Episode 6 Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape

This is the coast of Connemara in the west of Ireland.

It's been my home for six months,

working for an Irish whale and dolphin conservation group.

As well as photographing animals for identification,

I've been dealing with strandings

and tagging sharks as part of a worldwide migration survey.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

It's the most rewarding job I've ever had.

And it's great fun, did I mention it was great fun?

It's late September and there's change in the Connemara air.

Off the coast, the big basking sharks I've been tagging

and DNA sampling have moved on.

Where they go no-one knows, but I'm hoping my research

will help in some small way to solve the riddle.

And I haven't seen the dolphins in my bay for several weeks.

But as well as departures, there's been some new arrivals as well.

There's a little grey seal pup here.

If ever there was a harbinger of the change of seasons,

it's starting to see the seal pups away from their mums.

But by the look of the size of him, I'd say he's been weaned,

they're weaned after four to six weeks and what this guy's done

is he's just hauled himself up to have a bit of a rest.

You can see what the sea's doing, this is two or three metre swells.

Can you imagine that little scrap of fluff,

that little scrap of nothing out there amongst those waves.

So for me, that's the sign that autumn really is here.

Soon the weather will be too bad to get out to sea, so my research

for the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is coming to an enforced end.

Four months ago, my boss, Simon Berrow, and I

moored a listening device in the bay.

It registers the sound of any dolphins within 800 metres.

And it's the first ever deployed in Connemara.

Because it works 24/7 and in all weathers,

it keeps monitoring when I can't.

So by combining its findings with my photographic record,

I'll be able to build a full picture of dolphin activity over the summer.

I've got a slight concern. As you can see it's really blowy today.

There's been a couple of big blows have come through

and from my cottage just there, I haven't been able to see the buoy for a while.

Now there's every chance it's still out there.

It's been between troughs, but I'm going to go and have a look.

Today, there's a big swell in the bay

so spotting the buoy will be a nightmare.

I'm putting all my faith in the GPS position I marked on day one.

According to the waypoint it should be right there.

It's pretty accurate, the way of finding these buoys,

because you plot a waypoint when you put them down.

And so, the boat takes you back to the exact spot where you put it.

So I think it is this one, you know.

But it does help

if you remember what number you gave the original waypoint.

Right, I think I've found it.

I think it's 15.

A long way out from where I remembered it was.

The whole idea of having the pod out here

was to try and get a fairly good record of how many animals

are moving through this area and is there a constant presence,

and, of course, if there is a constant presence, it means you can

set up the area as a special area of conservation,

or you can certainly apply for that.

But there's obviously certain sections of the community that

would struggle with that a bit,

like the fishermen, because these are their fishing grounds

and they're the grounds they've fished since time immemorial.

What can happen, and what's has happened elsewhere,

is that the buoy line's been cut,

so the buoy disappears and you can't find your pod,

so you can't establish it one way or the other.

Now, I'd be very, very surprised if that's what's happened here.

But, you know, then again, you don't know, do you?

All I know is that the buoy seems to have disappeared.

The search will have to continue.

Meanwhile, I'm under pressure from Simon to help him raise funds

for a whale and dolphin rescue pontoon to be based in Connemara.

The Roundstone Dive Festival was a brilliant event,

but when my girlfriend Tam totted up the takings,

we still had less than half the 5,000 euros we need.

So Simon has thrown down a new challenge,

a sponsored row of over 20 miles from the Aran Islands to Roundstone

in a traditional currach.

He's nicknaming it The Aran Sweater.

Obviously, culturally there's been huge links

-between Roundstone and the Aran Isles, you know.

-Yeah.

The whole currach tradition in and around Connemara is amazing,

so it might bring a tear to the eyes of the locals

when they see currachs.

Well, I'm amazed it's never been done before, but it probably has!

-There's a reason why!

-Yes, very true, probably a very solid reason!

It has to be a challenge and it has to...

People have to say, "OK, good luck." You know, it's not going to be easy,

-maybe it's a euro a mile or...

-That's a good idea.

A euro a mile's a great idea. Yeah.

'Several marine conservation groups are promoting the event on their websites'

and notifying everyone on their mailing lists.

I've got a substantial sum still to raise,

the Dive Festival raised 2,300 euro, the pontoon costs 5,000 euro,

so this event somehow has to generate 2,700 euro for me.

This is all part of the training...

for The Aran Sweater.

I'm trying to row over storm-lashed Atlantic shores

and as far as I'm aware, I've been chatting to the locals,

it's never been done before, so I'm going to try and do it in a day.

When I get to Roundstone, I'll be a legend.

Yeah, it's pretty knackering.

It's going to be very, very intense on the day

because of the waves and the wind. It's not just rowing.

That's a mile. I'm one twentieth of the way.

The other thing, just out of idle interest, is that I'm sinking.

The boat's filling with water,

so I'm going to have to stop and have a little bale.

I am properly sinking, actually.

There is really an enormous amount of water in her.

What I'll do on the day is I'll probably use a currach that isn't sinking.

That might be an idea.

Give you an idea, the water in the boat

is now that deep. I-I am sinking, it's official.

When I get back to Roundstone, the first person I need to see

is local currach racing legend Paddy McDonagh to ask if I can

borrow his currach and to see whether he can sort out the leak.

