The west coast of Scotland is a truly magical place and it is one of the few places on earth where I feel totally at peace. Something about the light, the air and the lack of people no doubt!

In June 2011 I spent a week sailing around the islands of Mull, Tiree, Gunna and Coll looking for Basking sharks. We had some amazing wildlife encounters and (Baskers aside) one of the most special was with a playful pod of Common Dolphins.

Anyone who has spent any time out on the water around the UK knows just how unpredictable our weather can be. The number of days I have spent in harbour looking out at rough seas is uncountable and up until that point the spring and summer weather of 2011 had been atrocious. Yet occasionally, very, very occasionally we can chance upon perfect conditions and that day was definitely one of those days.

As we were heading out from the harbour of Tobermory over totally flat seas we came across this pod of anywhere between 50 - 200 dolphins. I sat on the bow for an hour or more as the dolphins surfed the bow wave and played all around us. Most people wouldn't even believe that encounters like this were possible in UK waters. Truly Amazing.