets put on an amazing display – diving right alongside our boat and following us up to our refreshments stop at Noss Sound, where we watched further gannet diving in the sound and spotted many other bird species as we enjoyed a hot drink.
 
On our second charter we had a very keen young wildlife photographer who is going to email us his photos in the coming days…we can’t wait to see and share them.
 
Whilst Brian was telling stories inside the Orkneyman’s Cave – we admired the shag chicks. We also spotted a keen kayaker who was going to attempt going through the tunnel but he decided against it in the end as very dark and no torch.
 
Have a fabulous weekend whatever you have planned…over and out from The Noss Boat ‘Seabird’.
 
 
 

Orca 27's Pod - Photo 1

Image 1 of 6

 
 
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The Noss Boat ‘Seabird’ – Welcomes Simon King Onboard – 22.06.2022

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Seabirds-and-Seals is an award-winning business and goes from strength to strength, leading the way as a top Wildlife Boat Tour Attraction.  We are delighted to be working in collaboration with local businesses as well as some fabulous names in the photography/film sector from all over the globe.  We are a ‘Natural’ born and bred Shetland couple….our experience and knowledge of boats, the sea, nature, and local heritage around us is extensive.  Our passengers tell us that our fun, personal and engaging style appeals to all ages and varying interests – always a crew member available on deck delivering a professional service and answering any questions.  What better boat to showcase this all on than ‘The Noss Boat – Seabird’, which hosts a huge viewing platform all on one level – allowing everyone to enjoy fabulous 360° panoramic viewing.  This is an ideal boat for everyone to move around comfortably to get the best action shots – free as a bird.  Plus the comfort of the inside heated cabin, should anyone need to shelter from the elements.

Simon King is a world renowned Naturalist and wildlife film maker – we loved watching his ‘Shetland Diaries’ series and other productions.  He has worked on countless productions as presenter, producer, director and cameraman.  Productions include Big Cat Diary, Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, Countryfile, Blue Planet, Planet Earth and much more.  

Simon has been coming to Shetland for years now and his films have put Shetland on the bucket lists of ecotourists all over the world – it is so great to have him back on the Island and working in collaboration with Seabirds-and-Seals for the 2022 season to offer bespoke tours to his many fabulous guests.  We look forward to working with him for many years to come.  

Quoted by Simon King following a bespoke tour with partner Kim and guests on Monday 20th June:
“Thank you so much for two super runs to Noss over the past couple of weeks. All guests were thrilled by the trips and very impressed by you and Brian’s geniality, knowledge and humour”. 

To learn more about Simon’s early life, his many awards and much visit: https://www.simonkingwildlife.com/about-simon-2/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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30th Anniversary Passengers – 07.05.2022

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Our 30th Anniversary passengers agreed to have a photo at the end of our morning tour on Saturday 7th May. All had a great time and delighted to each receive a £30 gift voucher to use on a future tour. We also had two couples on honeymoon, so each were presented with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate.
 
We then went on to have an evening of celebrations with crew over the years, family and friends at the Shetland Hotel – a fabulous day celebrating 30 Years Of Seabirds-and-Seals ‘The Noss Boat’.  
 
Dr Jonathan Wills who founded the business, is standing 2nd in from the left.
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30 Years Of Seabirds-and-Seals EST 1992 – 7th May 2022

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Saturday 7th May 2022 – what a very special day it was as we marked 30 Years Of Seabirds-and-Seals. We would like to thank all customers over the years and to everyone who has joined our tours so far this season and to everyone who has supported the business in any way at all. We look forward to welcoming many more passengers.
 
We had a full 3-hour morning tour on the day of our Anniversary and a great time had by all.  We left the afternoon as an open boat and had many many visitors hop aboard to join in on the celebrations.  We then met with crew over the years, family and friends at the Shetland Hotel in the evening for further celebrations.  It was a magical day and an event that couldn’t pass without celebrations. 
 
If anyone has photos or stories from a Seabirds-and-Seals Noss Boat Tour – feel free to share on our Facebook page or email to: info@seabirds-and-seals.com
 
Here’s a selection of photos from over the years – enjoy!
 
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Fabulous Gannet Action During Our Daily Wildlife Noss Boat Tours – Published 02.05.2022

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SEABIRDS-AND-SEALS – BIG 30TH BIRTHDAY – SATURDAY 7TH MAY 2022

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Seabirds-and-Seals celebrates 30 Years on Saturday 7th May. Anyone already booked or who books that day, will receive a £30 gift voucher to use on a future tour.  Dr Jonathan Wills, Marie, Brian and the rest of the team, would like to say a huge huge thank you to all our customers and to everyone who has supported the business over the past 30 years. If you see us at Victoria Pier on 7th May, hop aboard to join in on the 30th Celebrations!
 
We look forward to many more fabulous years, welcoming many more passengers onboard Seabird and showcasing all Lerwick’s beautiful harbour, Bressay and Noss has to offer 💓.