But first I need to reveal Simon's challenge.

The scheme is to try and row a currach

from the Arans to Roundstone.

-From Inis Mor?

-From Inis Mor.

Are you thinking, "This is madness,"

or are you thinking, "Ten years ago I would have done it myself"?

No, I'd love to. I've often thought about it, actually.

-What, doing the Arans to Roundstone?

-Hmm.

-Really?

-I did, yeah.

-Yeah.

-The weather now means everything.

-Yeah.

-What day were you hoping to do it on?

Fairly soon because on the Friday coming, the tides are right

and the wind's right,

-and I figure if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it sooner rather than later.

-Yeah.

It's a good pull, but fair play to you.

Would it be all right to borrow the...the blue one to do it, Paddy?

-Do you think that'd be the right one?

-Of course.

She seemed to ship a bit of water as I was rowing her.

Is that kinda normal?

No, maybe a bit of yoke might have come loose or something, you know.

Right, right.

I'll have a look at it tomorrow.

Paddy, that's really kind. Thank you very much for helping us out.

I really appreciate it.

-Lovely.

-I'll look like you by the time I finish.

-Oh, God, I hope you don't, Monty lad!

-Grand.

It's force five, you reckon, on Friday?

'But this time of year everything hangs on the weather.

'If there are still dolphins in my bay,'

they're keeping well hidden and the basking sharks are long gone,

but a few weeks back I did get out

tagging blue sharks with John Brittain and they are still here.

My plan is to get into the water and film them

for my talks on why sharks deserve proper protection.

They're being killed at the rate of a hundred million a year

and blue sharks are suffering as badly as any.

That yellow balloon has got a mackerel flapping enticingly in the current.

There's a rubby-dubby trail heading towards the horizon and we're kinda relying on those

six fabulous senses of the shark to pick it up and come in and have a look.

'The idea is to lure the sharks in rather than catch them.

'Despite their reputation, they're naturally wary

'and it's two hours before we even get a nibble.'

Oh! He's at the bait, he's at the balloon.

In fact, you can see the actual marks of the individual teeth there.

Look at that, clean slice, and a clean slice there.

'If I get in the water now, I'll just scare the shark off,

'so I've rigged a camera that I can hang over the side.'

Extraordinarily high-tech system we have here - bits of fence post and binder twine.

It's still there, it's coming back in.

'With no viewfinder all I can do is point and hope,

'but the shark is putting on a real show.'

Hey-hey! Oh, that's wonderful!

Oh! He's got the bait.

Oh, lovely! He's swimming right at the camera.

One of the reasons this is so exciting

is this is an animal our kids won't see, the next generation won't see.

In the last 20 or 30 years, blue shark numbers are estimated

to be down by 60%, so you know we could be the last people to see

these shadows swimming round a boat, which will be a tragedy of course.

'Out of nowhere our first shark is joined by a second,

'and this one is even bigger.'

Two sharks, which is what we want.

That's when you start getting that element of competition.

When that happens, they tend to forget about what else is going around them

and that gives us that tiny window of opportunity to maybe jump in the water and get some shots.

It's a fine balance.

Get in too soon and the sharks will vanish,

leave it too late and they'll be more confident

and I could become the next thing they decide to check out.

Whoa! It's there!

The shark is getting bolder.

My safety diver Andy and I have become her focus

and she's swimming in a classic figure of eight,

checking out everything that puts out an electronic signature.

For now it's the back of the boat, but soon it'll be us.

This isn't a basking shark.

You know, these animals are opportunistic, open ocean hunters.

Look at that!

This is the footage I wanted to get.

True predatory behaviour by the so-called "wolf of the sea".

That is a great shot!

The reason these blue sharks are biting the camera

and biting the stern of the boat, they're not attacking the boat or attacking the camera,

it's that sixth sense. Everything gives off electricity, all living things,

and they have these pits in their nose that pick up that electricity,

and metal does as well, of course, so the shark comes in, gets confused, limited visibility.

With that limited visibility they're biting the metal in confusion.

They think it's something alive, but it's creating some great shots,

I think, I'll have to go and watch the tape.

Oh, here we are. Ohhhhhhhh!

That is quite a shot.

Thank you so much, John.

-No, that's super. So pleased you got that on film.

-Sensational.

Lovely to see the animals in their natural element, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

-Really special. Really special.

What an experience. So nice to know they're still out here and...

Whoa. To see 'em in the water is really special,

to see the way they move, and even that moment,

that little turn towards you, that moment of predatory interest,

your pulse races and the blood thunders in your ears.

It awakens something quite sort of primal and basic in you, you know?

Having enjoyed my shark encounter without incident,

I'm now back at the cottage where there IS a medical emergency.

Rubes has cut his paw.

Poor lamb. And there's blood spots all over the floor,

and he's feeling very, very sorry for himself,

because he's a bloke. He's milking it for all its worth,

so this is the sort of sympathy moment.

He comes and sits on my lap when he's hurt himself.

You all right there, Rubes? Think you'll make it through the night?

I'm sorry, pal.

It's all right, geezer.

