Latest News

Spring coming?

1st primroses & snowdrops seem to think it’s nearly spring. Could hear ground swell grumbling from a mile away this am; sea looked lively but beautiful. It doesn’t quite feel like boating time yet but we’re looking forward to seeing seals close up again....read more

La Ciotat Fire Planes

Just got back from the south of France. People often watch us driving Shearwater & say it must be fun (it is). I confess I watched the fire planes in La Ciotat & thought the same thing. Clearly huge skill involved but couldn't help wondering if they were smiling as they buzzed the boats. They were impressive working together at water level but must have looked intimidating to the boats. Sorry too busy saying 'good grief!' to video...read more

New Year - not boating weather

We've had a number of people asking if we'll be operating over New Year (& indeed last week, brave souls!) Sorry but no. Shearwater's engine is nicely wrapped up & will remain that way until the weather is a bit more promising.   We look forward through the mud & gloom to brighter days!...read more

Happy Christmas

Wishing you all a peaceful and very happy Christmas. Tim, Beth, Vertical and the rest of the Venture Jet crew....read more

Hounds for Heroes at Christmas

Vertical, Venture Jet's canine owner & general manager, is 1 yr old today. We've just come across great ideas for small presents to support Hounds for Heroes: ”People like me don’t need a dog to take our socks off or stack the dishwasher. We want a dog as a friend who can help us keep our dignity...read more

Windy Weather Continues

The wind howled all night and is due to gust 43-7 knots today but is then forecast to ease. We may see a little sun tomorrow; the forecast promises a balmy 9°c (more like 5°c with wind chill). Ah well… Here’s a photo of the South Bishop in warmer days!...read more

Christmas and weather update

Strong winds are forecast today, gusting up to 45-50 knots later this afternoon. Anchor down the children! We won’t be operating at Christmas. Pembrokeshire weather is at best a gamble in December but even on sunny days it’s perishingly cold out at sea. Tim & I do all the skippering ourselves (with considerable enthusiasm, I confess!) but we’ll be spending Christmas enjoying a glass...read more

Christmas Gift Vouchers

Lots of Christmas gift voucher queries: yes our gift vouchers are personalised, can be for any trip or amount & are open ended ie have no expiry date - within reason - even we are unlikely to be jet boating in 30 yrs! Vouchers can be emailed or we can post them to you or the recipient with a gift card, fridge magnet etc. ...read more

Farmers Can't Strike

Farmers can't strike. Our local shepherds check sheep every 6 hours or so, even on freezing cold nights. Apparently you're 10 times more likely to be killed by a cow than a shark. Knowing some of our local cows I can well believe it! Makes my job look easy :-)   Take 1 herd v lively bullocks & 1 farmer who won't...read more

Killer Whales on TV & (v v occasionally!) off Pembrokeshire Coast

We've all been enjoying the BBC's 'Frozen Planet'. Recent Killer Whale footage reminded us of an RSPB warden telling us that in 1960s or 70s he came across a Killer Whale in Ramsey Sound whilst in his dinghy - no doubt nervous moments! See...read more

BBC footage of Grassholm gannets being freed

For those of you who (like us) missed the Autumnwatch programme on Grassholm's gannets it's on i player. There's a really interesting interview with Greg Morgan, RSPB warden of Ramsey, who explains how plastic and rope rubbish cause problems for Grassholm's gannets. ...read more

BBC Autumnwatch Programme on Grassholm Gannets

I've just been reading a BBC blog on Grassholm's gannets & saw a photo of Tim & Greg freeing birds last year. Apparently the BBC Autumnwatch programme about this year's gannet freeing will be aired on Nov 11th. We've...read more

Pembrokeshire Weather Better than Cote d'Azur

Hope you're all enjoying the good weather. Pembrokeshire's coast & wildlife are stunning but the weather can be a challenge. For once Pembs is doing much better than the Cote d'Azur, where we've been 'enjoying' gales so strong they rock the car, torrential rain like we've scarcely ever seen & amber weather alerts. If you'd like to see what La Ciotat looked like yesterday we've...read more

Whale watching warning off NSW

Cetacean watching season may be over for Pembrokeshire boats this year but NSW boats are being warned to keep a respectful distance from 'mother & baby humpback whales as large numbers swim unusually close to shore on their southern migration. The warning comes after one sailboat got too close to a protective humpback & was lucky not to be crushed as the...read more

Sunfish

Just been watching sunfish on tv. We sometimes see them off Ramsey Island, although never yet at this time of year. They can be huge (as big as the boat), look rather like flattened torpedos and eat jellyfish. The ones we come across are much smaller (see pic) but still fascinating....read more

End of season & reviews

We're still trying to dry all the boat gear & tidy up after the season. We could open a chandlery here! Lovely to read more TripAdvisor...read more

New TripAdvisor Review

New TripAdvisor review: “WOW, a well run and exciting trip that both thrilled and eductated my Scouts. The trip was the talk of the week! The team are immensely helpful, if you are a group call them to...read more

Man blinded by gannet

July 2011: 'A man has been blinded in one eye after an injured gannet he was carrying across a beach on Gower, south Wales pecked his eyeball out of its socket.' I've heard of gannet related injuries before but nothing so brutal. They're very strong & fast, descibed by Steve Backshall when we took him & the BBC out to Grassholm as 'masked ninjas'. See BBC News for full...read more

Gannet Rescue on Grassholm

Tim took the RSPB out to Grassholm last week for the annual gannet rescue (freeing young birds who've become entangled in rope, plastic and netting which get mixed up with nesting materials). The BBC joined them to film the gannets for Autumn Watch. We're looking forward to seeing the gannets & their intrepid rescuers on tv next month. ...read more

A wet trip to Ramsey without passengers

The sea state is still too uncomfortable for passenger work but we went out on our own yesterday to give the boat a run-up - yeahhy! It wasn't particularly rough but it was very wet. Full thermals, fulll waterproofs and we still got wet. It was definitely worth it, though! ...read more

Ramsey's Sponges

October has brought us some of the warmest calmest days of the year. Low water on the spring tides showed the sponges growing in Ogof Hen very clearly. Our passengers enjoyed coming alongside the cave walls & being able to feel the sponges on them. Ramsey has some great caves & when...read more

New Venture Jet TripAdvisor Review ('Wet & Wild' Jet Boat Trip)

New TripAdvisor review: 'This boat ride made us all laugh, one great feature is that when sitting opposite each other you get to see others reactions and share in the joy an excitement'. We think boat trips should be fun so it's great that they all had a good time but...read more

Blue whale song?

A camera crew from NBC News may have captured a first on Tuesday: the song of a blue whale above the water. The extraordinarily rare performance occurred off the coast of Long Beach where four blue whales treated a boatful of whale watchers and the news crew to a wild show few people have ever seen. “We heard it through...read more

Filming coasteering withTYF and S4C

We really enjoyed S4C's RhyfeddOD yesterday on tv (in spite of the fact that our Welsh is decidedly limited). They came to us to film coasteering with TYF earlier in the summer & reconstructed the way in which caves are formed - in a large fish tank:-) Really creative & informative & the coasteering footage gave an exciting edge....read more

Swimming the Bitches Again

Missing the boat! Just posted another video of swimming the Bitches. The Bitches is a beautiful stretch of water (and a bitterly dangerous one depending on the circumstances). What strikes me every time I go through is the contrast between the waves over the reef, where the noise can be phenomenal on a...read more

New TripAdvisor Review

New TripAdvisor Review: “Absolutely fantastic, the best part of our holiday!” With the 440HP engine and water jet propulsion, the boat was not only amazingly fast and manouverable, but could also venture right inside the sea caves...If you do nothing else at St Davids, you must do...read more

Fireman Doing Iron Man Challenge for RNLI

We all know how important the RNLI is. All professional boatmen would rather rescue than be rescued but however well maintained the boat and careful the skipper there's always a possibility that  a call to the coastguard will be in order. The RNLi is a large emergency organisation but it's also a charity. We all hope never to need them (with all affectionate respect in their direction) but we're very conscious that we're lucky to have...read more

Dogs and seals

Blond dog failed to spot seals as Abercastle (tooo busy chasing seaweed). We put him on the lead in case. He's used to watching seals from the boat but while seals & dogs seem to have a mutual interest in each other when dogs are on boats, they're best kept well apart on land. Dogs may disturb seals feeding pups & adult seals could seriously injure dogs....read more

'Too much windy'

Yet another day lost to the weather - nature's way of giving us all a much needed rest. It's so disappointing for visitors though. Lovely passengers rang yesterday, 'We're up for it but it's your call'. Sorry guys, the weather's calling it very clearly at the moment. Those wanting 'a blast' on the boat should head out onto the...read more

Filming the Bitches reef, Ramsey Sound

Just downloaded more footage of Bitches reef & paddlers taken while working with BBC film crew last week. I never get tired of watching those waves. Even people like Ben Fogle and the BBC, who travel the world filming adventurous & beautiful things, appreciate the beauty & power (& fun) of the Bitches. See our...read more

Swimming through the Bitches, Ramsey Sound

This video is of the Bitches reef as seen from the water. One of my favourite things is swimming through the Bitches on a good tide (in a drysuit with Shearwater to pick me up!) This was a decent tide but the waves were friendly (it can get evil out there). My favourite bit is the sound of the gently foaming water after the reef itself....read more

More dolphin footage around Ramsey

More dolphin footage from around Ramsey. Well done to Ellen for driving slowly in a straight line (not easy in a jet boat) so that Tim could video the dolphins. Thanks Ellen!...read more

Dolphins off Ramsey Island

Just downloaded video from a Wet & Wild wildlife trip yesterday morning. We're used to seeing lots of seals & pups at this time of year but dolphins close to Ramsey are a rarer treat. These were just south of Ramsey (you can glimpse Grassholm in the distance). Tim took some video...read more

Spring Tides & the Bitches Reef

Big spring tides are bringing paddlers out to the Bitches in Ramsey Sound. Yesterday we took a group out to enjoy a wildlife boat trip around the island and meet up with friends of theirs who were paddling the reef - and take the odd one back to shore after a long paddle:-)The Bitches are demanding for paddlers, not least because of the paddle back to the mainland after playing on the tide, but they’re...read more

Seals, Sunshine & Clear Water

The water is still beautifully clear so we can watch seals swimming under water. We've been too busy to take videos of late but earlier this summer we took a video of a young seal swimming in a cave on the east side of Ramsey. A family...read more

Weird Weather

What a morning. Forecast sun & showers, we got alternate bucket-fulls of rain and sunny episodes. It was dry in St Davids, blue sky over St Davids Head but so much rain at St Justinian that the steps looked like a water feature. Our hardy passengers elected to go anyway & were rewarded by lots of seals & some decent views of pups. Today's...read more

Sunny seal watching around Ramsey Island

This is the busiest time of year for us but it's good to see that the seals continue to do their thing... even when that's not very much! It's another lovely sunny day so the seals are making the most of it too, enjoying those sun-warmed rocks. The breeding season has begun so females are coming in to the island to the beaches where they were born to...read more

