This year, British Science Week (6-15 March 2026) is all about curiosity. A wonderful theme because:
Read MoreCuriosity is the essence of human existence – Gene Cernan (1934-2017)
At the beginning of this year, Pelican of London cruises the Western Mediterranean Sea. I take this as a prompt to share some insights into the marine (eco)system of this region and its state of conservation.
For millennia the Mediterranean has been shaped by the rise and fall of civilisations and associated development in agriculture, art, philosophy, science and technology, by numerous wars and long-distance trade, by religious diversity and cultural fusion, and latterly by commercial rivalry and geopolitical competition, tourism and migration 1.
The Western Mediterranean Sea and its creatures know no national boundaries, cultural differences or politics, while their health is utterly dependent on international agreements and their implementation, maritime policies and traffic, as well as national environmental regulations, fishing practices and pollution from a wide variety of sources.
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Let’s spell it out: cleaning communal toilets, sharing a dormitory with strangers, travel sickness, washing up for 46 people and standing in the wind and rain for hours on end are not common entries on people’s lists of favourite activities.
Yet 27 young people chose to do just that for a chance to live on ‘planet Pelican‘ for a while and experience all the good stuff that comes with it…
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Two years ago, I read an article in Nature News called “Catastrophic change looms as Earth nears climate ‘tipping points’‘ [1], referring to the Global Tipping Points Report 2023, the article warned about Arctic and Antarctic ice, coral reefs and other Earth system poised to cross thresholds in their decline that are irreversible and that threaten the stability of the Earth system as we know it.
Now ‘Team Earth’ have crossed the first of around 20 climate change tipping points [2]: the international group of scientists working on the Global Tipping Points Report 2025 [3] suggest that this year’s extent of coral bleaching and death mark Earth’s first climate tipping point being reached.
The foreword to the report by André Aranha Correa do Lago, President Designate of COP30, talks of urgency and possibility [3].
So, what’s next?
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Growing (up) is all about exploring and once more, sail training on board the tall ship Pelican of London proved to be an excellent vehicle for both, exploring self and the world and finding out how we deal with challenges along the way …
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I’d like to mark World Ocean Week with a good story, but where to start? There are so many!
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Imagine sailing across the ocean under a vast canopy of stars and dolphins weave through bioluminescent waters below. Such breathtaking moments are more than just beautiful – they are transformative.
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One of the most rewarding aspect of my job on Pelican of London is to sit down with a group of trainees, who just obtained a bunch of data from a scientific instrument, graph it, kick ideas around to make sense of it and place it into a bigger context.
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Challenging Habitat 