This is a very important meeting for me because I'm off to see

John Brittain and Martin O'Malley,

two men who know more about these waters than pretty much anyone else round here.

'I'm relying on their advice to choose the optimum day for my big row from the Aran Islands.'

-How are you, Monty?

-I'm very well, I'm nervous, that's how I am.

-I'm not surprised.

I expect you've every reason to be.

John's my shark boat skipper and Martin's a coastguard

and powerboat instructor who'll be manning my safety boat.

I'm plundering their expertise to work out the most favourable tides,

which are completely predictable, and the best weather, which isn't.

-Well, Tuesday or Wednesday, Tuesday's 15 to 25.

-Yeah.

Yeah, so Monday would be kind of optimum, wouldn't it?

-Monday's southerly.

-Right direction,

and also it's decreasing during the course of the day.

'So Monday it is. I need to tell Paddy,

'who's lending me his currach and see whether he's traced that leak.'

-So you found it was leaking, did you?

-There's very little, maybe a little bit sun split.

-She needs tarring, it's as simple as that.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I had a great meeting with Martin O'Malley

and John Brittain who talked me through, you know,

when to hit the optimum tides and all that sort of stuff.

What is the wind on Monday?

It's good, it's south-easterly so...

I don't know how you...I don't know how you organise all this!

Yeah, well, there we are. I've got contacts. I've got contacts.

-Can I give you a hand with the tarring?

-You can of course.

-Brilliant.

This is currach tar.

-Currach tar, so it's a special type of tar?

-Yes, it's quick drying.

The plan is this dries overnight, so by tomorrow morning it should be completely dry

and then, obviously, we'll be across in the Arans on Sunday night ready for the big push on Monday.

-A bit more?

-Yeah, I'd give her plenty, yeah,

especially on the joints, you know, because it's a bit sun split.

So where did you learn?

-What to...

-How to build a currach.

Ah, yeah, well, everybody on Inishlacken, I'm an islander originally, you know.

-Of course!

-And everybody... that was the...

that'd be your school bus and your taxi, whatever, so...

So that's where your rowing skills came from, it was...

-your social life, as well, I suppose.

-Of course. Of course.

-How does that look to you?

-It looks perfect.

Paddy's become a good friend over the summer.

He's a real Connemara character formed by the sea

and I'm sure that has something to do with his upbringing

on the island of Inishlacken, out in the mouth of Roundstone bay.

He's offered to take me out there to see where he grew up.

Look at that beach. Beautiful.

The Island's had no permanent residents for decades.

Paddy's family was one of the last to leave in search of an easier life.

So, Paddy, why did everyone leave the island?

Tis hard work living on a place like this.

You can't run down the shop, or run down for a bus or a taxi, whatever.

Everything is on foot and by boat.

And are your memories of living here, Paddy, are they good memories or are they bad?

Ah, indeed they are, great. Dancing was the in-thing at that time.

I used to go out to the mainland at night

-and swim ashore and change into the dancing gear.

-Oh, really?

And then come back at two or three o'clock on the morning or later.

-Fantastic.

-And swim back out here aboard,

and go back in and put your clothes on and...

That's so James Bond.

That's very James Bond. That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.

Brilliant. So your social life was dictated by the tides?

-A lot of it, yes.

-Yeah, how funny!

Did you see dolphins and basking sharks?

-When I was a young lad, I used to go out in the currach and play with them.

-No?

-Yeah.

Paddy's old home lies at the far end of the island.

It's ruined now,

but it was home to many generations of the McDonagh family.

Do you know who built it?

It was my grandfather built this end of it,

but the rest of it is much older, I believe.

-That's a grand house. It withstood a few storms in its time?

-That's for sure.

This house, if you look where it is, it's just...

And what about brothers or sisters, Paddy?

-Four sisters, one brother.

-And all living here?

-Yeah.

And you slept through...

And there was a bedroom here. There was a loft now coming over to here

and that's how your fish for the winter, food for the winter would be stored up there.

-I see, and that was salted?

-Yeah.

-Were you healthy as a young lad?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

'Listening to Paddy, I'm keen to sample some of that

'lost lifestyle for myself.

'He's inspired me to spend some time on the island before I leave Connemara

'to test myself at living off the land.'

And when you fished, Paddy, what sort of fish were you catching?

Pollock, mackerel?

Well, lobster and crayfish on a daily basis.

When at the beach, you'd be down picking winkles, carrageenan, or cutting seaweed.

So you would gather along this seashore here?

That's right.

I'm not sure whether I'm cut out for that sort of life

but once I've wrapped up my work, I'll definitely be back to give it a go.

It's very easy to get sidetracked, but I have to grab

every weather window to search for my missing acoustic pod.

When I last looked for it, it had vanished and the pressure is on.

If it's not there, it presents a whole new problem

that would be a nightmare for me,

because the data that's on it is invaluable, absolutely invaluable.

Aside from the fact that it's worth 4,000 euro it's the data on it

and it would answer so many questions for me.

The Whale and Dolphin Group are anxious to analyse the results,

but the weather is due to go downhill along with any chance of finding it.

OK, we're 0.2 of a mile away from where the buoy is so...

..it's on our right.

This is definitely the right point, without a doubt.

Oh, a big one coming.

