No Experience required

Devon Marine Wildlife & Ashore

Sailing in Devon – What Wildlife might I see

Devon and Cornwall have very similar wildlife and in marine terms the South coast is swept by the same warm Gulf Stream and lashed by similar Atlantic Gales. Wherever your vessel anchors there is the South West Coast path to explore.

Wildlife of Rivers and Creeks

There are big rivers entering the sea on the South Devon Coast and it is possible to sail inland up the Dart and the Tamar for many miles. Mud flats, salt marsh and oak woodland sweeping over the water creates fantastic habitats for birds and even otters. Egrets, Curlews, Oyster catchers and herons all add to the coastal sounds and you can often hear foxes call and owls hoot at night. Seals do sometimes swim up with the tide.

Devon coastal woods - Seasickness cure - hug an oak tree
Seasickness cure – hug an oak tree

Cliffs and Headlands

The Devon artist Simon Drew might sell you a tea towel with a fat puffin sitting on some sea pink, but it would be rare to see a puffin here. Sea pink is common and so are guillimots, razorbills and in rough weather you will see gannets in from the Atlantic and their breeding grounds on the French Sept Isles. There are Britain’s biggest seabirds and famous for plummeted like a knife into the sea after fish.Sailing along the coast in Spring you can often smell the coconut scent of the wild gorse and you can spot orchids along the coast path.

Berry Head and other craggy cliffs house peregrine falcons and other birds of prey.

Gullimots by Will Wagstaff
Gullimots by Will Wagstaff

Cetaceans – Dolphins & Whales

There is a resident pod of bottle nosed dolphins that cruises the South Coast now, and you may be lucky enough to see ocean species like common dolphin or pilot whales offshore. Basking sharks like strong tides so they can swim into the tide, open their mouths and let the food come to them.

Rockpools and Beaches

There is something joyous about stepping ashore onto a beach from a traditional boat. After pulling on ropes and practical tasks, we seem to remember how to be a child again…You can go to the pub of course but sometimes its just great to look for crabs and anenomes in rockpools or explore sea caves.

West Country Sailing. River estuaries, beaches and rockpools.
West Country Sailing. River estuaries, beaches and rockpools.

More Stories

Sail on Tall Ship with Classic Sailing

25/10 Announcing New Voyages

Sail Scotland 2023

Explore Scotland’s wilderness and wildlife on a traditional sailing adventure! Join a traditional sailing vessel, no sailing experience required. Our skilled skippers will guide

Read More
faroe islands with classic sailing

12/02 Inspiration

Getting ready for a big adventure.

How to Prepare for a Long Voyage.  Getting ready for a big adventure is a lengthy process and we hope this article helps you

Read More

26/05 Top Voyages For...

Classic Sailing’s Top 5 Voyages for Photographers

The Classic Sailing Team’s top 5 choices for sailors who love to snap! Whether it’s for the ‘Gram, the family photo album or your

Read More
The late author and Explorer Kit Mayers with a globe. You can buy his book to help raise funds for Greenpeace.

20/04 Inspiration

‘The First English Explorer’… and a much more recent one

My grandfather, Kit Mayers, was a big influence on me. His stubborn adventurousness, stoicism and passion for the world was inspirational.

Read More
Trade Winds by Chris de Beukelaer

08/04 Educational

“Trade Winds” by Christiaan de Beukelaer

Adam here.Let me tell you about the book “Trade Winds” by Christiaan de Beukelaer. This book is a fascinating voyage through the difficult waters

Read More