Imagine you have sailed through the night, watched a beautiful sunrise and finally the anchor has found a firm hold…you are enjoying the calm of the morning…when a buzzing sound alerts you to the presence of a drone overhead, rudely interrupting the privacy of having your breakfast on deck.
That sums up my irritation with drones…up to now!
Read MoreThe fact that terrestrial vertebrates, including me, descended from an early marine fish some 375 million years ago is too far fetched for me to say I am ocean.
Nevertheless, for me this statement holds some scientific and some emotional truths.
Read MoreDeep sea discoveries never fail to amaze me, and this one of a coral that lives on metal deposits is extra special.
Read MoreI’ve written about Antarctic krill before, just around World Krill Day in 2022, and three years on, the international community is not much closer to protecting krill for krill’s sake, for ecosystem’s sake, for climate regulation‘s and all of our sake…
Read MoreTo me, life is about curiosity and learning and growing. I love talking and working with people who have different backgrounds and expertises, because there is always the potential for a surprise, a fact, a story, a new understanding …
Read MoreLet’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…
Read MoreGrowing (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 …
Read MoreWhen, in May 2025, the UK Met Office reported that “Northwest European waters are currently experiencing an extreme marine heatwave“, the yachting community in Plymouth had been talking about worsening fouling on their boats for weeks.
Read MoreI’ve just spent 10 days on Pelican of London and among other things, deployed my ROV among the Western Isles of Scotland. It’s been a challenge, to say the least, for my blueye Pioneer, as ‘slack water’ appears to be a concept that doesn’t exist in this part of the ocean. Let’s find out…
Read MoreI’d like to mark World Ocean Week with a good story, but where to start? There are so many!
Read MoreWhen I discovered that a one-inch-square piece of kelp frond is a microcosm of creatures, (once more) the enormity of the ocean and what we don’t yet know about it, dawned on me.
Read MoreImagine 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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Challenging Habitat 