If you think of the power in these waves that are dragging the buoy

to the surface and tugging it, and it's out there for months.

We're in 150 feet of it now, 120 feet,

so it is a bit worrying that I can't find it.

97 feet, 60 feet, 50 feet, 40 feet, not here, is it?

Right, I'm going to give Simon a call and I'll give him the bad news.

Hello, Simon, it's Monty.

Now, I've come to check out on the buoy, which has gone.

I mean, I can come out with divers on Wednesday, I can book a dive team

on Wednesday and have a really good look.

Obviously, I've got the GPS position, but I'll keep you posted.

D'you know, on my bow at the moment I'm looking at a buoy that looks uncannily like...

It might have been dragged.

That could be, it does look uncan... Do you know, I'll get back to you.

I'll call you in about two minutes, I'll let you know.

Smashing. Cheers, Simon.

You couldn't make it up, could you?

Has it got writing on it?

How about that? That... I can't tell you the relief.

Cannot tell you the relief.

A quick check confirms that it is my buoy.

Back it goes to keep scanning for dolphins

while I record the new GPS position.

And this time I'll make sure I remember the number.

Now we're 0.33.

So, so important.

Waypoint arrival, OK, that's great.

Got his answer phone. Hello, Simon.

Unbelievably that was, that was the buoy.

I've marked the new position, so we're back on, which is fantastic.

Marvellous. All right. Thanks, Simon. Bye.

I'm so pleased. So relieved, I can't tell you.

Now, the next stage is pulling it up and finding out what's in it.

The culmination of my whole six months here really.

It's on. As you can see from the weather, perfect.

So Paddy's doing the final prep of the boat,

give me a final pep talk, and then we're off.

I'm hoping to come over and meet you tomorrow.

Well, it'll be good to see you out there. I might need a morale boost round about that time.

We'll give you a shout all right.

Now your oars are tied down, they're all double pinned

and treble pinned and whatever.

If you for any reason that you feel whatever, I'll do it if you want.

Oh, dangerous words! Grand, off we go.

There you are.

-See you later, Paddy.

-Good luck. All the best.

Cheers, thanks a lot. Cheers, thank you.

Martin O'Malley and I are heading for Rossaveal, the slipway closest to the islands.

There I'll hitch the currach to the RIB for the tow across.

I'm planning to start the row home well before dawn,

so I'm praying that the new layer of tar has done the trick.

Launching, I feel like the Queen Mum.

But this is an 80-year-old boat, which like all currachs

has a tendency to leak if the timbers dry out.

It's been in ten minutes, hasn't it?

I can't be baling every ten minutes, so this presents a major problem.

It's there, I can actually see the point it's coming in.

I've got it.

So frustrating. Weeks and weeks and weeks I've been waiting to do this.

It's here, that's where it's...

-Anything you put on there, it's going to come straight off.

-It is now once it's wet.

'With Martin foxed, I can only think of one person who might be able to help.'

Hello, is that Paddy?

Paddy, we've hit a slight technical hitch.

It's leaking really badly, the water's pouring in. Yeah.

Martin's with me here now saying it just wouldn't make it across.

Is there any way we could use the grey one? We can take all the pins out and do everything we need to do.

And there's a man just turned up who might have the right kit.

Martin's just going to go up and sweet-talk him.

It turns out to be Padraig Joyce, the hooker skipper I raced with a few weeks back.

Hello, Padraig, how are you?

He's come to wish me luck.

Serendipity, you know. Padraig has just turned up,

quite randomly, and he's legging it home now and he's going to go try

and get a blow torch and a little bit of caulk,

a bit of tar and just see if he can do a sort of on the spot repair.

An hour later, Padraig's back.

But if the tar gun doesn't work, I'm sunk in every sense.

Thank you, Padraig. You're saving the day, as ever.

You were exactly the right man to come along, you know?

Right, shall we try her?

It's seeping. This looks much better.

Hello, Paddy, problem solved.

The big leak is, is almost completely watertight now.

I'm looking at it now and there's a tiny trickle coming in,

but it's hardly anything so we're still in good time.

All right. Cheers. Bye.

Paddy was about to... He was just about to jump in his van

and come down here and sort it out. This is personal for Paddy,

you know, he really wants this to happen. Brilliant, we're on.

The setback cost us a couple of hours,

so we won't arrive in the Arans until well after dark.

Ah, there's a little bit of water coming in but not drastic amounts.

So, beautiful. Nice to be back onboard as it were.

It's now eight o'clock at night, morale is high.

A couple of leaks on the way over, I was checking,

but a lot of it was due to the bow wave and I can't imagine

I'll be creating quite the same bow wave when I'm rowing.

And just getting here is a triumph, believe me. Now I've got to get back of course.

The row starts before dawn tomorrow.

The best I can hope for is a few hours uneasy sleep.

It's 5:48 in the morning.

You've got the three wise monkeys in the back here.

Martin and his co-skipper, Ian, will be manning the safety boat

in case I have to abandon the attempt in mid-row.

Right. Give her a bit of a shove, I suppose.

I'm starting before dawn to catch the right tide both leaving the Arans

and if I get my timings right, rowing into Roundstone Bay.

The first stroke of many.

See you in Roundstone.

