St Ives Boats - Dolly P

Explore the stunning Cornish coastline on Cornwall's most famous boat. See the amazing Atlan We are licensed by the MCA to carry 12 passengers up to 60 miles.

The Dolly P is operated by St Ives Boats from the harbour at St Ives. Our most popular Trip is the one hour trip to Seal Island, which we run hourly (weather permitting) on a daily basis. Seal Island is home to a colony of Grey Atlantic Seals and is 6km west of St Ives. The boat, Dolly P, clings to the coastline before reaching Seal Island where the boat stays for 15-20 minutes to observe the seal

20/06/2024

Something different for the passengers to see today. £250 million megayacht Norn sitting just North of Porthmeor.

05/06/2024

Just two weeks to go, sing along you know the tune!

Photos from St Ives Boats - Dolly P's post 21/05/2024

Night sky at sea, St Ives shimmering

12/05/2024

Oh what a day...

Photos from St Ives Boats - Dolly P's post 11/05/2024

Wow, wow, WOW!!

Aurora Borealis last night as photographed by at Hell's Mouth.

I've been to the arctic and not seen them looking this amazing. We have a high chance of seeing them again tonight looking at the data we can find this morning and therefore as one of very few (possibly the only?) boats and crews licensed to run at night we are looking to offer an after 10pm Aurora watching trip.

We have quite a few things to work out and still have today's trips to do but we'll put a trip on if there's enough demand.

Interested? Leave us a comment and follow for updates, we'll get working on some ideas. This could be the best boat trip St Ives has ever seen!

08/05/2024

Hells Mouth today on our daily 2 hour safari

07/05/2024

Everywhere I look, I see seals!

Photos from St Ives Boats - Dolly P's post 05/05/2024

Definitely a no filter day! An absolutely gorgeous run down to Lands End yesterday conditions couldn't have been better, taking in some of the finest scenery in the country.

Photos from British Divers Marine Life Rescue's post 25/04/2024

Saving Wings was a proud moment for us, but please sign the petition and help us make such rescues unnecessary.

23/04/2024

Little Haven is a beautifully furnished one bedroom apartment overlooking Porthminster Beach, it’s the perfect coastal escape

A bit more about Little Haven:

🌊 Stunning sea views from every room
🏖Overlooks Porthminster Beach
🛏 1 bedroom with king sized bed
🍤 Restaurants within 200 yards
🥂 Bars within 350 yards
🚿 Power Shower
🔪 Fully equipped kitchen
🐾 Dog friendly
🚉 Train station 5 mins walk
🌿Costal path 5 mins walk
💷 From £99 a night
📆 Message or link in bio to book

We gave some spring availability remaining. Drop us a message with the word HAVEN for more details and book your mini break now!

12/04/2024

The wind is finally dropping over the next few days and with some calmer days coming we're kicking off our 1, 2 and 4 hour trips.

At last!

01/04/2024

What an amazing shot from our new underwater drone camera. A young female seal protects her eggs from potential predators.

Photos from Marine Discovery Penzance's post 31/03/2024
29/03/2024

Fancy a longer exploration of the coast? Join us on a longer, 2 hour safari starting next week!

https://stivesboats.co.uk/private-boat-hire/make-a-booking-2-hour-sea-safari/

20/03/2024

Heading out on our sea trials for the afternoon. New engine is super quiet so far and massively improved fuel efficiency.

If you're on the coast this afternoon give us a wave!

11/03/2024

Brand new fuel efficient engine, new gearbox and running gear. The usual winter overhaul and an awful lot of work for Skipper Mike but we're now down to the final finishing touches before hitting the water and sea trials. Just 7 days until trips begin!

07/03/2024

Standing proud as the guardian of St Ives Bay for almost 170 years Godrevy lighthouse has dominated the horizon. The surrounding waters are littered with shipwrecks, the island is teeming with sea birds, a wonderful location offering amazing scenery and rich history.

This season join Ian and Dougie on Little Mermaid and travel "3 miles East" on an all-new history and scenery based adventure. With a combined 70+ years of experience, you'll find the perfect crew to entertain you on your trip, booking now available on our website.

Need more wildlife in your life? As always Mike and Mike will be starting safaris on Dolly P, now also offering 2 and 4-hour options for an ocean experience like no other.

29/02/2024

We're back soon!

A brand new modern efficient engine for Dolly P and a whole new extra boat too!

