Our Conservation Cruise raises thousands for Charity!
Our recently completed Wild Scotland voyage in May 2026 was a resounding success. Not only did we visit the most remote and exciting islands around Scotland as well as see some incredible wildlife, but we also raised nearly £12,000 for charity.
From the conception of the voyage, one to replicate the 1966 Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) cruise, we wanted to support the important work that conservation organisations do around Scotland. Supporting the SOC was paramount but we also wanted to involve the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Shetland.
All three organisations supported the voyage in one form or another with proceeds being raised through berth sails as well as an on-board auction. Katie Baumann and John Simpson from the SOC joined us in Glasgow prior to the voyage commencing to give everyone an overview of the organisation and hear a bit more about what they do including work on urban Peregrines in Glasgow. The voyage also provided a platform (literally!) for Director of HWDT Alison Lomax, to conduct surveys through areas of water that are very infrequently visited such as the western side of the Western Isles and the northern Minch out to Sula Sgeir and North Rona. Our guests helped Alison to collect vital data through the citizen science platform, Whale Track app. We will tell you more about her results in due course.
During our day at St Kilda on 9th May we also contributed data to major citizen science platform, eBird, as part of their Global Big Day. Rachael was part of the Swarovski women’s team, joining other birders from around the globe helping to shatter the record for the number of bird species recorded in one day, with over 8,000 species logged.
In Lerwick, Shetland we were very happy to welcome Kevin Kelly (Senior Site Manager for Shetland) and Beth Aucott (Reserve Warden) from RSPB Shetland onboard where they gave a great presentation on the work being undertaken by the charity on Shetland. It was also a superb opportunity for Beth to show off her incredible knitted Lapwing and Curlew beanies which were highly sought after in the charity auction a couple of days later.
In addition to the donations from the voyage and the citizen science data collection for Whale Track and eBird apps we also hosted a charity auction supporting the three organisations with a plethora of items up for grabs. Once again we were overwhelmed with peoples generosity and enthusiasm to support the work of these organisations and of course come away with something nice as well!
Overall, we were exceptionally happy that the voyage was not only a huge success for all the passengers but that it also contributed towards the on-going conservation and monitoring of wildlife and habitats around Scotland, the very thing we were there to enjoy.