Just getting used to the motion of the ocean as it were,

and the boat doesn't appear to be filling up with water too alarmingly,

and I'm just trying not to think about the distance ahead, you know?

The full distance is over 20 miles,

but in my head I'm breaking it down into three roughly equal legs.

The first is undoubtedly the hardest - an eight mile open water channel that,

as far as I know, has never been rowed in the modern era.

I was really worried about this stretch actually,

as it's a bit of open water and an infamous bit of open water between

the Aran Islands and the mainland, so I'm really looking forward

to getting this behind me, but it's very poignant to see

the Arans sinking into the distance and Gollum Point coming up behind me.

The Whale and Dolphin Group has 2,500 euros

pledged towards the rescue pontoon, but only if I make it the whole way.

If he had a good currach, he'd be in Roundstone by now. HE CHUCKLES

All right, Paddy. All right. Talk to you soon. Bye-bye.

Paddy was on to us.

-Was he?

-Yeah.

-Did he say, "Has he had breakfast and been to the toilet?"

That's Gollum Point, and that's like my first check point

and now I'm turning down the coast, so I've got a seven mile run in

and then turn in towards Roundstone so...

so pleased to get that out of the way, but hopefully now

I've got the tide with me and it's firing me up the sort of barrel of a gun.

After three hours of hard graft, I need all the help I can get,

not least from Martin who's keeping me on the straight and, quite literally, narrow.

Do you see that dark shape, like a sail? You'll head for that.

So we're heading just sort of between those islands?

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

Through the little gap because Maids Head is directly behind us

-and that's your, that's your last turn.

-Right.

It's funny I've got GPS, GPS, high-tech charts, compass and Martin

just saying to me every now and then, "You're going the wrong way."

Watch her there. Yeah, keep her in this way.

-There's a tidal race coming through against you.

-Come on.

-You've... It, it has slowed you down.

-Oh, definitely, yeah.

-Yeah.

If I ever needed a boost, it's now,

and it arrives in the shape of my mentor, Paddy.

You're doing well. Getting tired?

A little bit, yeah.

Really feeling the pace now, you know?

It's hard work these last few miles, so near and yet so very far.

That is Roundstone and it's a sweet sight, believe me.

The last few miles have been tiring, you know? It's been really hard.

All right, Paddy? Five miles to go, it's going to be emotional.

That's on top of the 19 miles I've already covered

in the six hours since setting out.

But it's really sweet, you know, a really sweet feeling,

just covering this last bit of ground knowing what it represents really -

the opportunity to present the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group with

this pontoon, be a lovely way to, to polish off my time here really.

And as I turn the currach for home, I'm starting to pick up

familiar landmarks.

I always said to myself when I was planning this that

when I saw my house I'd start thinking that maybe

I could finish, you know? It's a sweet sight.

Where's the banner?

How nice, although I can't read what it says on it yet.

It could say anything.

-Come on, Monty!

-Come on!

Thanks.

-APPLAUSE

-Thank you very much. Thanks.

Never again. Never again.

HE LAUGHS

Thank you very much. Thanks.

Oh, the beer! I've been fantasising about that beer.

Now, Monty boy, leave it there.

Thank you very much, Paddy. Thanks a lot. And thanks for coming out.

-Great achievement.

-Right, I'm going to grab that beer.

'And why not? The pontoon fund is £2,500 euros richer!

'Still a couple of hundred to raise, but for now that can wait.'

-Mmm.

-You've done well boy, fair play to you.

Thank you very much. Thank you, cheers.

-Ah, Padraig?

-Fair play to you.

-Thank you.

And thank you for last night, you saved the day.

Come on, thanks. Good on you. Fair play to you.

Thank you very much, thank you.

Again, thank you for turning out, it's really kind, thanks.

'It's 11 o'clock at night now,

'and this momentous day that's now drawing to a close.

'No more emotional moment than right at the end,

'coming in to Roundstone.'

The reception on the jetty, just unbelievable.

I had no idea that many people would turn out.

I thought maybe two or three would turn out.

It was overwhelming, absolutely overwhelming.

Um, not a day I'll forget in a hurry for all sorts of reasons.

The time has come to retrieve the acoustic pod

that's been monitoring dolphin movements in the bay.

It's been down for four and a half months now,

and the information it contains, combined with my sightings,

might prove the dolphins are resident in the bay.

There it is! My baby.

Right, let's see if I can get her up.

Almost like playing a big fish, you go with the rolls of the boat.

If I just take my time... and take some turns around here.

I can feel I'm lifting off the bottom now.

'The problem isn't the pod...'

Only another 45 feet to go.

'..it's the chunks of pig iron that have supposedly

'kept it securely anchored in one place.'

'That's the pod,

'but now the pig iron that's been, er, anchoring it down.'

It was moored on the tip of that island there.

It's moved all the way back,

and that gives you an idea of the power of the ocean out here.

It's my kind of science... with massive bits of pig iron.

This is what the fuss is all about.

See how amazing coated it is,

but the really exciting science is right there.

See, in the middle there is a little chip

and that chip has recorded the movement of every dolphin

and every porpoise in this stretch of water in the last four months.

For me this is like a magic box.

