We Sail for the Whale
UK IT Manager Lindsay Bruce has just come back from an extended visit to our US office where he set up a new Fieldwork database and Photo ID system. He regrets not having posted anything on the blog whilst there, but the hard-working team in the US had him working 24/7 on their amazing fieldwork program. Now he's back and got through the backlog of emails, another BIG project has just landed on his desk - the 2008-9 Volvo Ocean Race.
One of the privileges of working for WDCS is the broad array of projects that you get to work on. As well as the day to day business of maintaining our global communications network, there are many individual projects that need special attention from our IT team. The variety of projects is mind-boggling, and we get to work in areas that regular commercial IT staff only get to dream about - fieldwork, acoustic research, whale watching, media libraries, and - on occasion - something REALLY big.
The Volvo Ocean Race is a REALLY big idea. The 37,000 mile 8-month long race is the pinnacle event in the sailing calendar; a grueling marathon crossing some of the wildest, most inhospitable seas in the world. The competitors will pass through regions where whales and dolphins are living on the edge; driven back by increasing pollution, commercial shipping, fisheries bycatch, hunting, and climate change. WDCS is campaigning for a worldwide network of Marine Protected Areas, safe habitats for key populations of whales and dolphins at risk. We are immensely proud to be Team Russia's marine environment partner for the 2008-9 Volvo Ocean Race, helping to raise awareness of the plight that whales and dolphins face, and sailing under the banner of "We sail for the Whale".
For me personally, this is a fantastic project. I've always loved the sea, ever since I was a boy skipping stones across the waves on the beach by my grandparents house in Argyll, Scotland. The raw energy of the open sea, its mystery, dangers and the incredible abundance of varied life beneath and above the waves. But that life is now in great peril.
The race is on to save whales and dolphins. Will you help?
For more information and to find out how YOU can make a difference, visit www.whales.org
Game on.
WDCS on Twitter
WDCS on Facebook
WDCS on YouTube