New TripAdvisor Review

New TripAdvisor review: 'Booked on 90 min wet and wild - really enjoyed it, expert crew - sensitive to all on the boat, and informative about Ramsey/Coast/Tides/Nature. Speed and agility of the boat was brilliant, ...read more

A Gannet's View of Sunset

It's a grey mizzly day - not what we would choose for our passengers - but we have some rugged people who want to go out and kick up some spray. Mercifully tomorrow's forecast is completely different so we live in hope of some sunshine and lighter winds. On a brighter note we have another lovely photo from Plymouth University...read more

Ramsey Island Seal Watching

There were hundreds of seals around the day before yesterday but far fewer yesterday, although we had some lovely sightings in the caves, with seals coming close alongside and rolling lazily underneath the boat. It really is worth making the effort to sneak into those caves. The kittiwakes have largely left the island but visited yesterday so it was good to see them (they come and go at this...read more

Bull seal at Abercastle

I had a lovely walk at Abercastle with the dog this morning. He was busily swimming when I spotted a bull seal lazing on the surface a few metres from shore (apparently oblivious to all the children playing in their wetsuits!) so we moved on. It's early in the season to see a bull apparently coming in to claim Abercastle as territory but no-one's going to argue with him:-)...read more

Common seal visits Ramsey

Tim spotted a common seal chilling on one of the beaches with its Atlantic Grey cousins today. They have a smaller rounder head than the greys. We don't often see them in our waters but they're a periodic visitor. The seal  pups are still doing well on Ramsey. It's good to see people paddling around Ramsey and enjoying the...read more

Gannet photographs jellyfish

Another fantastic gannet pic from the Plymouth University 'gannet cams'. So cool! This one shows a mooon jellyfish (top right). ...read more

Fabulous wildlife sightings brighten the day

Grey day today, with Ramsey looking mysterious in the mist. It didn't feel like August in the mizzle (at least it was warm) but we had some fantastic sightings of porpoise & seals both lounging on rocks & coming alongside in the water & we saw some spectacular gannet dives. You have to be rugged to holiday in Pembs sometimes but the wildlife really made it all worthwhile for our passengers today - & of course we had a play...read more

Dog with dog fish

I took the puppy to Abercastle this morning for an early morning walk. The beach is quiet in the early morning - lovely. A fisherman remarked with a knowing smile, 'Dog with dog fish. That'll smell good'. Pup was delighted at his find, prancing around the beach & alternately burying & playing with the poor ex fish. It took a lot of smelly seaweed to distract him......read more

Seals and caves

Lovely sunny day, great passengers, lots of fun. Best of all I got out of the office for a few hours to play on the boat. There were some very friendly young seals playing by the rocks in the Cathedral cave - lovely to watch in jade green water. A very relaxed seal surprised passengers by coming right alongside touching the boat, swimming underneath & back alongside. Hands kept inboard!...read more

Gannet photo

The weather was better than expected today. We had some spray off the west side of Ramsey but managed to keep passengers dry until the last 10 mins when they all wanted to get wet :-) Saw some impressive gannet dives. Attached is another lovely photo from the Plymouth University 'gannet cams'....read more

Shots from 'gannet cam'

Gannet researchers from Plymouth University have kindly sent us some photos from the 'gannet cams' (small cameras mounted on gannets' tails facing backwards). We've been taking the scientists to Grassholm so that they can mount the cameras then returning so that they can try to recover them! Gannets aren't the easiest birds to work with but they are spectacular. Thanks so much for sharing...read more

New TripAdvisor review & Peregrines taking Kittiwakes on ledges?

New TripAdvisor review: 'Our daughter asked if she could do this as a birthday treat as she enjoyed it so much when we did it as a family last year. We went out with a 5 year old and four 9 year olds. The wildlife that you see is incredible, the boat fantastically exciting and everyone friendly...read more

Dolphin watching trip off Grassholm, Pembrokeshire

Lovely calm dolphin watching conditions this morning. We've had some great offshore trips lately. No-one can guarantee dolphins because they're wild animals and it's a big ocean but we've been spoilt lately! We've posted a new video of dolphins bow riding and coming alongside the boat in the waters just off Grassholm Island. In...read more

Dolphin Watching near Grassholm Island, Pembrokeshire

We've had lovely calm seas for the last few days - perfect for seal and dolphin watching. There's a new seal pup on the west of Ramsey and the calm sea conditions should give him a good start in life for that critical first week. Dr Steve Votier spent  a few days working with the gannets on Grassholm this week with his team and for once we had nice easy sea conditions to get them on and off the island and no torrential rain to...read more

Peregrine takes kittiwake chick from ledge

We're used to seeing black backed gulls etc predate on the kittiwakes but today for the first time saw a peregrine swoop down and take a kittiwake chick from the ledge. We've only seen peregrines take birds in the air before so were rather stunned to see it, particularly at such close quarters. For those of you who know Ramsey this happened on the ledges just outside the Cathedral cave on the south end of Ramsey....read more

Auks have left Ramsey

The guillemots & razorbills have left Ramsey Island now, although we're still seeing 1 or 2 flying around. We still have kittiwakes (their chicks should be fledging soon) & good numbers of seals & porpoise. There are still plenty of fulmars, oyster catchers and shags around but we're past the main season for watching Ramsey's seabirds. Conditions are excellent at the moment for watching porpoise and...read more

New Venture Jet TripAdvisor Review ('Wet & Wild' Jet Boat Trip)

New TripAdvisor review of one of our recent Adult Wet & Wild wildlife adventures: 'we saw lots and lots of inquisitive seals, a very newborn cub, and lots of different sea birds...The main thrill for us was the high adrenalin boat manoevures...it was completely...read more

Venture Jet TripAdvisor Review

New Venture Jet TripAdvisor review: 'A brilliant trip out which included an element of adrenaline but mostly an amazingly up close look at nature and wildlife. I've never seen so many seals in my life. The boat was small and powerful enough to...read more

Charity Day final totals & votes

The final donations and charity votes have come in for the charity day so I've been able to send the money off: £85 to RNLI ST Davids (cheque given to crew at St Justinian) Online payments to: £85 to RSPB Henderson restoration project,...read more

Grassholm filming with BBC Coast

Settled down to watch Coast last night and saw husband on tv taking the BBC Coast team out to Grassholm to film Steve Votier's work with gannets. Great programme, available here on BBC iplayer if you missed it. ...read more

Venture Jet dolphin watching trip recommended on TripAdvisor

Another lovely review on TripAdvisor: 'Magical...dolphins - loads of them - swimming so close to the boat you could practically touch them'. Offshore trips are tricky to organise because we need good calm seas and light winds but dolphin sightings have been very good so far so we're all being rather spoiled. See our YouTube page for video footage...read more

Whale watching

We frequently see dolpins in Pembrokeshire waters and minke, pilot, even killer whales are seen from time to time but it's fascinating to see accounts from people who are able to watch these wonderful creatures regularly in other parts of the world. Orca Watcher's account of a killer whale estimated to be perhaps 100 years old is fascinating & accompanied...read more

Gannet research

Weekend forecast looking good. Hope to get scientists out to Grassholm again to attach cameras to gannets. Last time camera stopped working & they got 3 photos of sea... The trackers worked really well & showed gannets flying thousands of miles. See http://www.seaturtle.org/track​ing/index.shtml?project_id=421​&dyn=1249903673...read more

Charity Day Totals

Charity day money divided according to passenger votes: £75 to RNLI £75 to RSPB Henderson Island restoration project £100 to British Heart Foundation £400 to Salvation...read more

Shark Research

Bull, tiger & white sharks are being tagged to monitor their activity in and around the Queensland coast to better understand shark movements & to keep swimmers as safe as possible. Perhaps we shouldn't complain about our cold waters... ...read more

Venture Jet dolphin watching trip recommended on TripAdvisor

We've had another lovely TripAdvisor review of a recent dolphin watching trip. This season has been very good so far for dolphin sightings. No-one can guarantee them but we do try to run trips when conditions are best for seeing cetaceans. After that it's up to the dolphins. We...read more

Porpoise & Gannets in Ramsey Sound

We've been seeing lots of porpoise in Ramsey Sound lately, even on the bigger tides, together with good numbers of gannets feeding. Understandably people love the porpoise but the gannets are also impressive, particularly when diving from a height of 60 feet or so! Henry managed to get a short video of some gannets in the Sound. They're not demonstrating their most 'extreme' diving abilities but they're quick!  See the video on our ...read more

Charity Day

Fabulous weather for charity day & great to get people out on the water for a good cause. Porpoises, seals, lots of birds & sun! Great atmosphere with tourists and locals taking time out from their businesses to support the charity day, sneakily enjoying brief time off work :-) Arnold, Lynette, Henry & Ellen all...read more

Still some spaces for charity day, Friday July 1st

Forecast is great for the charity day tomorrow. We still have spaces so if you have time please come & join us. Should be a great day. Mike Mayberry has had to cancel for tomorrow (but he's still donating to charity - thank you!) Weather's so good he's off to Ireland as I type,...read more

Twittering dolphin & whale video

Tim and Arnold went out to Grassholm with a research crew early this morning. The conditions were pretty punishing but they're a hardy bunch & devoted to the gannets so they took the pasting with good humour. No dolphin sightings but with bucket loads of spray that's hardly surprising! We have just joined the world of ...read more

Porpoise watching off Ramsey Island, St Davids

We've had some lovely sightings of porpoise recently. We've never tried videoing them before because they're notoriously difficult to capture on film but Arnold managed to get some nice clips of them yesterday - see our Facebook page for the videos. Dolphins are better known than porpoise but porpoise are fascinating creatures and beautiful...read more

Blustery but lots of wildlife about

Brisk winds are keeping us on our toes at the moment but providing plenty of spray for those who want it! Fortunately the east side of the island has been calm and has provided some excellent sightings of seals. Yesterday there were really good numbers of porpoise in Ramsey Sound and 50 or so gannets feeding. They're spectacular birds to watch when diving and they treated our passengers to some impressive dives. Today the weather...read more

July 1st: jet boat trip charity day

We are running this year’s charity day on Friday July 1st. We will be running 1½ hour jet boat wildlife adventure trips around Ramsey Island. Trips will depart from St Justinian, St Davids. We will be watching seals and porpoises and visiting colonies of kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills, exploring caves and finishing with some jet manoeuvres. If you’d like some idea of what we do before...read more

Seawork Boat Show

Tim's at Seawork (commercial boat show), talking & breathing boats, especially Ocean Dynamics naturally! Bear Grylls used an OD rib on his Arctic Challenge, surviving icebergs & evil seas. They cope well with extreme working conditions but as Bear found out that's demanding on the humans! Nothing extreme here, just fond memories of sea tests on OD ribs. See Bear's...read more

