Falmouth Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs sports groups and more.

We have been profiling some of these businesses and organisations regularly in a feature called 'Up Close in Falmouth'.

This week we spoke to the team from AK Wildlife Cruises, a multi-award-winning wildlife and sight-seeing tour business, offering whale and dolphin watching, snorkelling adventures, filming trips, corporate hire and special occasions.

[H3] 1. For people who might not be familiar, what does AK Wildlife Cruises do? [.H2]

Operating out of the small and friendly historic town of Falmouth, we offer multi-award-winning wildlife and sightseeing cruises, a wonderful way to see the marine wildlife around Cornwall's spectacular coastline and surrounding waters.

A variety of different wildlife cruises are available all year round, with no two trips being the same. In addition to our 4 hour coastal and offshore exploration tours and family-friendly 3 hour trips, we also offer longer dedicated 7 hour pelagic cruises, giving our passengers the best possible chances of sighting and interacting with as much wildlife as possible.

Private hire cruises are always an option, giving parties the whole boat to themselves, with a discount offered for large groups.

We also provide combined snorkelling and wildlife watching charters, a unique way to witness our marine life from both below and above the surface. Once we have finished snorkelling where there is every chance of being joined by one of our inquisitive seals, we will head offshore to look for cetaceans and pelagic seabirds.

With passionate naturalists onboard every trip and the potential of sighting and interacting with dolphins on any cruise throughout the year, our cruises are popular with all ages.

A passionate naturalist first and foremost, Captain Keith has been working as a professional wildlife guide now for some 45 years and loves nothing more than sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for all wildlife with his dedicated crew and cherished passengers.

A valued crewmate and member of staff for several years now,

Georgia has a first-class Zoology Masters degree and recently completed her RYA Day Skipper qualification. Georgia provides a detailed and comprehensive commentary and is on hand to assist our passengers with spotting wildlife, answer any questions and make their experience as enjoyable as possible.

We are lucky to have been able to recruit several other University of Exeter graduates as additional crew members over the years who all offer something unique and help AKWC grow as an educational and conservation-focused tour company.

[H3] 2. What do you like about Falmouth/Penryn? Why is it the perfect place for you? [.H2]

Our cruises take place throughout the whole of Falmouth Bay; east, to the high cliffs of the dramatic Dodman Point along the stunning Roseland Peninsula, then all the way west, past the glorious Helford estuary, to the iconic and ruggedly beautiful Lizard Peninsula and right down to the most southerly point in the British Isles.

With the Gulf Stream supplying warm waters to the southern shores of Cornwall all year round, we are incredibly privileged that Falmouth Bay is home to a vast array of fantastic marine wildlife including up to eight different species of cetaceans, with sightings of some of the large whales such as humpbacks and fin whales being sighted more frequently in the last several years.

We also record basking sharks, seals, sunfish, the occasional leatherback turtle and a whole host of stunning birdlife, and rarities that can turn up at any time in our local area.

We are very lucky to have the Lizard Peninsula providing excellent shelter to Falmouth Bay. But if conditions become too rough to head offshore, we will still continue with the trip but head back up the Carrick Roads to explore the small creeks and wooded banks of our wonderful Fal estuary which stretches all the way up to Truro and is alive with waders, deer and seals as well as osprey on their passage migrations. With the fabulous shelter afforded by this beautifully vast and diverse estuary, we have never lost a day to the weather.

Another thing to love about Falmouth is that it is thriving with nautical heritage with events throughout the year that can be enjoyed from the water, from the arrival of Sir Robin Knox Johnson on the 50 year anniversary of his solo circumnavigation to the magnificent parade of sail of the Tall Ships, something we are very much looking forward to again this summer.

Every single cruise begins and ends by passing King Henry VIII's impressive castles, Pendennis and St Mawes, guarding the entrance to Falmouth and the Carrick Roads, the third deepest natural harbour in the world.

[H3] 3. In these strange times, it is obviously hard to do the work on the water you usually do - how have you tried to combat the challenges of lockdown? [.H2]

We are constantly thinking of new ways to try and improve and expand AKWC and to prepare for the time that we can operate again as we anticipate what will (hopefully!) be a busy season ahead. We have focussed on boosting our online presence to engage with all of our followers and supporters whilst we are unable to accommodate them.

We have collaborated with various birding organisations, local beach cleaners, accommodation providers and ecotourism companies to try and connect with as wide an audience as possible and support one another during this difficult time.

We are eager to support our lovely locals, particularly in the offseason as winter months are in fact the very best for cetaceans, by offering a local's discount scheme. We also hope to run more snorkelling cruises this year which have proven very popular in the past.

Lockdown has been a very challenging period with a lot of uncertainties but we are now just looking forward to getting back out on the water, welcoming clients both new and old, and sharing the incredible marine wildlife that we are so privileged to have on our doorstep with as many people as possible.

[H3] 4. What new things have you got lined up for when lockdown is lifted? [.H2]

AK Wildlife Cruises is still very much growing as a multi-award-winning wildlife and sightseeing tour business, with improvements being continually made, such as an interactive live feed display through a large monitor screen, and increased creature comforts on board.

Most excitingly, we have just recently purchased a large catamaran to replace our current vessel, Free Spirit, which should be ready to go around summertime. This will give us increased comfort and space onboard, with wide, walk-around decks creating phenomenal stability and ease of access around the whole boat.

The added space will be particularly valuable to help keep everyone safe should Covid regrettably reappear later on in the year. This catamaran will also enable us to explore further and collect more data on the wildlife in Falmouth Bay and beyond.

[H3] 5. What would you say makes AK Wildlife Cruises unique? [.H2]

We love interacting with our clients and encouraging them to become actively involved in scanning and spotting the wildlife on all of our cruises as you can never have enough eyes searching away and this really helps them engage with the marine environment and what we do.

From when we leave our mooring until we are safely tied up again, we never stop searching hard for wildlife - nothing gets past the eagle eyes of Captain Keith. On every single cruise, we endeavour to find and record as much as possible for everyone to marvel at and thoroughly enjoy, and photography is actively encouraged.

Our dedicated wildlife cruises are for all abilities from young to old, seasoned naturalists to first-timers, we openly welcome all. The weather can be unsettled and somewhat chilly and wet at times, so being able to extol and share our knowledge and appreciation of all

wildlife is what makes our cruises stand out from the rest.

We do our utmost to support all the conservation groups we work closely with and help promote their conservation initiatives. AKWC is endorsed by the Sea Watch Foundation as a recommended boat operator with WiSe and Whale & Dolphin Conservation, causing minimal impact to the environment, and we are also a proud supporter of MARINElife.

We record all the wildlife we see on every trip and share our cetacean sightings data freely with various wildlife trusts and organisations such as Cornwall Wildlife Trust and MARINElife to help monitor and protect the animals in our waters.

We always try to encourage sustainable practices whilst onboard and encourage everyone to bring their own water bottles and food to avoid creating unnecessary waste. We will remove large bits of plastic sheeting, discarded fishing gear, balloons etc. that we come across in the sea which always receives a very positive response from our clients.

We also regularly undertake plankton and plastic trawls with local beach cleaners and University researchers to investigate levels of microplastic pollution and raise awareness of just how vital it

is to protect the marine communities.

Click HERE to see more from AK Wildlife Cruises Falmouth.

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