And this box contains the answers to all the questions I've been asking myself,

pretty much the whole time that I've been in Roundstone.

'Back on dry land, I'm making one last effort

'to complete my pontoon fundraising.'

It's the day of the Roundstone Rowathon.

The whole idea of the thing is that last weekend

I did the Aran Sweater, and I've still got a bit of money to raise.

'So I'm going to get the people of Roundstone

'to row the equivalent distance on dry land,

'and pay for the privilege with their donations.'

If you guys can just stand there all day like that, that's perfect.

'To cover the same distance I did, I reckon we need to keep

'the rowing machine moving for at least six hours.'

Fancy a go, chaps - three minutes on the rower?

'At this time on a Sunday morning that seems like a tall order.

'But a few days ago I did a talk at the local school,

'and the kids have turned out in force to get the day going.'

Are you ready? OK, three, two, one - off you go.

Perfect, well done. Go on then.

15 seconds, well done.

... five, four, three, two, one!

Brilliant, well done.

'What I need now is a few hard hitting adults

'to really rack up the kilometres.'

A bunch of fit guys. After this man...

'And here they are, right on cue.'

OK, in your own time, off you go.

This could be the time of the day, I've just got a feeling in my bones.

Really strong. Well done.

30 seconds, a big 30 seconds.

Five, four, three,

two, one!

Well done, mate, well done, really strong.

Really, really, really strong. That was 910 metres, a new record.

I'm going to have to have a go at that.

Right. We can't have a man in Lycra setting the best time.

... four, three, two, one.

Hooray!

That... 980. Thank you.

'The record is mine, by 70 metres.'

That was tricky... That's it, I've peaked.

It's very nice, the village is drifting in, dribs and drabs.

Just what I was after, the whole village joining in.

Ah, Paddy! Hello mate, how are you?

The reason I look like this is, I was like, I'm not having that!

I'm not! So I had to get on. I was like that.

I've just been round the corner losing my breakfast.

I've just been round the corner like...

I'm pretty much there in terms of the money,

so this has turned slightly more into a bit of a community thing,

of let's get this boat into the Roundstone harbour.

And it's lovely for me that all the kids are doing it.

That takes us - 16 kilometres we've done now.

The boat should go about there.

We've got a little way to go, but I'm confident you guys can do it.

Good girl. Really strong, really strong, Michael.

You look ready for anything. Good pace, good pace, very nice.

Rowing with killer heels, let's see.

Keep going!

We've done 33,584 metres in three minute chunks.

It's been a great effort today. When I set this up this morning

I had 38,000 metres to row,

and it's been done almost entirely by local people,

it's been done by the kids, tourists, people passing by.

It's been a fantastic collective effort.

Well done. And you're done. Well done, team, well done!

I think one of the kids should finish it off.

And they've decided that Michael should do the last bit.

Are you ready, Michael? OK, off we go.

Good last 300, a big strong 300 to finish.

Go, Michael!

OK, 100 metres left. Go on, good strong last few pulls, Michael.

You're just coming into the harbour, 20 metres, and...

finish! Hooray!

ALL CHEER

Well done. Guys, you rowed 38,000 metres, so well done.

And you've raised about 300 euro for the Trust, so well done.

A terrific effort, terrific effort by the guys. And I have to say

the ladies of Roundstone have contributed as well, you know.

That takes us home, that takes us past the finishing post.

So there we are.

Great stuff. Piece of cake.

Hooray! Very good.

'As predicted, the weather has turned for the worse.'

Look at that.

If I go out there my sideburns will blow off.

'Today's the day I find out what the acoustic pod

'reveals about the dolphins in the bay.'

Joanne from IWDG will be here in about half an hour or so,

and, er, is going to open it up.

At last we'll get the data.

-Hello Joanne, how are you?

-Sorry I got a little bit lost.

-Everyone does, everyone does.

'In today's howling gale

'it's easy to see why you can't just rely on sightings alone.'

In this weather you could be sitting here looking out and you won't see them.

But the pod is sitting there and that will hear them.

That's where it works its magic really for us.

-Right. You've got me all fired up now. Let's go in there.

-Let's go.

-Yeah, this is it.

I'm almost putting off the moment of truth. Come on.

So I'm just gripping...

'The pod should have registered every time

'a dolphin passed within 800 metres,

'and recorded the number of minutes of activity detected every day.'

If we tilt it up this way... OK, the battery's are still working.

You can see the light in here is still flashing.

'So far so good, but this is like opening your exam results.'

I'll just take out the SD card - dun, dun, dun!

'We're about to find out how often the dolphins

'have visited the bay over the summer.'

So this is the data downloading, the seven days, eight days.

'Extracting four and a half months of data is a lengthy process.

'But at the end of it Joanne has a column

'which shows us how many minutes per day the pod detected dolphins.'

So you deployed the pod here on the 5th of June,

so the very next day we had five minutes within that day.

Four minutes there, two minutes there, one minute, four minutes there.

It's good to see a good strong presence of dolphins.

Exactly. You've done really, really well, it's fantastic.

-Thank you very much.

-Fair play to you, well done.

'I'm delighted with the results,

'which prove that dolphins regularly visit Roundstone Bay.'

