When we did see the dolphins and whales it was exciting and definitely something I will take away with me. Now that I am back home I really miss the people, gelato, homemade Italian food, and boat living. I would recommend this project to anyone looking to get involved in something unique and fun!

All volunteers took turns on one-hour watch shifts carefully scanning the horizon for sights of wildlife. When we were not on lookout duty we monitored the hydrophone and GPS scans of the area. Once we sighted a dolphin or whale we videotaped and photographed the animals for photo-identification purposes.

Nothing compares to sighting over eighty dolphins and spending two to three hours photographing their beauty, observing their habits, recording their acoustical data and filming them underwater. Whenever there was a sighting, everyone on board had a special task to do, whether it was sailing the boat, filming, photographing, recording sounds or just simply observing.

Some nights we would go to restaurants and pizzerias in Casamicciola, Ischia Porto and on Mt. Epomeo. It was a great way to see the island. There was always such an energetic and happy atmosphere on board and everyone was just so fascinating and lovely to talk to; you really make amazing connections. Don’t even worry about learning Italian, ba bene (a phrase you’ll most definitely learn that means “it’s alright”), you can easily learn a bit on board!

When I arrived on the Casamiccciola’s harbor I was anxious. I had many questions on my mind: am I ready to leave my comfort zone and to adapt myself to a life on a boat? Will I be useful on the searches and in the sailing? Will the other crew members be welcoming and sympathetic? I was optimistic on this point and I was entirely right.

I plan to go back annually if possible. And I will definitely use Gnarly Troop to help me find opportunities on future travels wherever I go.

We were lucky and had a multitude of striped dolphin pod sightings, bottlenose sightings, and we had four sperm whale sightings. We even documented a new sperm whale, who swam very close to the boat and we were able to get amazing footage of him! When there are sightings you videotape on the stern with the gopro camera, take pictures using high resolution cameras, and would have the acoustic equipment on to record/locate the communication of the dolphins or whales.