Dogs on offshore trips

We don't recommend long trips for dogs unless they're used to boats but if the other passengers are happy & the dog well behaved it works well. Our dogs have always loved the boat & we're finding that passenger dogs can be just as relaxed. We took our first passenger dog on an offshore trip last week (with the full agreement of our other passengers) and the dog was even more relaxed, happy & well behaved than we'd expected....read more

Risso's dolphins visit Ramsey Island

Several Risso's dolphins are on the east side of Ramsey at the moment, swimming around & under the boat. Of course I'd love to be out there but at least it's a great way for our new crew to start with us. Welcome to the team, Ellen!...read more

New TripAdvisor review

'Fun, interesting and beautiful'. Thanks for the new TripAdvisor review. We really appreciate people taking the time to post reviews. It's great to be able to share Ramsey's coastline with our passengers. The word 'spectacular' can seem to be over-used but Ramsey really...read more

Bird survey

Lovely sunny morning. We seem to be escaping the forecast showers which are sweeping south of us:-) We have a seabird survey with the RSPB wardens today. It's always interesting to see how the birds are faring. Fortunately the conditions are good today to get into the caves to spot those hard-to-see breeding areas. Surveying the main cliffs is generally easy enough but birds don't always breed in convenient areas so Shearwater comes into...read more

Puffins & Sand Eels

Glorious day. 2 puffins flew around us on west side of Ramsey (we don't usually see them so close inshore when it's sunny) & the water was so clear we could see sand eels glistening in the sun outside one of the caves. They may not be exotic but they're crucial for the local birds, especially auks & kittiwakes. Good numbers of young seals too, showing a lot of interest in our passengers.  A lovely day....read more

wildlife news

Noel, a 93 kilo turtle in Brisbane, was released back into the wild after having to have her flipper amputated. She's swum more than 2,600 kilometres since last December. See Yahoo News for more info. We haven't seen any turtles around here (although they do visit the area) but we saw lots of dolphins yesterday and there were 66 red kites...read more

Seal wearing hat?

Saw seal with satellite tracker on head today - looks like a little cone shaped hat. It will shed its 'hat' when it next moults....read more

What do you do with an Ocean Dynamics jet boat?

The versatility of Ocean Dynamics jet boats is on the one hand liberating, enabling an experienced skipper to do things they couldn't dream of with conventional propeller-driven boats but it does beg the question: what do you do with such a tough jet boat? Tim's been applying his mind to this issue for some years & can get pretty creative! What's the point? Shearwater can gear playful turns to her passengers, from gentle to...read more

Basking shark seen in Ramsey Sound

We saw a decent sized Basking shark in Ramsey Sound today, gently feeding in the tide. Not a common sighting & very early in the season. Decent numbers of seals, lots of birds but the shark was definitely the highlight for us, although I suspect passengers might vote for the yearling seals who were playing around the boat. Grey & breezy day but the wildlife made up for it!...read more

TripAdvisor awards Venture Jet 2011 Certificate of Excellence

TripAdvisor has awarded us a 2011 Certificate of Excellence. Many thanks to all our passengers for their kind words - see our TripAdvisor page. Whit Week forecast is evolving positively,...read more

St Davids Whit Week Holiday Weather Forecast

The Whit Week forecast at the moment is breezy but dry, with plenty of sunny breaks. Great news for kitesurfers & surfers! The Bank Hol weekend is looking windy to begin with but as the week progresses the forecast is for less wind and more sun. Pembrokeshire's coastal weather is naturally very changeable but it looks like a great week to be outdoors, be it boating, riding, coasteering, kayaking or simply walking our lovely coastal...read more

'Too much windy'

Boat company sign in South France last week: 'Too much windy. No sail.' They should try Pembrokeshire winds - at least the Mistral's often warm! It's very breezy here today and expected to be windier still tomorrow so paperwork beckons. Boatmen in La Ciotat were manning their business phone from a bar at the old port just opposite...read more

Otters around Ramsey Island

  More from Greg Morgan, RSPB: grey seal haul out peaked at 100+ animals and regular otter spraints (but no sightings yet) found from mid April onwards. Porpoises with calves were seen in Ramsey Sound during April. Tim saw an otter swimming around the Bitches reef to the easy of Ramsey Island last year but I have yet to see one in this country. It's great to know that they're around. Fingers crossed...read more

Ramsey Island bird sightings March / April 2011

Bird sightings update courtesy of Greg Morgan, RSPB warden of Ramsey: Highlights in the two months were hoopoe, honey buzzard, Lapland bunting, hen...read more

Skokholm paintings

  Over 100 lovely bird paintings have been re-discovered on the walls of the only toilet on Skokholm off the Pembrokeshire coastline: 'The toilet is barely big enough to stand up in but the gallery of seabirds is an important record of the wildlife on the windswept island. ...read more

Sunny porpoise watching

We've had lovely stable weather all week & it looks good for the weekend too. We've had huge tides to contend with (over 7 metres) but with light winds the island has been pretty calm, ideal for watching porpoises and of course seals. Porpoises may be smaller than dolphins and their behaviour generally less spectacular but they are beautiful in their own right....read more

Sunny Easter wildlife boat trips

We have a lovely stable forecast all week. The birds approve so we have good numbers of Razorbills & Guillemots (see photo). Still lots of seals too so plenty to see around Ramsey. It's much chiller out at sea than on land so we're advising passengers to dress warmly but the island looks beautiful in the sunshine....read more

Good weekend weather forecast for St Davids

It's been a chilly day but the weekend forecast is looking good and we've got lots of seals around the island. Birds are still coming and going but there were plenty of razorbills today. It's beautiful in the sunshine but you do need to wrap up warmly! For daily local forecast see the St Davids Guide  on our website....read more

Venture Jet puppy walks on water?

Not quite. Puppy decided to try to walk on water, stepping off the dinghy before we'd reached the slip. Since he's not divine it was more challenging than he expected but his lifejacket kept him well afloat & we had him back on board v quickly, happy to shake all over us :-)...read more

Sunny seal watching

People are understandably often asking what there is to see off the Pembrokeshire coast at the moment. We have lots of seals around Ramsey & when the weather's good (it's great at the moment) the auks come in to the island for a few hours to meet up with their mates & check out breeding ledges. It's lovely out there! In...read more

Launched for Easter

We launched this week. It's great to be back on the water! The boat sounds wonderful after all Tim's TLC so Tim, Arnie & I went out for a blast to celebrate being back on the water. We've all been doing this for over 20 years but the first time we hit the water each season is always a great moment. The launch was rather...read more

Getting the boat ready for Easter

We ran the engine up yesterday, replacing the sea with a large plastic tub & a hose pipe to provide water - looks a bit 'Blue Peter for grown ups' but works well. The engine growled into life & surprised puppy but not as much as water spitting out of the back. Fortunately he still seems keen....read more

Puppy helping to get boat ready

Spring is definitely coming. The sun is shining on Shearwater's tubes & even the sheep look happy (they don't like rain). Tim is giving Shearwater lots of pre-season TLC & Vertical is 'helping' us to sort out boat gear....read more

Ramsey Island skylarks announce spring in Pembrokeshire

From Greg Morgan, RSPB warden: Skylarks were singing for the first time on 26/2 and made it feel like spring was around the corner. Stonechat numbers are low again after their big decline following...read more

Pembrokeshire holiday weather

It sometimes feels like the Pembrokeshire weather has a sense of humour. February half-term week was unremittingly windy and wet - broadly it was the most depressing weather of the winter. Even the boat looked a bit fed up of all the mud. This week everyone is back at work and school and we've had glorious sunshine every day. It is cold (very cold yesterday!) but the frost looks lovely in the morning sunshine and it really feels like...read more

Ramsey Island wildlife

From Greg morgan, Ramsey Island RSPB warden: Fulmar were present on ledges on most days in both months (and some nights) with guillemots present on breeding ledges on several dates through the period....read more

More Ramsey Island bird sightings

More information kindly provided by Greg Morgan, RSPB Ramsey warden: Lapwing numbered around 10 birds by the end of Feb but hard to tell if these were our birds or still hanging on from winter. A single bird was displaying for the first time on 26/2....read more

Ramsey Island bird records Jan-Feb

We've just had Jan/Feb wildlife updates from Greg Morgan, RSPB warden on Ramsey Island: Quiet as you might expect. Highlights being a single jack snipe (30/1), single mistle thrush (12/2), a collared dove on 2 dates in Feb (becoming less common out here), a woodcock (11/2) and the first gannets...read more

Getting ready for Easter boat trips

Easter seems a long way off but Tim's been doing pre-season boat maintenance, hanging upside down in the engine box in the cold - what a glamorous business! Cal supervises happily on deck or plays in the dinghy. Clearly it really is a dog's life. ...read more

Venture Jet rated on Trip Advisor as no.1 attraction in St Davids, Pembrokeshire

We're really pleased that passengers have voted us on TripAdvisor as the no.1 attraction for St Davids. It's really good of people to take the time to post reviews. We do try!! No pressure for the coming season then... ...read more

Boat trips for February half term

We keep getting calls about February half term. I'm sorry but we won't be operating until Easter. While we get the odd lovely day the weather is generally not conducive at this time of year. The views are spectacular but it would be very cold out at sea. The photo shows a beach just north of Abereiddy. On the plus side...read more

Child-free trips?

Apparently an airline is considering 'adults only' flights (child-free surcharge) for those who don't want to travel long haul with other people's children. We try to organise family & adult trips (we don't mix 2½ yr olds with 30 yr old surfers!) but it can require organisational genius even for a small company like...read more

New Venture Jet canine crew

Somewhere in this happy pile of snoozing retriever puppies is our new canine crew. He's too young to join the team yet but we look forward to welcoming him home soon. Diesel had more fans than we do, especially youngsters. We'll update our Facebook page with puppy photos and...read more

Saying goodbye to Diesel

It was with great sadness that we had to say goodbye to Diesel dog after a short illness last year. Diesel oversaw every aspect of the business from boat construction and maintenance to office paperwork and of course being out and about on his boat, which he loved. Diesel is greatly missed but we will be under new canine management soon. In the meantime we will have to do our best to run the business without canine assistance....read more

January sunshine Pembrokeshire style

Yesterday afternoon was beautifully sunny, a welcome break after the driving rain and murk of the previous day. Porthgain was blustery and chilly but the colours were genuinely spectacular, with Porthgain's cliffs lit by sunlight yet Strumble lurking in much darker skies in the distance. You have to be pretty robust to cope with Pembrokeshire in winter. We tend not to get extremes in temperature but we regularly experience winds which...read more

Wildlife watching photos

It's foggy and wet again so we had a go at creating a slideshow of sunny wildlife watching moments. We'll endeavour to do some more to brighten up dreary office days. ...read more

St Davids weather: 3 seasons in 3 days

Sunday saw frosty sunshine glinting on Shearwater's tubes, Monday I could scarcely see her through the driving rain (it's never good when the rain hits in horizontal sheets). It felt a bit surreal to be busily answering emails about boat trips and likely wildlife for Easter, May and beyond. Today there are plenty of white horses (to be technical) out to sea but spring does seem to be around the corner. For daily weather forecasts please check...read more

Merry Christmas!

