Position: 55 45.8 N, 006 18.1 W
Weather: SUNNY!!!
Distance travelled: 62 nautical miles

Today is my 59th birthday and I have never spent one like this. The Silurian is motoring gently down the Sound of Jura and we can see the Paps of Jura and Islay on the starboard side and the island of Gigha to port. We anchored off Gigha last night, ate our fish pie to the sound of seabirds from the island and gentle waves and watched another glorious sunset. Idyllic? It certainly is. But hard and unfamiliar work as well, so that we sat in total silence after dinner, wondering whether 8.30 was really too early for bed.

The weather today is glorious, as it has been since we left Tobermory. Sea state 3, which is little wave caps, wind force 2. Which does nothing to describe the beauty of it all – the deep blue sea tossing and sparkling, gentle wind, warm sun and hazy islands in shades of blue, grey and sand.

There are 5 volunteers on board for Silurian’s first Earthwatch trip. Maya comes from Mexico City. It took her two days to get here. Michael is from Hong Kong. Esther lives in Oxford. We are from Cumbria. Graham, the skipper, sails the boat, tells us off for using Too Much Water and explains where we’ve been and where we are going. Marcus, the first mate, sails the boat and presides over half a ton of food, which he dishes out appropriate intervals. He makes a really mean soup, does Marcus. The food and the water has to last 10 days. And there was me imagining a gentle daily foray out to sea returning to civilisation and the pub in the evening.

We are “on effort” – actively watching for cetaceans. Maya and Esther are observing on deck. Esther has just seen a porpoise, our second sighting this morning, and Gordon is logging data. He has the slightly baffled look he gets on his face when he does battle with a computer, but he is hanging in there. (I can say that because he is my husband!). Michael is making bacon sandwiches for everybody and the patient and long-suffering crew is sailing the boat. The mainsail is up (set) but there is not really enough wind for sailing. Juliet, the Principal Investigator, is everywhere, encouraging the observers, supervising the data logging and gently, persistently keeping us all on task and smiling.

Most of us have not done much sailing before and the crew speaks a different language. But slowly some of the talk of sheets, cleats, port & starboard and the Yankee (sometimes called the Genoa or Jib) is beginning to penetrate. Lowering the mainsail means that it drops suddenly on your head and you fold it into layers. Graham is not joking when he tells you to crawl into a small cupboard and fold up the anchor chain as it drops in. And Juliet was definitely not joking when she formed us into an abject and shivering line at eight a.m., shinned up to the crow’s nest and told us to do it too. “You look a little apprehensive.” she said to me. She was wrong there. I was petrified. I still can’t believe I did it. I think Juliet hypnotised me.

It’s an early start here. Breakfast at 7.00 and away by eight. “On effort” by 8.30 today and lunch on the job. And now at 4.30 we’re approaching the other side of Islay and I’ve just finished my last hour of observation. An hour standing in front of the mast, gazing at the sea and hoping for a sighting. Apart from the two porpoises that Gordon and Esther saw this morning we haven’t seen many cetaceans, but the weather has been fantastic, the views glorious and we’ve laughed a lot. It’s amazing being on this beautiful ship. We’re all getting a bit faster at the data logging and a bit more clued up about the complex business of sailing. And we still have another week to go!

So here I am, officially a year older and doing things the like I never dreamed of. Happy Birthday? Definitely.

Log by: Jacqui Perry