A journey into Italy is to be embraced by the ambience of well over 2000 years of history. It is a country of great variety, whether you visit the rolling hills of Tuscany, the picturesque mountainous lakes around Como, the scintillating cities of the South or the powerhouses of the North, all characterised by the quintessential Italian dolce vita. Italy is the ever stylish, ever romantic, classical hub of the Western Mediterranean and few nations know better how to enjoy the good life. Therefore to sail the wine dark seas of Italy is to enjoy not only the landscape but the lifestyle.
Weather permitting you will sail out every weekday and help researchers in studying dolphin behaviour. This includes recording geographic position, assessing group size, composition and formation, observing the surface activity patterns and surfacing intervals. This sampling is complimented with acoustic recording of dolphin vocalisations to relate sounds produced to dolphin behaviour. All participants are given an important role and are required to help in data collection. No previous experience is required. At the beginning of the week volunteers will be trained to undertake specific tasks including dolphin watching, underwater camera monitoring, behavioural data collection and photographic identification.
You will be staying on board an historical boat, built in 1930 in Marseilles and designed by Andrè Mauric. The entire boat is made from wood: the hull is built from oak, the deck is in teak and below deck is made from both mahogany and oak. The boat has room for five people (mixed sex accommodation in berth) and on the bow the 'sailor's cabin' has a further two places. There is an outside shower onboard, powered by sun, although you will also be able to go ashore to shower at the local port.