So the highest we've had so far is 16, 17 now.

So that's really good in the course of a day.

'The pod is showing dolphins on about 20% of days.

'It still doesn't actually prove that there's a resident pod here,

'but it's a significant step forward.'

You've shown the area is important for dolphins. You've got them visually,

now we've got them acoustically on this.

So the next thing would be to have dedicated trans-ex

where you're going out on a bi-monthly basis, if possible.

You'd be doing your photo ID studies.

Having an array of these in the area would give us more information.

So that's the kind of things that have to be explored in the future.

I think that's the next stage, to really have that dedicated...

That costs money, that's the problem. There's more to come.

There's more to come, but you've done the groundwork.

No, it's been an absolute pleasure, it really, really has.

Well, I'm delighted.

If there was one thing I wanted to achieve this summer

it was just showing that the area out there is special, Connemara's special.

And now we've got solid data. What does that data show us?

Well, it conclusively shows

that there's a very significant presence of dolphins out there.

And I think that there's enough dolphins there frequently enough

for further research, further investigation, and who knows,

maybe one day even setting up

a little special area of conservation for it.

So... I feel vindicated about the work this summer, thoroughly.

'But the job's not finished yet.'

I'm off to a meeting with Simon,

where I'm going to present him with the pontoon,

the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group with the pontoon, and have a good chat with him about how I've got on.

We're meeting at the Galway Mayo Institute Of Technology,

which funds a lot of his work, including the acoustic monitor

that I deployed to study the pod of dolphins.

It reinforces what we thought, that pod ranges over a bigger area,

and within that area they're resident in the sense that they are regularly seen.

But the more you get to show that they are there,

it's the same animals, time and time again, it does...

-It builds a picture and pushes the conservation. We have to protect the habitat.

-A huge body of work.

The more you do it, the more you have to do. But you have to make the start.

'Simon's asked me to talk about the results of my research

'to students and academics from the marine biology department.

'I'm used to public speaking, but this is nerve wracking stuff.'

It's been a great opportunity for us

to celebrate the marine life around Ireland and Connemara.

So you're very welcome and I hand you over to Monty Halls,

our man in Connemara.

Thanks, Simon.

APPLAUSE

Initially I got this big romantic notion

that the pod of dolphins was a resident pod.

The funny thing was I kept sending Simon pictures saying, "Look at this picture, unbelievable!"

He kept sending them back because he wanted pictures like that,

'cos of course you can get photo ID from the fins.

So we spent a lot of time this summer doing the photo ID

and a lot of time tagging the baskers.

There's so little work done on this animal that visits the coast

in more numbers here than pretty much anywhere else in the world.

Surely that is a global standard eco-tourist attraction that you've got here.

'Debrief over, it's time to present the rescue pontoon

'that's been the aim of all the IWDG's fundraising.'

There we are, that's Simon demonstrating the pontoon

in a dive festival we ran in Roundstone.

'It's involved a lot of hard work to buy,

'but it's great to know that it'll be here whenever it's needed.'

So Simon, I'd like to present you with this shiny new pontoon.

APPLAUSE

A big moment for me, to present a pontoon to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.

That moment is the culmination of my summer's work.

-Well done, Monty.

-Thank you very much, Simon, cheers.

So that's the pod results and the pontoon dealt with.

My other research is more long term.

The dolphin ID pictures are now part of Simon's growing database of sightings.

One in particular showed up on a regular basis,

so wherever it next appears we'll always know

that it spent the summer of 2010 in Roundstone.

The shark slime DNA samples are being analysed

at Aberdeen University,

and will be added to a worldwide database at a University in Florida.

Basking shark slime.

And when the tags on the blue and basking sharks

are found at some future date they'll add to our knowledge

of their life cycles and migration patterns.

Yoo-hoo!

'All in all, a pretty good six months' work.

'There's just time now to fulfil a personal ambition.'

I'm in my last few days in Roundstone.

I thought it would be lovely to go to Inishlacken Island,

just for a couple of days, put the pots out, do some fishing,

eat what I catch and just have a little bit of cave time

at the end of what's been an amazing six months for me.

I left Inishlacken after my visit with Paddy

thinking it would have made a great place to live,

although its remoteness would have made my job impossible.

But that very isolation makes it the perfect place

for a bit of quiet reflection on a glorious summer.

There's no mains water on the island, there's no electricity.

It's kind of a very basic existence.

I'm staying in my mate Simon Ash's house.

He's the estate manager from Ballynahinch Castle,

and he's got the old schoolhouse here.

Oh, look at that fire!

I think I can muddle by here for a couple of days.

The idea is to ban the crew and film everything myself.

I'm marooning myself on an abandoned island

with nothing but a bag of spuds, just to get a taste of how life was

for Paddy and the other families who used to live here.

Blowing an absolute hooley.

It must have been sort of gusting 50, 60 knots, it was ridiculous.

But in the midst of that maelstrom,

I caught my dinner.

So that's grand, mackerel.

Late in the season for mackerel, it's October now.

Really bizarre, as I was tying the boat up,

I realised I had an audience, which hopefully is still there.

'The figures I saw have disappeared,

'so it's not until later in the day that I track them down.'

I am the only human being on this island.

Still a few donkeys around though.

