The Red Sea, calm, beautiful, tranquil….? Well, the calm and beautiful aspect was not exactly true for the first journey out of Hurghada aboard the MY Whirlwind. My cabin was at the front of the liveaboard and at 3 am in the morning, as the captain set off for the first crossing of the Gulf of […]
Category: 2016 Scholar Journey
A Jam-packed June; Regs, Cameras & Deep Sea Science
I like to live by the phrase “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail”. It describes quite well how I prefer to be well organised and not get caught off guard. I’ve developed a tentative plan for the first few months of the scholarship, which should prepare me for the year of adventure ahead. The first […]
South Atlantic Environmental Baseline Survey
From Florida, I headed to the Falklands, the furthest south and possibly remotest place that I have travelled to so far. The landscape across the islands is reminiscent of the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands. However, the underwater life is as different as a cold-temperate environment could be. There is a wild mix of species […]
Cave Shoot in Paradise
Towards the end of my scholarship year, the diving adventures keep getting more and more exciting. In February, I was invited to join a cave film shoot with Evan Kovacs from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab. After two months away from the rebreather and cave diving, I decided to head to […]
Patagonian Cold Water Corals
The latest adventure of my scholarship year was entirely focused on science and exploration. I joined a team of researchers from Chile and Germany, including the current Rolex Laureate for Exploration Vreni Häussermann, to study cold-water corals of the Patagonian fjords. For this five-week expedition, we were based at the Huinay Scientific Field Station, between […]