It was a long 5 days transit to St Helena, dealing with sea sickness and adjusting back to day time hours for a short period. But there is nothing like a sunny day at sea and we were very lucky to have quite a few of those during our travels. Whist in transit one of the things that struck me most was how the birds seemed to disappear as we transitioned to the warmer, more tropical climate.

In the vast South Atlantic Ocean, the most remote inhabited island on the planet suddenly rises up out of the sea. Not having seen land since I boarded the RRS Discovery and she departed Stanley in the Falklands 8 days before, it was an exciting sight. The island’s volcanic nature is evident not only by its sharp peak but also by the black rock flow visible near the settlement, a reminder of a previous eruption.

Kirsty Lloyd, our BBSRC funded technician based at the Natural History Museum, will embark on a research cruise to collect samples from marine organisms for the CryoArks Biobank. She will be on the RRS Discovery when it leaves from Stanley in the Falkland Islands and travels to two UK Overseas Territories, Tristan da Cunha and St Helena.