Now running daily, dedicated Godrevy Island history and scenery tours alongside morning sea fishing to compliment our regular sea safaris.

Also look out for our new long range sea safaris, no longer restricted to private charters.

We're excited!

05/08/2023

Coming home!

Thanks Chris Webber for this lovely clip of Dolly returning to the harbour, it's from a few years ago, you may recognise a couple of boats no longer working from the harbour.

Photos from BDMLR South West England's post 03/07/2023
03/07/2023

We are well aware of this Seal and this evening Mike, Mike, Sam and a team of BDMLR medics attempted rescue for a number of hours sadly without success. However we did get close and have a further plan formed for another attempt.

Keep an eye on the British Divers Marine Life Rescue page for further and more in depth information on our attempts.

Marine experts are hoping the public can help them find this seal last seen in St Ives Bay.

More here: https://bbc.in/44vIMPA

📸 Kirsty Probert/BDMLR

28/06/2023

If you're around the area on Sunday this will be well worth a visit!

11/06/2023

This is the last 40 years sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic, the red line is this year and is extremely concerning for the impact on the climate and ocean ecosystem.

Half a degree higher in mere weeks is unprecedented and will have a considerable effect on our weather over the coming months. That's a *huge* amount of energy being transferred to the atmosphere. Expect extreme temperature and storm records. Just the top few metres of our oceans store as much energy as the entirety of our atmosphere.

The changes we're seeing in our climate are getting faster and faster, way more than even the gloomiest predictions.

We can't ignore this.

08/06/2023

Usually only seen in winter months here but that's two years in a row now we've had a Humpback Whale in Cornish waters in June.

24/05/2023

If you've been out with us in the last couple of years you may have heard Mike talking about unusual Orca behaviour that began in 2020 off the Iberian coast. It seems it's continuing....

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/05/23/killer-whale-gladis-gang-orcas-sinking-yachts-gibraltar

17/04/2023

Good morning 😁

13/04/2023

We're disappointed to have to cancel trips this week because of the weather, but if you see this amazing video shot yesterday by KernowLive just a few miles from Seal Island you can see why. 😮

08/02/2023

Humpback whales, minke whales, tuna, porpoise and super pods of dolphins in their 100s, Ocean wildlife in St Ives bay is AMAZING at the moment, just about 7 weeks until our safari's start. ❤️

New Year Honours 2023: Cornish seal conservationist awarded 31/12/2022

This is such a well deserved honour for an incredible woman.

Congratulations Sue.

New Year Honours 2023: Cornish seal conservationist awarded Sue Sayer is appointed MBE for services to wildlife protection and conservation.

Sea Shepherd on TikTok 29/12/2022

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFce4r7J/

Sea Shepherd on TikTok ⚠️“Human being torture and kill 2 billion sentient, living, loving animals every week, and stab and suffocate 1 billion ocean animals every 8 hours. If humans were killed at the same rate, we would be wiped out in one weekend.”

Watch this powerful excerpt from Australian Philanthropist ...

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Our Story

We offer daily boat trips leaving from St Ives harbour, when seal watching along the coast at Seal Island or across the bay at the famous Godrevy lighthouse we explore one of the UK’s most stunning areas.

We are the only accredited wildlife safe operator (WISe Scheme) in St Ives Bay.

Bookings can be made online or by calling 0777300800 or Outside The Lifeboat Station at St Ives harbour.

Videos (show all)

Coming home!Thanks Chris Webber for this lovely clip of Dolly returning to the harbour, it's from a few years ago, you m...
Good morning 😁
We're disappointed to have to cancel trips this week because of the weather, but if you see this amazing video shot yest...
Like a pond today!
Blue 😍
9am just starting "work" 😁
"On the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much ...
Trips available from today!Experience St Ives Bay as you never have before on James Stevens No.10.Built in 1899 JS.10 se...
How excited would you be seeing your first dolphin? #seals #ocean #seasafari #wildlifephotography #dolphins
On a number of occasions recently we have seen what appears to be a lone bottlenose dolphin in the area, this is quite c...

Telephone

Address


Smeatons Pier, Wharf Road
Saint Ives
TR261LP

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 9pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 9pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 9pm
Thursday 8:30am - 9pm
Friday 8:30am - 9pm
Saturday 8:30am - 9pm
Sunday 8:30am - 9pm

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