Our Noss Boat is an attractive, streamlined, very comfortable large blue & white bespoke boat called ‘Ayda Ruby II‘ (named after our daughter). The boat is fully coded & in excellent condition. She was sailed over from Ireland for the 2018 Noss Boat season and is an exciting upgrade from our previous boat, the Ayda Ruby I  which we enjoyed during our first two seasons in 2016 & 2017. She is the perfect boat for the waters around Shetland, low, almost eye-level to the water with ample space to enjoy the best possible views of wildlife for our passengers. She is easily manoeuvrable & has an on/off front canopy cover if needed. She has a unique design of 12 upholstered seats with backrests for all. This optional, comfortable, cushioned seating is a bonus feature for all our passengers when out on the waters around Noss where comfort & safety is paramount. We have a large area “out back” to stand or sit out on deck to enjoy unrestricted 360º viewing & photographic opportunities.

Photo by John Coutts

She is powered by twin Yamaha 265 horsepower inboard engines. We have two inflatable life rafts stored on the stern of the boat and all passengers wear modern, neat life jackets throughout our tours which are provided & fitted before embarkation & available for all ages, standard safety practice for any sea operating tour company in this day and age. The Ayda Ruby II can really shift if she needs to – though our trips are not fast adventure tours, but slow, wildlife friendly adventure trips in a style & with an ethos we feel strongly about as naturalists. We can go smoothly and rapidly to the numerous good spots however or if there are whales in the area!

We are the longest running active Noss Boat tour company having started Shetland Seabird Tours in 2016 after another Noss Boat stopped running regular trips to Noss in 2015 (this was later continued with new crew and new boat in 2018). We saw a clear gap in the boat tour scene & founded our limited company Shetland Seabird Tours the next year.  In 2021 we upgraded our pair of gannets logo to also encompass an Orca, a logo we are delighted with & gives a real sense of what our company is all about!