The last gift voucher has been processed. The best message was probably 'Happy Christmas & a fun wet New Year'! We wish all our passengers & friends a very happy Christmas & hope you're all keeping warm out there (must be getting old). We're finding boat thermals rather useful! :-)...read more

The sky is blue, the sea is lumpy

  There's a reason even we don't do much jet boating in the Pembrokeshire winter. The sky may be blue but the sea is lumpy... and cold. Very cold. It's never a good sign when the sea is grey, churning up flotsam and jetsam, with the spray feeling like hailstones. The best way to enjoy a lumpy winter sea is in thermals... ashore :-) To...read more

Shearwater gets festive

Shearwater looks quite festive with snow on her tubes but it's a bit strange to be sliding up & down an icy deck (aluminium & ice - not a good health and safety combo). Boat's all tucked up for winter so now it's time to sort out some Christmas gift certificates for some very well organised customers. Wonder if our families would like Wet and Wild jet boat wildlife trip vouchers for Christmas? :-)...read more

Porthgain on a blustery day

Gales, rain, more gales: Mother Nature’s way of telling us to do paperwork. Or we could take the dog for a walk to see if it’s as bad out there as it sounds… Pembrokeshire’s coastline is used to gales - all part of its decidedly rugged charm. Porthgain looked stunning yesterday with its bright blue (and then charcoal grey!) sky, spray overhead (and into camera…) and a decent swell pounding the cliffs...read more

A Day in the Life of a Seal 2

Last week's young seal reminded us of a big bull seal who used to sleep in the boats we worked 20 years ago. 'Humphrey' as he was known to humans used to come up to the boat at the end of the day and launch out of the water like a blubbery missile onto the tubes. We didn't have inboard seating in those days so once on the tubes it was easy for him to lumber over onto the engine box for a good night's sleep. Humphrey regarded skippers...read more

A Day in the Life of a Seal

Seals are opportunistic, good at making the best of life's opportunities. This one decided that an inflatable raft was too good to pass up and spent a good deal of time on it for several days. St Justinian is a working harbour and the seal watched us all lazily as we came and went but nothing was sufficiently interesting to get in the way of his siesta. We have video clips of him on our Facebook...read more

Life on Grassholm

While Tim was assisting the RSPB team by cutting gannets free on Grassholm I was looking after the boat. It's rarely calm enough to anchor up close in so someone needs to stay with the boat. Yes, that does mean drifting around enjoying the view (and avoiding the rocks)! Since my role was to stand offshore 'in case' Iwas able to watch the wildlife on a small patch of Grassholm (south end) for some hours. I can report that not a lot...read more

Gannet rescue on Grassholm Island (Pembrokeshire)

Last week we took an RSPB team to Grassholm to cut free gannets. Shaun White started this tradition some 20 years ago in the days when it was quite an adventure to head out to Grassholm (small RIB, well before GPS and mobile phones!) These days we have better equipment but the essentials remain the same: you need courage, thermals & a good knife because gannets aren't known for their patience! Seeing birds struggle with...read more

seal pup home alone

While walking Diesel near Abercastle we came across some very well meaning tourists trying to rescue a seal pup. They were concerned that it was 'home alone' on a beach. It was swaddled in a beach towel (with easy access to fingers if it felt like biting them) & surprisingly calm, probably cos it's used to seeing humans on the coast path. It was young but not too skinny & while Mum wasn't in immediate view pups only need to be fed...read more

Balloons and other flotsam

Our waters are very clean but we do come across rope, fishing line and various bits of plastic all too often. Whenever we can we collect it (good man overboard drill for the crew!) and dispose of it ashore. Perhaps the worst thing we come across is balloons since when they deflate they can easily be swallowed by sunfish, birds and of course potentially inhaled by porpoises. We came across a large collection of balloons on the west...read more

gannet rescue

While working with the BBC Coast film crew Tim and Liz were able to rescue a rather soggy gannet. It had rope and twine around its beak and simply couldn't get rid of it. Liz hopped off the boat to catch the bird (not an easy feat catching a miserable gannet as it spits insults at you) and they were able to cut the rope and twine away. Gannets aren't the easiest of birds to help. The can snake their long necks a surprising distance...read more

St Davids Bank Holiday weather forecast

A passenger had a good jocular rant to me this week about being fed up with hearing 'pessimistic' forecasts on tv and then finding the weather was much better than he expected only after cancelling his plans. Television forecasts are inevitably rather generalised and tend to concentrate on highly populated areas but they do give a good idea of trends. The forecast this week has been described variously by tv forcasters as 'changeable'...read more

Filming with BBC Coast

Today we're taking the BBC Coast crew out to film gannets, seals and Dr Steve Votier about his gannet research on Grassholm. We've given ourselves a few grey hairs trying to find the best weather window to enable them to do everything they need to but thus far it's all working well. Steve has been using satellite trackers to track gannets' movements and the data is pretty impressive, with some gannets travelling thousands of km in...read more

'Awesome' jet boat

A recent review on TripAdvisor described Shearwater as ‘the most awesome transport I've ever been on’. This was echoed by a couple of guys from the navy, who got off grinning broadly and declaring that they’d worked some serious boats but that Shearwater would...read more

Lovely weather continues for St Davids

We've had a week of largely sunny weather with light winds and swells - perfect for getting out on the water. We're making the most of the weather and enjoying working off the beach at Whitesands. The stable weather has also enabled us to go offshore dolphin spotting. We've had some terrific runs out to Grassholm to check out the gannets and seals but for most people the highlight is the opportunity to see dolphins. We've been fortunate...read more

Bull seal checks out the humans

The weather is making life very difficult this week, with forecasts unusually difficult to read. Thus far we have just about managed to find the best weather windows for our trips but yesterday that meant light rain as opposed to no rain! Our intrepid passengers were determined to brave the (surprisingly warm but soggy) elements and we had a great trip. Ray Mears is right when he says that the key with bad weather is not to let it get into...read more

Impressive Gannets

Think you've had a busy week and need a day off? Check out what our Grassholm gannets have been doing recently! A team from Plymouth University has been studying the movements of 'non-breeding sub-adult' gannets for some years now. We took them out to Grassholm earlier this month and they successfully put trackers on 12 birds. Amazingly the trackers are still providing data. To see what the gannets have been doing please check out the project...read more

Fea's Petrel sighted off Grassholm, Pembrokeshire

Tim was taking a group of scientists and an RSPB warden out to Grassholm this evening as part of their gannet monitoring project. They were happily photographing shearwaters when one of them shouted 'Stop the boat!' Emergency? Fortunately no.  A Fea's Petrel came towards the boat and then flew alongside for a time. Apparently this may be a first for...read more

New video of jet boat close manoeuvring

Our Youtube page has seen some controversy over Shearwater's manoeuvrings. Is it easy? Tim makes it look that way but oddly enough put someone else on the same boat & she doesn't behave nearly so well... Jet boats can have a wicked sense of humour....read more

Smalls lighthouse history makes it to Edinburgh

The Plasticine Men theatre group are taking their play Keepers to Edinburgh: 'It's based on the true story of The Smalls Lighthouse where one keeper died and the other lost his mind. The two keepers were known to quarrel, and so when one died, his colleague feared he might be accused of murder. Too frightened to dispose of the dead man's body, he built a coffin and secured it to the outside of the lighthouse. As the weather conditions...read more

New seal pup on Ramsey Island

We have a new seal pup on the west side of Ramsey. Judging from the way the adults are behaving in that cove we may well see another pup soon. The forecast is changeable later this week, with variable swells and brisk winds but the pup is in a cove with a decent storm beach and boulder bank which will absorb the worst of any swell before it gets to the pup. We still have good numbers of kittiwakes and fulmars. We've been seeing quite a...read more

protected seals

For those who (like me) get rather upset at the notion of people shooting seals, it's worth remembering that seals are now protected and the only shooting anyone's likely to be doing is with cameras....read more

Seal research old-style

This rather surprising narrative is not from a 60s detective novel but The Seals and the Scientists, an account of seal research on Ramsey (mercifully not recent!): A sudden scuffle behind the rock against which Ronald was leaning spun us round as one, and in a flash the sound of scrabbling pebbles was drowned in the ear-splitting bark of the rifle as Syd fired, staggered back a step, and fired again. "Clean missed him,...read more

Puffin watching

We don't have puffins on Ramsey Island courtesy of rats which until recently inhabited the island. The RSPB managed to get rid of the rats and are hoping to reintroduce puffins to Ramsey. Ramsey is home to many shearwaters who live in burrows which would be suitable for puffins, often sharing the area with rabbits who are rather useful neighbours since they provide  a degree of protection. The RSPB has placed decoy puffins in strategic...read more

Pembrokeshire forecast great for dolphin watching offshore

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Paddlers enjoying the challenge of The Bitches, Ramsey Island

Last week we were hired to take some paddlers plus their kayaks out to Ramsey Island so that they could paddle on the Bitches reef while we took their students for a fun wildlife trip. They are very experienced paddlers and know that you can have too much of a good thing when it come to buckets of cold salt water so they gave themselves time to enjoy the challenge of the reef while we looked after their students and then they had a lift home. This...read more

Iolo's Wild Times on Grassholm

Iolo's Wild Times was on tv again this week revisiting places he'd filmed years ago. We took him and his crew out to Grassholm last summer with Dr Steve Votier, who has been researching gannets for years. It was a fascinating trip - good weather and a boat full of scientists - we learn a lot from this sort of work!  Wild Times is available on BBC i player and has some lovely footage. ...read more

Dogs don't always make the best crew

Diesel loves coming out on the boat but is particularly keen on being in the dinghy (rowed by his humans of course). Tim was rowing in yesterday (2 adults, a large dog and a lot of kit - it's amazing what you can fit in a dinghy) when we heard a strange whooshing sound, like air escaping from a tube... We wouldn't want to hear that sound on Shearwater but she has a solid aluminium hull and floats without tubes. The dinghy is hypalon - it...read more

5 foot conger eel at St Justinian

A 5ft conger eel was swimming around the slip at St Justinian yesterday. They tend to lurk around rocks under water rather than checking out slipways. I've never come across one and I don't want to! Tim had an interesting time when one joined him in a dingy years ago (standing on the tubes as the conger flailed around on the deck getting increasingly cheesed off at him). Apparently when they get their jaws stuck into something they can't...read more

Short video of tidal race over Bitches reef in Ramsey Sound

We've had a few days of wonderful sunshine, albeit a rather chilly northerly breeze yesterday. This clip shows the tide racing over the Bitches reef, a popular zone for experienced paddlers but also a beautiful spot to sit and watch the water go by. Tidal Race in Ramsey Sound video If you sit just out of the tide you get a great view of the waves...read more

Razorbill video

We have finally worked out how to take short videos with my camera. It's not award-winning stuff but it's a way of sharing what's happening around Ramsey with our passengers. The blog won't support anything but very short clips. To see more of what's happening please check out our Facebook...read more

Do you know what a guillemot sounds like?

