One restraint with media visits is that even the keenest crew can only spend a limited time with us, and so we are unable to make the 10 hour round-trip to where we last spotted the basking sharks. Instead, we provide our own digital video footage from the hours of range tracking we have successfully filmed in the past week. That way, the story of Scotland's sharks and the measures needed to protect them can still go out.

The state-of-the-art technology onboard Song of the Whale allows us to communicate our first-hand experience of studying whales and basking sharks in their natural habitats around the world. This morning, the film crew of the BBC’s "Country File" join us for the day. Their film is focused on basking sharks, and we take them to the tiny island of Soay, which is very close to the Isle of Skye. This island was bought by Gavin Maxwell in the 1940s, where he founded the "Island of Soay Shark Fisheries Ltd," a factory for the processing of shark liver oil (and other shark products). The factory was only active for three years, before financial pressures, declining shark numbers, and logistical problems forced it to close. We scramble ashore up the old, now seaweed-strewn slipway, where the sharks would have been hauled ashore and butchered. Wandering around the derelict buildings and broken, rusty machinery, it is hard to imagine the place in the days of the shark factory, then noisy, smelly and gory.

It is now a beautiful, tranquil spot. Only the rusting "mincers," old steam boiler and foundations of the factory buildings give a hint of the past activities there. As we return to Mallaig, we spot some minkes feeding near a hurry of birds. The film crew is delighted (this being the first encounter with a whale for some of them) and go on to get some good footage. As we continue towards the harbour, Russell spots some Risso’s dolphins (Grampus grisus) on the horizon. It is unusual to see this species so close to shore here; they usually prefer the deeper waters of the continental shelf.

It was the first time some of the Song of the Whale team had seen these dolphins, which are easily recognizable by their scar-covered skin and blunt forehead. The scarring, which increases with age, occurs all over their bodies, caused by the teeth of other Risso’s dolphins, and sometimes the squid upon which they feed. Song of the Whale slips the mooring in Arisaig at dawn to make way out of the narrow channel while the tide is high. Kara, Russell and Anna have returned to their offices to catch up with other important business and Dr. Nick Tregenza has joined the boat to assist with field work. The skipper sets a course toward Soay to more thoroughly investigate the area where the team encountered minke whales and Risso’s dolphins yesterday.

A couple of miles off Soay, Nick spots a minke whale to the north of us. We stop and wait for another surfacing near a hurry of birds and spot a second, much smaller minke whale, lunging through the water close to the hurry. We wonder if this is a mother with a calf who has started to feed on fish. The whales don’t stay long, and we have to make the tide in order to get back into the harbour, so we head back towards Arisaig, encountering harbour porpoises on the way. This morning we have two members of the GBR Women’s Olympic Curling Team coming aboard to help us raise awareness of our campaign. It is hard to tell who is more excited; us, to see the gold medals, or Debbie and Janice to see minke whales and porpoises. We are rewarded by being allowed to take our pictures with the gold medals. The Olympians are rewarded with a breaching minke whale.