Offshore Safaris: Discovering the Hidden Giants of Britain’s Seas
In 2025, we began an exciting new collaboration with one of the world’s leading underwater wildlife photographers and storytellers, Henley Spiers. Together with Captain Jack and our team, Henley set out with a simple but ambitious idea: to explore British waters in a completely different way.
Rather than hugging the coastline, we would turn our backs on land and venture into the open ocean in search of wildlife.
This style of exploration is known as an offshore safari. Unlike coastal wildlife watching, offshore safaris involve searching vast expanses of open water where signs of life can be few and far between. It’s often compared to looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack—but when everything comes together, the rewards can be extraordinary.
Captain Jack’s extensive experience operating offshore in challenging conditions made him the ideal partner for the expedition, providing the expertise and confidence needed to search far beyond the familiar coastline.
The Search Begins
Our first mission took place in September 2025.
As expected, success didn’t come easily. We spent long hours at sea scanning the horizon, watching birds, reading the water, and searching for any sign of marine life. Offshore wildlife photography demands patience, persistence and, above all, optimism.
That patience was rewarded.
Throughout the expedition we encountered pods of common dolphins, which delighted us by surfing effortlessly alongside the RIB. They played in the boat’s wake, giving Henley countless opportunities to capture beautiful images as they matched our speed with remarkable ease.
We also came across some of the ocean’s stranger inhabitants, including the Portuguese man o’ war. Both beautiful and highly venomous, these striking siphonophores drift across the surface like living works of art. Our divers carefully approached to photograph them while maintaining a safe distance.
We had also hoped to encounter Atlantic bluefin tuna beneath the surface, but they remained elusive throughout this expedition. That’s all part of offshore exploration, however, and every trip teaches valuable lessons that shape the next adventure.
An Encounter We’ll Never Forget
The defining moment of the expedition came off the coast of Cornwall.
After hearing reports of large whales in the area, we headed offshore to investigate. Before long, we spotted a distant blow on the horizon and made a slow, careful approach.
Launching the drone revealed a scene that neither Henley nor Captain Jack will ever forget.
Beneath the surface, enormous fin whales were engaged in spectacular lunge-feeding behaviour.
As filter feeders, fin whales use hundreds of baleen plates to strain huge volumes of seawater, capturing vast quantities of tiny prey in a single mouthful. Watching these giants accelerate before opening their immense jaws and engulfing the water around them was one of the greatest wildlife spectacles either of us has ever witnessed.
The whales were accompanied by common dolphins—our familiar companions from earlier in the trip. Seeing the dolphins swimming alongside these immense animals perfectly illustrated the sheer scale of the world’s second-largest whale, and indeed the second-largest animal ever known to have lived.
From the air, the drone provided a breathtaking perspective while allowing us to keep a respectful distance. The whales remained calm throughout the encounter, continuing to feed naturally as we observed from afar.
In fact, it wasn’t the whales that ended the meeting.
After nearly three unforgettable hours in their company, we reluctantly had to leave them behind.
A Remarkable Discovery
Only later did we discover that the group included not only fin whales but also a sei whale—one of the rarest whale species to encounter in British waters.
While sightings of fin whales around the UK are already uncommon, sei whales are even more exceptional. News of the encounter generated considerable excitement among Cornwall’s marine wildlife community and highlighted just how much remains to be discovered offshore.
These experiences reinforce the idea that Britain’s seas still hold extraordinary secrets. With the right team, careful planning, patience and respect for the wildlife, remarkable encounters are possible.
Looking Ahead
Our first offshore safari proved exactly what Henley had hoped: British waters still have incredible stories waiting to be told.
In 2026, we’ll once again be heading offshore with Henley Spiers, building on everything we learned during our first expedition.
Who knows what we’ll discover next?
