The Beagle voyage reunion continues

Very good to be contacted by David Billett, head of the Deepseas Group at the National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton. Apart from his professional interest in our round the world voyaging and sampling, David is another relative of an original Beagle crewmember. Thomas Billet was one of the Ships Boys, later promoted to Able Seaman. If 'This Thing of Darkness' (a fictionalised account of the 1831-36 voyage) is to be believed, young Seaman Billett rather let the side down by singing an off-colour song in front of Queen Pomare of Tahiti when that lady was being entertained aboard the Beagle.

David pointed us to the Classsroom@sea website, which - well here it is on their own words:

"Classroom@Sea aims to bring real marine science into the classroom. To help us do this, we recruit teachers to work alongside a scientific team on a UK research ship and report back to the Classroom@Sea website. This means that you get to see exactly how we do our science, through the eyes of people who know exactly how to explain it to you...no mad professor science talk! And because the website is updated daily during the cruises, you get to see how the science unfolds as it happens. But there's more...to help you understand and find out more about the science on board the ship, there's a wealth of background information on the website, covering all sorts of marine science topics."

Exactly the kind of thing we hope to do, but with three masts, more rope-hauling and right the way round the world.

(Moderately) able seaman Darwin.

Despite spending five years aboard HMS Beagle and making the rare feat of circling the globe, Charles Darwin was no great sailor. After his return home in 1836 he went to sea only to cross the few miles to the Isle of Wight where he started writing The Origin of Species. Philip Gidley King recalls one occasion where Darwin did help with sail-handling:

`Though Mr. Darwin knew little or nothing of nautical matters he one day volunteered his services to the First Lieutenant. The occasion was when the ship first entered Rio de Janeiro. It was decided to make a display of smartness in shortening sail before the numerous Men-of-War at the anchorage under flags of all nations. The ship entered the harbour under every yard of canvas which could be spread upon her yards including studding sails, and afloat on both sides, the lively sea-breeze which brought her in being right aft. Mr. Darwin was told off to hold to a main-royal sheet in each hand and a top-mast studding-tack in his teeth. At the order “shorten sail” he was to let go and clap on to any rope he saw was short handed – this he did and enjoyed the fun of it often afterwards remarking “the feat could not have been performed without him”’.

The crew of the Beagle did occasionally make fun of their gentlemanly scientific guest: asking him to hold one of the ropes in his teeth may have been part of the crew 'working off their humours' on the man Captain FitzRoy called 'Philos'.

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hms beagle replica, hms beagle, voyage of the beagle

London:

Many thank to former Met Office boss Lord Julian Hunt for his time at the House of Lords last week. (Check out his CV here.) Some very valuable suggestions made and introductions done on our behalf. Then it was off to Big Wave TV to be filmed for a promotional film short to be sent to the BBC: a proposed six-part series about the rebuild and voyage is going through the BBC commissioning process. Being a wildlife film-maker must be one of the great dreams of many science graduates, and these people were good, they've produced films for BBC's Natural World strand. I saw their showreel: their film of leafcutter ants getting stuck in rain drops, held there by surface tension was atonishing. Having met them and seen their professionalism first hand (they're also really likeable) I'm confident that they'll make a great about the Beagle rebuild and voyage.

London...

to meet the former head of the UK Meteorological Office. Why? Because it wasn't just evolutionary theioiry that grew out of the Beagle voyages, its command Robert FitzRoy was a pioneer of long-range weather forecasting.

He was the first commander to sail using Admiral Beaufort's scale of wind strengths, and as a result of his own observations worked out that a rapid change in atmospheric pressure warned of impending stormy weather. With climate change becoming an ever more important area for international action we intend that the Beagle project can play its part both in practical research and in public education about the science and impact of climate change.

Thanks for the planks

Many thanks to our cousins in Devonport for their donation of £525 towards the replica Beagle. They had hoped to build a replica Beagle, but the local political and business opinioon were not in their favour, so they've decided celebrate Darwin and HMS Beagle in other ways. To them and to everyone who donated £35 towards a plank: many thanks. The funds will be used (as Devonport stipulated) for construction, not admin or any other use.

Devonport will see a replica Beagle for the Darwin 200 celebrations: we intend to make Devonport our first port of call after launch, and hope to see the Devonport people aboard. There is also talk of them bringing their 27 foot gig to Milford Haven for some rowing and racing. When the weather turns nice, it's a date. We have a gig of our own and rather fancy ourselves in the gig-racing stakes.

Tony Blair talks Turkey about science.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged young people to consider a career in science as part of 'Our Nation's Future', a 'series of lectures from the PM on vital issues'. Mr. Blair's also recently spent spent 20 minutes with New Scientist editor Jeremy Webb. Podcast here or read the transcript here.