The guillemot breeding ledges on the west side of Ramsey are busy at the moment, with hundreds of birds lined up to face the marauding gulls. We're also seeing quite a few guillemots rafting around the island (grouped together on the water, not engaging in extreme sports). Guillemots are rather funny to watch when they fly. Their short wings aren't that good in the air, particularly when it's windy. Quite often they have difficulty getting...read more

St Davids heat wave

It is so warm today that even the sheep can't be bothered to eat. They're just  lazing around in the grass idly watching passers-by. This must be the warmest day this year, with hazy blue sky and beautiful colours. It's the perfect day for  a boat trip so we're looking forward to getting out on the water this afternoon. The forecast is terrific all weekend too. See our St Davids Guide...read more

Ramsey wildlife update

The early pup on the west side of Ramsey is making the best of calm sea conditions and seems to be putting weight on nicely. His mother looks healthy and relaxed but is keeping a good eye on him. He really seems to be getting a good start to life. Porpoises haven't been much in evidence of late but we've had big tides and for some reason we never see as much of them on big tides. The auks have returned to their breeding ledges and...read more

Ramsey Bird Sighting Highlights March / April

Bird sighting highlights for March and April courtesy of Greg Morgan, RSPB Ramsey warden: Highlights included hoopoe (2+3/4), a female yellowhammer on 10/4 (4th record since RSPB records began), snow bunting (21/4 to end month), 5 ring ouzels through April, Cetti’s warbler (25/4), bullfinch (16/4), black redstart (7/4), 4 common redstarts in April, barn owl (16/4), grasshopper warbler (23+30/4), green sandpiper (12/4),...read more

Ramsey bird sighting updates

Bird updates courtesy of Greg Morgan, RSPB Ramsey warden: 7 pairs of chough confirmed as breeding. An 8th pair was settling down when a 3rd bird intervened and put everyone off! Only 2 pairs of lapwing made it back this year unfortunately, presumably not helped by the cold winter. There are 3 peregrine territories this and a pair of kestrel. 4 pairs of raven are on the verge of fledging young while the whitethroats...read more

New seal pup

Yesterday we saw a newly born seal pup on the west side of Ramsey. Afterbirth was still in evidence and it's very small so clearly a very recent arrival. Whilst it is bitterly cold in the northerly wind for humans at the moment what counts for seal pups is good calm seas. We've had some overfalls as a result of wind against tide but the underlying sea state is calm at the moment and likely to remain that way for the next crucial few days....read more

Dogs, seals and floating rope

This season has seen an unusual amount of rubbish in the water. Most of it is wood and therefore harmless (unless it hits someone's propellers!) although we do get the odd sizeable log floating around and we all have to be careful of those! Earlier this week we were enjoying a sunny (but chilly!) trip around the west side of Ramsey when we saw a young bull seal surrounded by netting. Diesel is demonstrating in the photo here just how easy...read more

How to build a jet boat

We're often asked about the boat (Shearwater). When we set up Venture Jet we intended to commission a new one but it would have taken 12-18 months and we really couldn't wait that long. Shearwater came up for sale (with her original solid sides) so we bought her for her Ocean Dynamics hull and rebuilt her from there. Jeremy...read more

St Davids continues to enjoy sunny weather

The settled high pressure is bad news for those of us wanting to travel by air and hoping the ash cloud will dissipate but it's terrific for boating. We're enjoying one of the warmest days of the year and calm seas - perfect for exploring Ramsey's caves.  The auks, perhaps confused by all the sunshine, haven't been much in evidence for the last couple of days but it's normal at this time of year for them to be coming and going, getting...read more

Porpoise rescue

Cardigan lifeboat volunteers managed to rescue a female porpoise trapped in nets near some cliffs last week. It can't have been an easy task but they managed to set her free and watch her take herself back out to sea. This isn't a photo of that particular lucky porpoise but it gives an idea of how beautiful they are. They're often overshadowed by the rather showier dolphins but they're fascinating in their own right....read more

Summer weather for St Davids

Summer has arrived! Forecast is for wall-to-wall sunshine & light winds for the next week. St Davids is lovely and peaceful, as if everyone is sleepy because of the sun. It's a great time to get out on the water....read more

Easter weather update

The weather has given us 2 days off. Tim & Laurie went out 'for a blast' yesterday & declared it 'foul'. They're tough enough to enjoy it come what may but for those who want a more civilised boating experience things are looking up. The rain's eased & the winds are dropping. Tomorrow looks fine & the rest of the week & weekend look really great - light winds and sunshine. For an up to date daily forecast check out our St...read more

Ramsey bird update

Update from Greg Morgan, warden: A cold month following on from a very cold winter has affected some species. Chough were a bit late to get going, more interested in feeding up after a tough few winter months than getting round to breeding. First nest building was on 22/3. By the end of the month 5 pairs had been confirmed with another...read more

Ramsey seal update

Update from Greg Morgan, Ramsey warden: Moulting grey seals can be readily seen around the island at this time of year. Up to 150 have been hauled out on the main beaches during March and good numbers should continue through April. Anyone approaching by boat should do so with care as they are very jumpy at this time of year and moulting is a very important...read more

our new website design

We've had very positive reactions to our revamped website. We're used to doing pretty much everything ourselves in this business but web design is a bit beyond us... Our new look website is courtesy of the skill of Damon Davies of Dotnetworks. Film companies etc come to us to solve their logistical problems at sea (we know how to do that!) but we're still learning when it comes...read more

Easter weather update

Gales and horizontal rain yesterday, gales and big swell this morning - it must be Easter!  The sea was downright angry this morning but just (very) grumpy this afternoon. The gales have died down but there's still plenty of swell to fight the wind. It's sunny so spectacular to watch - walkers are thoroughly enjoying the coastal path - it's just not much use if you're trying to work. Most of the fishing boats aren't in the...read more

St Davids Easter weather forecast

We had a real taste of spring last week. The dog gambolled like a puppy on the beach and the sun gleamed on the boat's yellow tubes as we continued to get her ready for the season. Then we looked at the forecast - and laughed - gales gusting up to 57 mph mid week and a stonking swell. At least we know where we are - safely ashore! The forecast for Easter weekend is looking more promising, though,...read more

coastal wildlife photography tips

I've just come across a coastal wildlife special in an online digital photography magazine. If you want tips on how to photograph wildlife or you simply want to enjoy seeing how it's done by the professionals then it's well worth a look. Janet Baxter is featured and gives some great practical advice. Janet knows a lot about the wildlife she photographs and her work is much...read more

Seal killing

Another grisly addition to the discussion on bull seals killing pups. While doing a seal survey on Skomer last year David Boyle  photographed a bull seal killing a pup on two separate occasions. Not only did he witness a bull apparently drowning a pup, he saw it take a huge chunk out of the newly moulted pup's neck. This is apparently the first time that this sort of behaviour has been photographed. If you want to check out the evidence there...read more

Seal pup relaxes at St Justinian

Seals constantly ignore the Marine Code and minimum distances from humans - fair enough - it's their water. This week a lovely fat pup of 5 weeks or so (therefore independent) was lazing right by the slip at St Justinian. He ignored us as we carried the dinghy down the slip (we clearly weren't interesting enough) but roused himself slightly to spit at the dog, who was waiting to jump into...read more

Bull seal kills pup?

The debate about seals killing other seals rumbles on. Interestingly (but not necessarily significantly) so far we've only heard of bull seals being accused of 'murderous' and 'cannabilistic' behaviour. The latest news is from the Skomer Island blog: 'The Seal pup that was born a few days ago was seen swimming up and down the coast of North Haven, looking for its Mum. It then struck out for...read more

Ramsey seal update

Ramsey's Atlantic grey seals are now well into their breeding season and we have pups dotted all the way around the island on storm beaches and rocky ledges. In addition to several days of glorious sunshine the sea has been unusually calm, which is great news for young pups. Last year saw a significant shift for some females giving birth earlier than usual. The seals do have some control (as far as we know a couple of days or so) over when...read more

Venture Jet review on TripAdvisor

Passengers often send us lovely emails (not to mention amusing photographs!) after their trips but understandably don't generally think to tell the world what they think of us. This may now change since we're on TripAdvisor. If you would like to see what's been said about us or to add your own comments please check out the TripAdvisor...read more

Global Nomads arrive in Mongolia

Finally the guys have arrived safely in Mongolia: 'We made it!  In Ulaan Baatuur, having a lot more stories to tell then when we entered Mongolia!  Lost many tyres, several convoys, a couple of other cars, but had the most amazing time...  I'm hanging around in UB a couple of days before driving back in a Land Crusier (it actually has acceleration!)  John and Laurie raced off this morning in our battered but proud Daewoo...read more

Do seals eat other seals?

Anyone who has see a seal's teeth knows that they are fearsome predators. Seals generally feed on fish, crabs, lobsters etc so we don't often see them actually eating unless they're fighting with a large fish on the surface. Over the years Tim and I have seen the odd seal eating octopus (looking rather like something out of the Alien movies - with the octopus wrapped around the seal's head it wasn't clear who was eating whom)...read more

Bull seal eating seal pup

The recent sighting of a seal eating a baby porpoise has understandably really got people talking.  I was interested to read the following in the Sea Trust blog. Please don't read on if you don't have a strong stomach! 'Reading Cliff's account of the Grey Seal eating the dead Porpoise off Strumble Head reminded me of...read more

Do seals eat porpoises?