Hello chap, how are you?

Look at that, ears straight back.

I think there's about seven or eight on the island. Great life for them.

Plenty of food, no-one to bother them.

I suppose you can't get to there, can you, that particular spot?

I wonder what memories that old head holds.

Eh? The things you must have seen,

the whales and the dolphins and the basking sharks.

It's a really beautiful scene behind me there, look at that.

Isn't that lovely?

It's starting to rain a bit now, so I'm going to take shelter in Paddy's house.

Eh...hope he doesn't mind. Here we go.

That squall is about to... About to head in.

I'm crouched in the corner of Paddy's house.

The sea is absolutely thrashing out there,

as this front of rain moves forward.

Look... So I'm going to go back and dry out all my kit, dry out myself,

eat the mackerel, get a big old fire going.

There is the house. How spooky does that look?

OK, mackerel's nearly done. The potatoes are looking pretty good.

So it's a very simple meal of carbs and protein.

But it's a meal that summarises the essence of this island

and the essence of this part of the world,

with the fire going in the background,

eating mackerel and potatoes on Inishlacken Island.

Ah, but now it's time for bed, I'm a tired boy.

I slept really, really well last night. It was lovely, you know.

The peat fire slowly died down and I had my sleeping bag

and I sort of snuggled in.

It just lolls you off to sleep, it's quite sort of womb-like.

But this is not womb-like. Here we are, this is me today.

There we go, beautiful!

So that's what I've got to go out and forage in, but not yet.

In the winter, imagine - this is just October.

But January, February when the gales came in

the storms lashed the island and you couldn't fish, you couldn't get out,

boy, it must have been tough then.

It seems to have calmed down,

which is good news cos I'm about to go out and put my shrimp pots out.

So I'm going to walk out as far as I can

and stick the creels in and then see what I get. I wonder what I'll get.

I'll leave them here for now.

In a moment... By the way, look at that.

There's Roundstone. Quite a view.

So I'm going to go and get myself a bucket of limpets and of winkles

and...dog welts and all sorts of stuff,

take it back and see what I can do.

And I've also got some gut weed as well,

enteromorpha intestinalis, which can be very nice indeed.

What I'm going to do is just pop it in there and dry it,

and then I'm going to deep fry it.

And there we are, a meal fit for a king.

A very small king with no sense of taste.

It's food though, it's all protein. And here's the thing,

it's all checks and balances, isn't it,

because when I was out there, of course I was using energy,

charging around the rock pools, throwing in pots, things like that.

You've got to get that energy back. It's about converting protein,

so these bits of protein are going to hopefully redress the balance

of all the energy that I put out collecting it.

Again a microcosm of what life on the island might have been like back in the midst of time.

Mm, it's all right.

Well, I've finished. There it is.

And you may notice there is a discreet smear of tomato ketchup.

I disgraced myself, I let myself down and had a rummage in a cupboard

and found a very old bottle of tomato ketchup.

Oh, there it is. Shut the cupboard door!

I'm going to go and try and pull up my pots.

So I've got two shrimp pots out, prawn pots. There's the pots.

I've checked the shrimp pots and the most wonderful thing has happened.

It's a twist top to these pots.

And when Dennis gave me the pots he said,

"The one thing to watch out for is otters come along

"and twist them open and take your bait out."

And this pot right here, the one I've got right here,

has been twisted open and the bait's gone.

And I'll show you why it's unequivocally opened

as opposed to just falling open by the sea.

There's no way the sea is going to undo that.

The otters grab them with their little thieving paws,

give them a twist and then pull. They've learnt to do that.

And I think, quite frankly, that's the most fantastic thing

of the whole few days - that I've been laying out buffets for otters.

I'm really a bit hungry, I can feel my stomach's grumbling a bit.

I've only been here two days.

So imagine extending that over a whole year, you know,

or decades or your entire childhood.

You had to be tough, resourceful,

very strong and mentally resilient to live on an island like this.

And that probably says a great deal about Paddy.

One of the things I wanted to do while I was here

was, kind of, reflect on my time here.

Work wise it's been one of the most satisfying periods of my life.

There's absolutely no doubt about that.

Um... Just even the tiny little bits of knowledge

that I managed to pass on to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group,

and gradually getting to know that pod of dolphins

and getting that first tag into that basking shark in Connemara.

I can't tell you how great that felt.

Just tremendously exciting, tremendously exciting work.

So yeah, six months well spent.

I wonder if I'll spend a better six months in my whole life.

I'm just packing up the cottage after six months.

It's six months of accumulated memories, if you think about it.

That's one of the currach pins

that Paddy made for me for the Aran Sweater.

It's become one of Ruben's favourite toys.

You can see his teeth marks all over.

In leaving, I am not only turning my back on a lovely group of people in a beautiful place,

I'm also turning my back on the dolphins out there.

You know, all these tantalising questions that, if anything...

That's all I've done, raised lots of questions that need answers.

'So my girlfriend Tam and I are looking for a cottage to buy,

'so we can try and find some of those answers.'

I think the idea is to carry on the work here

and keep tagging the baskers,

keep taking photos of the dolphins, keep building that database,

and keep developing a relationship with a truly extraordinary place.

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