It's easy to anthropomorphise seals as they snooze on rocks and loll around the boat but seals, like dogs, are predators and sometimes do things which humans rather struggle with. Some very interesting (not to mention gory) local news: 'Richard Davies commented on a seal below us eating "a big fish". We have seen them eat big congers, Wrasse, Pollock, rays and even once an octopus. I strained to make out exactly what kind of fish...read more

Global Nomads in Georgia

Our intrepid nomads survived the 'world's most expensive petrol' in Turkey then engaged with the traffic in Georgia: Laurie: 'Georgia: I’m still a little bit shell shocked by Georgia. It seems like a great, strange little country but one thing sticks out above all else. The driving. I’ve driven in a fair few countries with infamous automotive reputations such as Greece, Turkey (obviously) and Israel. Georgia...read more

Ramsey seal pup update

  It's been a challenging week with lots of rescheduling for the best weather windows and lots of monitoring of the weather sites! I think 'variable' is the term the forecasters are likely to use for the coming few days. We should see some sunshine but the winds are likely to be brisker than we would choose and there's a pesky swell to keep an eye on - great for the surfers! Tim spotted another Portuguese Man 'o War off the...read more

Filming with BBC Steve Backshall's 'Deadly 60s'

Last autumn we did some film work with the BBC for Steve Backshall's...read more

Portuguese Man o' War off Ramsey

It seems to be a year of firsts, earlier in the season spotting an otter on the east side of Ramsey and now a Portuguese Man o' War a few days ago. Maybe I will tick the other 2 on the list of  'I would like to see': killer whales and a leatherback turtle. (Tim) Apparently the lifeguards closed off the water because a Man o' War visited...read more

Grassholm gannet tracking project

Update from Greg Morgan, RSPB warden of Ramsey: 5 satellite trackers were put on non-breeding birds in June 09 by researchers from University of Plymouth in conjunction with RSPB. This type of work on non breeders has never been done before anywhere. These trackers send back several fixes a day which are then uploaded once a day onto...read more

Sunshine hits St Davids

We've had sunshine for 2 days now and the weather looks good and stable so we should see plenty of sunshine for the next few days. The winds have dropped but there are some lively gusts nonetheless. Surfers should be happy at the moment, with good surf at Newgale and Whitesands. The lifeguards sensibly closed Whitesands late yesterday afternoon because the surf jacked up surprisingly quickly. A large swell hit the back of the island but...read more

Global Nomads robbed

Our favourite Global Nomads have had a tough time.  Communication is limited but they've been robbed and seem to have been denied food and water. Everyone's very concerned for them. Their latest entry is brief but charateristically trying to be good humoured: 'we're alive but very poor and dirty after being robbed blind and starved by corrupt azeri cops and sailors. In convoy from now on.' They knew that their adventures would...read more

Global Nomads hit Turkey

News from our favourite Global Nomads: 'I'm writing this now because I am lying in a very seedy motel somewhere in northern Turkey, on the Black Sea coast, far away from where we planned to be because we failed to purchase / read the correct maps. Who would have thought the map in Lonley Planet couldn't be used to navigate across Turkey? Whatever, the straight...read more

Ramsey puffin heads off to Mongolia with the Global Nomads

The Global Nomads kindly took this photo of the Ramsey puffin they took along on their adventures in aid of Mercy Corps. They should have taken a shearwater out with them (they're phenomenal navigators) but the shearwater would have taken them back to Ramsey so perhaps they're better off with a puffin (looks like he's enjoying himself) and the sat navs on their mobiles. They seem to be in remarkably good humour given the size of the car...read more

New seal pups

There are a couple of new seal pups on the west side of Ramsey this week. We've been seeing them peeping out from behind the rocks on the beach and occasionally they're good enough to move so that we can see them more clearly. They're both very small so presumably 3 or 4 days old, although they seem to be getting bigger by the day. Seals' milk is very rich and pups pretty much triple their birth weight in the first 3 weeks or so. They do...read more

St Davids weather looking up

The forecast for this week a couple of days ago was downright scary, with the threat of gale force winds and a 4 metre swell. Fortunately the wind forecast has been downgraded and while it will be pretty lively at times the winds are no longer causing us to consider whether or not we should be sleeping on the boat to check she's OK! We will no doubt be facing another week of sunshine and showers but the heaviest of the showers are predicted...read more

Sunny St Davids!

We've had sunshine all day and the breeze has died down so we're working from Whitesands. The forecast for Saturday is terrific too (sunshine and light winds) but if the wind predictions for Sunday are accurate we may well have a day off from boating! The swell is due to pick up for sunday too so the surfers will be celebrating. Whitesands is well known as an excellent surfing beach. For surf forecasts check out...read more

Crew Training

Passengers often tell our crew that they have the best job in the world. The upsides are obvious but they do work hard and it's much tougher than it looks! Crew training can't all be done in the sunshine; they do sometimes have to train in the rain, or as was the case earlier this month, the driving rain. This photo does not do justice to the rain and I would have needed the waterproof camera case to take photos of the lads working at Whitesands! People...read more

St Davids weather

Looking at this week's forecast is pretty dispiriting. The Met Office is telling us with gloomy authority that the winds will scupper any plans for offshore trips for the next few days at least. Perhaps the only saving grace is that the forecast is clear on that score, although that's not great news for people who are on holiday just for this week. There's a bit of a swell forecast mid week - great news...read more

Dogs and boats

We're often asked if boat trips are suitable for dogs. If you were to ask Diesel he'd wag his tail, pick up his lifejacket and jump into the Landrover ready to go. Indeed the other morning Tim picked up one of Diesel's lifejackets to put on a passenger's dog later that day and Diesel leapt up looking so excited that we suffered a major guilt attack (dogs are good at doing that) and so I took him to the beach later. ...read more

New Venture Jet Crew

We are delighted to welcome Henry and Matthew as crew this season. Laurie's sailing boots are not easily filled (ask him for his list of achievements but amongst the masters etc lurks a Yachtmaster, RNLI training and a not unimpressive sailing career). Henry and Matthew come to us via surfing, kayaking and a general love of boats and the sea. We have done our best to put them off the sea but they seem to be coping admirably nonetheless! Forgive...read more

Auk breeding season coming to an end

Some of the guillemots were back on the ledges on the west cliffs of Ramsey yesterday and those who live on the east side are still there. They don't usually leave en masse so we'd love to know what took them away so suddenly from the west side earlier this week. Many of the razorbills have headed out to sea but we're still seeing some around the south east end of Ramsey and we still have some kittiwakes. It won't be long now before...read more

Guillemots leave Ramsey

The main guillemot breeding cliffs on the west of Ramsey were oddly quiet today. The birds had clearly decided en masse to leave last night.  Perhaps they didn't fancy the look of the strong northerly winds forecast tomorrow! It's normal for the guillemots to be there one day and gone the next but each year it's a bit of a surprise because we don't know when they'll decide to head out to sea. Guillemots spend most of their...read more

St Davids weather

The weather this week has been particularly difficult to interpret. We use a number of forecasting sites to try to get a picture of likely wind direction and strength, swell predictions (crucial) and rainfall. This, together with the tide (strength and direction) and current sea state gives a picture of what's likely to happen. It's like piecing together bits from a jigsaw except that the pieces can change...read more

St Justinian drilling platform moves

The drill platform needs to be moved around St Justinian in order to test drill in the right places. Conditions were excellent for the first couple of days when we assisted the tug to manoeuvre the platform. I should have taken photos when the rain was hammering down! ...read more

Laurie goes to Mongolia

We were delighted to welcome Laurie back from his Masters degree at Oxford University to do some crewing. He doesn't have much time to spare for us because he's about to head off to Mongolia on a charity run, The Mongol Rally. The lads describe their enterprise with characteristic flair and humour on their webpage, Global Nomads. The...read more

Dolphin watching with the dog

I seem to be writing a lot about dolphins at the moment given that I spend so much of my time telling people that we can't guarantee anything other than sea. I guess there must be a lot of cetaceans out there - if anything I'm surprised at how often we see them (of course sometimes we don't!) It's not often that I get to be out on the boat just for fun but this week I found myself with time just to relax so headed out south west of Ramsey...read more

Fantastic porpoise video footage

We've just had a look at the videos on the SOS Dolfijn website. They show how the team work with porpoises and how they ultimately release them. It's fascinating to see them swim but we still can't get over how relaxed the porpoises seem to be and how they interact with the team. The videos are available from their homepage by clicking on the SOS Dolfijn...read more

Porpoise behaviour

It was great to be able to find out a bit more about porpoise behaviour from the SOS Dolfijn guys. We learned that while they are shy they're friendly, even playful with humans at the centre, much more gentle than dolphins. When rescued from stranding they apparently relax and co-operate with their rescuers pretty quickly. As their strength improves they naturally become more independent and impatient to...read more

SOS Dolfijn (porpoise & dolphin rescue centre)

Last week a couple of porpoise experts from SOS Dolfijn, a rehabilitation and research centre for stranded porpoises and dolphins in the Netherlands, came out on one of our passenger trips. Most people desperately want to see dolphins and so our rather lovely local porpoises can be overlooked but these guys really wanted to see the porpoises. ...read more

RNLI preparing for new boathouse at St Justinian, St Davids

There's a new kid in town, referred to as the 'jack-up'. Norwest Holst, an engineering company, set up its rig yesterday. No sooner was the platform in position than they were preparing to drill - they're not slackers! The 'jack-up' or platform is supported by 4 huge hydraulically operated legs (which give it its alien appearance) and which also allow it to be 'walked' on the ocean floor - all very cool to watch! ...read more

Dolphin sightings on offshore trips

Last week we took some scientists out to Grassholm to do some gannet monitoring and came across some common dolphins en route. Not only were they bow-riding, they were swimming nose to the stern, even under the jet stream, pretty much touching the boat. Whenever wildlife comes up really close to the boat I am grateful that we have no propellers. I am not aware of any damage done to wildlife in this area by propellers but it is fantastic to know...read more

Recent dolphin 'superpod' sighting off The Smalls

My heart sinks a little when the media refer to Pembrokeshire as 'The Dolphin Coast' and eagerly report sightings of hundreds or even thousands of dolphins. Such sightings do occur and they are really exciting (and therefore newsworthy) but precisely because they do not occur daily. We are fortunate to see cetaceans often en route to Grassholm and The Smalls but I often speak to people who are under the impression that boat companies can...read more

Fishing off Ramsey Island

We went fishing for mackerel off Ramsey Sound this week. I confess I'm a bit of a girl when it comes to fishing. I'll drive the boat or hold a line but I do my best to avoid having to actually go near the fish. Ray Mears would despair... I have learned how to despatch fish humanely should the need arise but frankly if there's someone else who's prepared to do it then I'm grateful. ...read more

Jellyfish Project

There's a new project in town - EcoJel. They're tagging barrel jellyfish in an effort to find out more about their movements, how long they live etc. They also have a really useful jellyfish identification guide to download. We've been seeing common jellyfish (which are often known as moon jellyfish due to their purple rings) , compass...read more

Ramsey Puffin update

We had a lovely offshore trip to the Smalls Lighthouse this week. We saw some dolphins north of Grassholm and lots of seals on Grassholm and The Smalls but also plenty of puffins. We would expect to see them off Skomer and well out to sea but we seem to be coming across more and more of them west of Ramsey. It's clearly too early to see if the RSPB puffin project is working yet but...read more

Otter spotted off Bitches reef, Ramsey Island, St Davids

We've just had a message from the boat that they've spotted an otter swimming around the rocks of the Bitches reef - another first in 27 years of Tim working around the island. There's a particularly awkward gap (even by Ramsey's standards) next to 'the middle Bitch' as the rock is known that only Tim drives through. Just as he was negotiating the rocks underwater to drive through the gap the otter popped up so he had to reverse back through...read more

Ramsey Island Puffin Project

Edited highlights from an email from RSPB Ramsey warden Greg Morgan, explaining the mystery of the plastic puffins: The RSPB are deploying 150 plastic decoy puffins around the island in a bid to lure the real thing back to Ramsey. The species was last recorded breeding here in 1894. Sometime prior to this date, brown rats first arrived on Ramsey, probably...read more

Great Northern Diver spotted offshore

A first for me in 27 years. Tim Great Northern Diver info....read more

Weather forecast sites for St Davids, Pembrokeshire

Weather forecast web links for St Davids, Pembrokeshire. As a boat operator (Venture Jet) we use a range of forecast sites but the following are some of the most user friendly and accurate in our experience. We select either Pembroke or Milford Haven as the closest options but our weather is so localised that it's not uncommon for the weather to be different in different parts of the St Davids area, or indeed to change...read more

Ocean Dynamics Jet Boat Reunion - 'the experience of a lifetime' is back!

Calling former Ocean Dynamics (original Thousand Islands) jet boat skippers and crew (you know who you are!) There’s a vicious rumour going around that we’re all not as young as we used to be. Our combined age is … let’s not go there. Since all we ever do when we see each other is talk about the good old days of jet boating, we thought it high time to actually get together on the boat and talk shamelessly...read more

Bank Holiday Gannet Rescue

Yesterday Tim came across an adult gannet off the west coast of Ramsey floundering in the water and looking rather distressed. He came alongside to investigate and found its wing and one leg largely immobilised by rope and fishing line. The more it struggled the more entangled it became. Fortunately (for the gannet if not Tim) it had plenty of energy and didn't seem to have been caught for long. Gannets need to be handled with considerable...read more

Another early seal pup

We spotted another seal pup earlier this week. The weather continues to be kind so the pup's chances of survival are fair. The sea is a major cause of pup mortality - about 30% drown in their first week. When they're born they can swim but they need to put on weight, gain strength and hone their skills before venturing very far from land. A pup born to an experienced mother in a good safe cove has a good chance of surviving if the sea doesn't...read more

Passenger Jet Boat Incident off St Justinian, St Davids - not our company

The BBC and others reported yesterday that ‘Five people have been injured, one seriously, after their boat landed heavily after coming off a wave off the Pembrokeshire coast.’ We would like to make it clear that this refers to another company with a very different boat (it’s a hard boat, not a RIB). We don’t know what happened but our thoughts are very much...read more

Ramsey wildlife update: seabirds returning to breeding sites

The auks are here ... well almost. The razorbills (see above) and guillemots are coming in in good numbers to check out their breeding ledges and meet up with their partners whom they won't have seen...read more

New seal pup on Ramsey Island

The new season began with rain and strong winds but this weekend is unseasonably warm and sunny. This week's forecast for Marseille in the south of France is frequent heavy showers and temperatures which will send the locals into despair (I used to live out there - they see cool days and rain as minor disasters). Better still the wildlife on Ramsey is doing really well. We spotted our first seal pup of the season last week. Seal pups have...read more

Easter weather forecast

We had a wonderful taste of spring last week. The dog gambolled along the beach like a puppy, the boat's yellow tubes gleamed in the sun as we continued to get her ready for the season. Then we checked the forecast - and laughed - gales gusting up to 57mph mid week and a stonking swell. At least we know where we are - safely ashore! Easter weekend itself looks rather promising though, with much lighter winds and more than a hint...read more

coastal wildlife photography tips

I've just come across a coastal wildlife special in an online digital photography magazine. If you want tips on how to photograph wildlife or you simply want to enjoy seeing how it's done by the professionals then it's well worth a look. Janet Baxter is featured and gives some great practical advice. Janet knows a lot about the wildlife she photographs and her work is much...read more

Seal killing

Another grisly addition to the discussion on bull seals killing pups. While doing a seal survey on Skomer last year David Boyle  photographed a bull seal killing a pup on two separate occasions. Not only did he witness a bull apparently drowning a pup, he saw it take a huge chunk out of the newly moulted pup's neck. This is apparently the first time that this sort of behaviour has been photographed. If you want to check out the evidence there...read more

Interested in seasonal work?

We sometimes have seasonal job vacancies. If you're interested in work on or off the boat please email us at info@venturejet.co.uk with a brief cv. Training is provided as appropriate. Please note: if you work with us you'll probably get wet at some point! If you'd like to see us in action to get an idea of what we do please check out our videos. You can see what our passengers say about us on Trip...read more

Seal pup relaxes at St Justinian

Seals constantly ignore the Marine Code and minimum distances from humans - fair enough - it's their water. This week a lovely fat pup of 5 weeks or so (therefore independent) was lazing right by the slip at St Justinian. He ignored us as we carried the dinghy down the slip (we clearly weren't interesting enough) but roused himself slightly to spit at the dog, who was waiting to jump into...read more

Bull seal kills pup?

The debate about seals killing other seals rumbles on. Interestingly (but not necessarily significantly) so far we've only heard of bull seals being accused of murderous and cannabilistic behaviour. The latest news is from the Skomer Island blog: 'The Seal pup that was born a few days ago was seen swimming up and down the coast of North Haven, looking for its Mum. It then struck out for the middle...read more

Venture Jet review on TripAdvisor

Passengers often send us lovely emails (not to mention amusing photographs!) after their trips but understandably don't generally think to tell the world what they think of us. This may now change since we're on TripAdvisor. If you would like to see what's been said about us or to add your own comments please check out the TripAdvisor...read more

Global Nomads arrive in Mongolia

Finally the guys have arrived safely in Mongolia: ' We made it! In Ulaan Baatuur, having a lot more stories to tell then when we entered Mongolia! Lost many tyres, several convoys, a couple of other cars, but had the most amazing time...I'm hanging around in UB a couple of days before driving back in a Land Crusier (it actually has acceleration!) John and Laurie raced off this morning in our battered but proud Daewoo to try and get through Russia...read more

Bull seal eating seal pup

The recent sighting of a seal eating a baby porpoise has understandably really got people talking. I was interested to read the following in the Sea Trust blog. Please don't read on if you don't have a strong stomach! 'Reading Cliff's account of the Grey Seal eating the dead Porpoise off Strumble Head reminded me of an incident...read more

Do seals eat other seals?

Anyone who has seen a seal's teeth knows that they are fearsome predators. Seals generally feed on fish, crabs, lobsters etc so we don't often see them actually eating unless they're fighting with a large fish on the surface. Over the years Tim and I have seen the odd seal eating octopus (one yearling looking rather like something out of the Alien movies - with the octopus wrapped around the seal's head it wasn't clear who was eating whom) and...read more

Do seals eat porpoises?

Its easy to anthropomorphise seals as they snooze on rocks and loll around the boat but seals, like dogs, are predators and sometimes do things which humans rather struggle with. Some very interesting (not to mention gory) news from the Sea Trust blog: 'Richard Davies commented on a seal below us eating "a big fish". We have seen them eat big congers, Wrasse, Pollock,...read more

Global Nomads in Georgia

Our intrepid nomads survived the worlds most expensive petrol in Turkey then engaged with the traffic in Georgia: 'I'm still a little bit shell shocked by Georgia. It seems like a great, strange little country but one thing sticks out above all else. The driving. I've driven in a fair few countries with infamous automotive reputations such as Greece, Turkey (obviously) and Israel. Georgia makes them, along with most forms of...read more

Ramsey seal update

Ramsey's Atlantic grey seals are now well into their breeding season and we have pups dotted all the way around the island on storm beaches and rocky ledges. In addition to several days of glorious sunshine the sea has been unusually calm, which is great news for young pups. Last year saw a significant shift for some females giving birth earlier than usual. The seals do have some control (as far as we know a couple of days or so) over when they...read more

Ramsey seal pup update

Its been a challenging week with lots of rescheduling for the best weather windows and lots of monitoring of the weather sites! I think variable is the term the forecasters are likely to use for the coming few days. We should see some sunshine but the winds are likely to be brisker than we would choose and theres a pesky swell to keep an eye on - great for the surfers! Tim spotted another Portuguese Man o War off the north end of Ramsey this week...read more

Filming with BBC Steve Backshalls Deadly 60s

Last autumn we did some film work with the BBC for Steve Backshall's...read more

Grassholm gannet tracking project

Update from Greg Morgan, RSPB warden of Ramsey: 5 satellite trackers were put on non-breeding birds in June 09 by researchers from University of Plymouth in conjunction with RSPB. This type of work on non breeders has never been done before anywhere. These trackers send back several fixes a day which are then uploaded once a day onto the Sea Turtle...read more

Portuguese Man o War off Ramsey

It seems to be a year of firsts, earlier in the season spotting an otter on the east side of Ramsey and now a Portuguese Man o War a few days ago. Maybe I will tick the other 2 on the list of things I would like to see: killer whales and a leatherback turtle. (Tim) Apparently the lifeguards closed off the water because a Man o War visited Whitesands...read more

Global Nomads robbed

Our favourite Global Nomads have had a tough time. Communication is limited but they've been robbed and seem to have been denied food and water. Everyone's very concerned for them. Their latest entry is brief but charateristically trying to be good humoured: 'we're alive but very poor and dirty after being robbed blind and starved by corrupt azeri cops and sailors. In convoy from now on.' They knew that their adventures would be risky but they're...read more

Global Nomads hit Turkey

News from our favourite Global Nomads: ' I'm writing this now because I am lying in a very seedy motel somewhere in northern Turkey, on the Black Sea coast, far away from where we planned to be because we failed to purchase / read the correct maps. Who would have thought the map in Lonley Planet couldnt be used to navigate across Turkey? Whatever, the straight road is...read more

Ramsey puffin heads off to Mongolia with the Global Nomads

The Global Nomads kindly took this photo of the Ramsey puffin they took along on their adventures in aid of Mercy Corps. They should have...read more

New seal pups

There are a couple of new seal pups on the west side of Ramsey this week. We've been seeing them peeping out from behind the rocks on the beach and occasionally they're good enough to move so that we can see them more clearly. They're both very small so presumably 3 or 4 days old, although they seem to be getting bigger by the day. Seals' milk is very rich and pups pretty much triple their birth weight in the first 3 weeks or so. They do look...read more

Sunshine hits St Davids

We've had sunshine for 2 days now and the weather looks good and stable so we should see plenty of sunshine for the next few days. The winds have dropped but there are some lively gusts nonetheless. Surfers should be happy at the moment, with good surf at Newgale and Whitesands. The lifeguards sensibly closed Whitesands late yesterday afternoon because the surf jacked up surprisingly quickly. A large swell hit the back of the island but has largely...read more

St Davids weather looking up

The forecast for this week a couple of days ago was downright scary, with the threat of gale force winds and a 4 metre swell. Fortunately the wind forecast has been downgraded and while it will be pretty lively at times the winds are no longer causing us to consider whether or not we should be sleeping on the boat to check she's ok! We will no doubt be facing another week of sunshine and showers but the heaviest of the showers are predicted to...read more

Sunny St Davids!

Weve had sunshine all day and the breeze has died down so were working from Whitesands. The forecast for Saturday is terrific too (sunshine and light winds) but if the wind predictions for Sunday are accurate we may well have a day off from boating! The swell is due to pick up for sunday too so the surfers will be celebrating. Whitesands is well known as an excellent surfing beach. For surf forecasts check out ...read more

St Davids weather

Looking at this weeks forecast is pretty dispiriting. The Met Office is telling us with gloomy authority that the winds will scupper any plans for offshore trips for the next few days at least. Perhaps the only saving grace is that the forecast is clear on that score, although that's not great news for people who are on holiday just for this week. There's a bit of a swell forecast mid week - great news...read more

Auk breeding season coming to an end

Some of the guillemots were back on the ledges on the west cliffs of Ramsey yesterday and those who live on the east side are still there. They don't usually leave en masse so we'd love to know what took them away so suddenly from the west side earlier this week. Many of the razorbills have headed out to sea but we're still seeing some around the south east end of Ramsey and we still have some kittiwakes. It won't be long now before the ledges...read more

Guillemots leave Ramsey

The main guillemot breeding cliffs on the west of Ramsey were oddly quiet today. The birds had clearly decided en masse to leave last night. Perhaps they didn't fancy the look of the strong northerly winds forecast tomorrow! It's normal for the guillemots to be there one day and gone the next but each year it's a bit of a surprise because we don't know when they'll decide to head out to sea. Guillemots spend most of their lives out at sea only...read more

Crew Training

Passengers often tell our crew that they have the best job in the world. The upsides are obvious but they do work hard and it's much...read more

New Venture Jet Crew

We are delighted to welcome Henry and Matthew as crew this season. Laurie's sailing boots are not easily filled (ask him for his...read more

Laurie goes to Mongolia

We were delighted to welcome Laurie back from his Masters degree at Oxford University to do some crewing. He doesn't have much time to spare for us because he's about to head off to Mongolia on a charity run, The Mongol Rally. The lads describe their enterprise with characteristic flair and humour on their webpage, Global Nomads. The plan...read more

St Davids weather

The weather this week has been particularly difficult to interpret. We use a number of forecasting sites to try to get a picture of likely wind direction and strength, swell predictions (crucial) and rainfall. This, together with the tide (strength and direction) and current sea state gives a picture of what's likely to happen. Its like piecing together bits from a jigsaw except that the pieces can change...read more

Dogs and boats

We're often asked if boat trips are suitable for dogs. If you were to ask Diesel he'd wag his tail, pick up his lifejacket and jump into the Land rover ready to go. Indeed the other morning Tim picked up one of Diesel's lifejackets to put on a passenger's dog later that day and Diesel leapt up looking so excited that we suffered a major guilt attack (dogs are good at doing that) and so I took him to the beach later. ...read more

Fantastic porpoise video footage

We've just had a look at the videos on the SOS Dolfijn website. They show how the team work with porpoises and how they ultimately release them. It's fascinating to see them swim but we still can't get over how relaxed the porpoises seem to be and how they interact with the team. The videos are available from their homepage by clicking on the SOS Dolfijn TV button...read more

Porpoise behaviour

It was great to be able to find out a bit more about porpoise behaviour from the SOS Dolfijn guys. We learned that while they are shy theyre friendly, even playful with humans at the centre, much more gentle than dolphins. When rescued from stranding they apparently relax and co-operate with their rescuers pretty quickly. As their strength improves they naturally become more independent and impatient to get back...read more

SOS Dolfijn (porpoise & dolphin rescue centre)

Last week a couple of porpoise experts from SOS Dolfijn, a rehabilitation and research centre for stranded porpoises and dolphins in the Netherlands, came out on one of our passenger trips. Most people desperately want to see dolphins and so our rather lovely local porpoises can be overlooked but these guys really wanted to see the porpoises. ...read more

St Justinian drilling platform moves

The drill platform needs to be moved around St Justinian in order to test drill in the right places....read more

RNLI preparing for new boathouse at St Justinian, St Davids

There's a new kid in town, referred to as the jack-up. Norwest Holst, an engineering company, set up its rig yesterday. No sooner was the platform in position than they were preparing to drill - they're not slackers! The jack-up or platform is supported by 4 huge hydraulically operated legs (which give it its alien appearance) and which also allow it to be walked on the ocean floor - all very cool to watch! ...read more

Dolphin watching with the dog

I seem to be writing a lot about dolphins at the moment given that I spend so much of my time telling people that we can't guarantee anything other than sea. I guess there must be a lot of cetaceans out there - if anything I'm surprised at how often we see them (of course sometimes we don't!) It's not often that I get to be out on the boat just for fun but this week I found myself with time just to relax so headed out south west of Ramsey with...read more

Dolphin sightings on offshore trips

Last week we took some scientists out to Grassholm to do some gannet monitoring and came across some common dolphins en route. Not only were they bow-riding, they were swimming nose to the stern, even under the jet stream, pretty much touching the boat. Whenever wildlife comes up really close to the boat I am grateful that we have no propellers. I am not aware of any damage done to wildlife in this area by propellers but it is fantastic to know...read more

Recent dolphin superpod sighting off The Smalls

My heart sinks a little when the media refer to Pembrokeshire as The Dolphin Coast and eagerly report sightings of hundreds or even thousands of dolphins. Such sightings do occur and they are really exciting (and therefore newsworthy) but precisely because they do not occur daily. We are fortunate to see cetaceans often en route to Grassholm and The Smalls but I often speak to people who are under the impression that boat companies can pretty...read more

Fishing off Ramsey Island

We went fishing for mackerel off Ramsey Sound this week. I confess I'm a bit of a girl when it comes to fishing. I'll drive the boat or hold a line but I do my best to avoid having to...read more

Jellyfish Project

There's a new project in town - EcoJel. They're tagging barrel jellyfish in an effort to find out more about their movements, how long they live etc. They also have a really useful jellyfish identification guide to download. We've been seeing common jellyfish (which are often known as moon jellyfish due to their purple rings), compass jellyfish and...read more

Ramsey Puffin update

We had a lovely offshore trip to the Smalls Lighthouse this week. We saw some dolphins north of Grassholm and lots of seals on Grassholm and The Smalls but also plenty of puffins. We would expect to see them off Skomer and well out to sea but we seem to be coming across more and more of them west of Ramsey. It's clearly too early to see if the RSPB puffin project is working yet but...read more

St Davids Guide

Passengers are understandably always asking us at Venture Jet about the weather forecast. These are our suggestions for user friendly and accurate weather forecasting sites. For updates on...read more

Otter spotted off Bitches reef, Ramsey Island, St Davids

Weve just had a message from the boat that theyve spotted an otter swimming around the rocks of the Bitches reef - another first in 27 years of Tim working around the island. Theres a particularly awkward gap (even by Ramseys standards) next to the middle Bitch as the rock is known that only Tim drives through. Just as he was negotiating the rocks underwater to drive through the gap the otter popped up so he had to reverse back through - not bad...read more

Ramsey Island Puffin Project

Edited highlights from an email from RSPB Ramsey warden Greg Morgan, explaining the mystery of the plastic puffins: The RSPB are deploying 150 plastic decoy puffins around the island in a bid to lure the real thing back to Ramsey. The species was last recorded breeding here in 1894. Sometime prior to this date, brown rats first arrived on Ramsey, probably via shipwrecks....read more

Great Northern Diver spotted offshore

A first for me in 27 years. Tim Great Northern Diver info....read more

Weather forecast sites for St Davids, Pembrokeshire

Weather forecast web links for St Davids, Pembrokeshire. As a boat operator (Venture Jet) we use a range of forecast sites but the following are some of the most user friendly and accurate in our experience. We select either Pembroke or Milford Haven as the closest options but our weather is so localised that it's not uncommon for the weather to be different in different parts of the St Davids area, or indeed to change in...read more

Ocean Dynamics Jet Boat Reunion - 'the experience of a lifetime' is back!

Calling former Ocean Dynamics (original Thousand Islands) jet boat skippers and crew (you know who you are!) There's a vicious rumour going around that we're all not as young as we used to be. Our combined age is...let's not go there. Since all we ever do when we see each other is talk about the good old days of jet boating, we thought it high time to actually get together on the boat and talk shamelessly about how it was tougher and better...read more

Bank Holiday Gannet Rescue

Yesterday Tim came across an adult gannet off the west coast of Ramsey floundering in the water and looking rather distressed. He came alongside to investigate and found its wing and one leg largely immobilised by rope and fishing line. The more it struggled the more entangled it became. Fortunately (for the gannet if not Tim) it had plenty of energy and didn't seem to have been caught for long. Gannets need to be handled with considerable caution:...read more

Another early seal pup

We spotted another seal pup earlier this week. The weather continues to be kind so the pups chances of survival are fair. The sea is a major cause of pup mortality - about 30% drown in their first week. When they're born they can swim but they need to put on weight, gain strength and hone their skills before venturing very far from land. A pup born to an experienced mother in a good safe cove has a good chance of surviving if the sea doesn't get...read more

Places to stay in the St Davids area

The places listed here have been recommended by our passengers and friends. If you're looking for a genuinely unique holiday experience: Technically yurts and tipis may be a form of camping but camping wasn't this luxurious when I was a child! Yurts and tipis are an experience in themselves. They don't just look good, they feel great: adventure in comfort! Trellyn and Ty...read more

Passenger Jet Boat Incident off St Justinian, St Davids - not our company

The BBC and others reported yesterday that 'Five people have been injured, one seriously, after their boat landed heavily after coming off a wave off the Pembrokeshire coast.' We would like to make it clear that this refers to another company with a very different boat (it's a hard boat, not a RIB). We don't know what happened but our thoughts are very much with all those involved. We...read more

Ramsey wildlife update: seabirds returning to breeding sites

The auks are here ... well almost. The razorbills (see above) and guillemots are coming in in good numbers to check out their breeding ledges and meet up with their partners whom they won't have seen since...read more

New seal pup on Ramsey Island

The new season began with rain and strong winds but this weekend is unseasonably warm and sunny. This weeks forecast for Marseille in the south of France is frequent heavy showers and temperatures which will send the locals into despair (I used to live out there - they see cool days and rain as minor disasters). Better still the wildlife on Ramsey is doing really well. We spotted our first seal pup of the season last week. Seal pups have been...read more

Top 5 things to do St Davids Pembrokeshire

Here's my insider's guide to the best outdoor activities around St Davids. This is a personal list of the things we love to do most (but don't always have time to do!) in no particular order: Coasteering It sounds mad - don a wetsuit, old trainers and helmet, scramble and swim around our rocky coastline and if you're up for it, jump dramatically into the sea. It's awesome fun if someone's done all the hard work...read more

Ramsey Jet Boat Trip Blog

Our blog was set up to let people know what's happening around the St Davids coastline and to give updates on local and visiting wildlife around Ramsey and the offshore islands, Grassholm and The Smalls. We welcome comments and suggestions for what should be included; feel free to comment on the blog or if you prefer email us at info@venturejet.co.uk Catch us on...read more