eXXpedition – Making the Unseen Seen
Mae Dorricott
An ocean-lover working in the media, Beccy has always been happiest by the sea and has always had a desire to understand the natural world and the forces that shape it. Driven to tell stories about people and their relationship to their environment Beccy landed an amazing opportunity to join and document the eXXpedition team – an all-woman sailing crew investigating plastic pollution…
What came first, your love for nature or being behind the camera?
It is difficult to say which came first. I have always enjoyed telling stories. As a child, I would write and physically make little books, which evolved into writing scripts and directing my friends in short films. Similarly, I always enjoyed being outdoors and had an appreciation of nature.
Film-making felt like a hobby as a teenager, rather than a career goal. However, aged 22, I applied for work experience on BBC Countryfile, and a month later, found myself contributing to a hugely popular programme, setting up filming and finding stories. This was a turning point for me and I . realised that I wanted to pursue film-making and could tie this in with my love of the natural world.
Can you tell us what exactly eXXpedition is all about?
eXXpedition, co-founded by Emily Penn, is all about “making the unseen seen”. What this means is, taking people to see ocean plastic first hand, and by doing so, creating a community of ambassadors who share their experiences and knowledge back in their corner of the world and begin to make an impact.
The voyages are all female because it is important to champion women in STEM industries (science, technology, engineering and maths), but also in the sailing and filmmaking world. Additionally, ocean plastic pollution is a particularly poignant issue for women as some of the chemical compounds in plastic have been described as endocrine disruptors, which could impact on reproductive health or be passed through breast milk to our children.
The aim of eXXpedition is to bring together a group of multi-disciplinary women to see the issue, work out solutions and empower each other.
Photo: Beccy Finlayson.
You were part of the eXXpedition around Vancouver island, what inspired you to apply?
When I heard about eXXpedition I thought it sounded so incredible that surely I wouldn’t be in with a chance of sailing with them. Fast forward a few months and they were taking applications for a North Pacific adventure.
I didn’t hesitate to apply for three reasons; it was an opportunity to get some hands-on marine science experience; as a film-maker, it was a story I wanted to tell; and thirdly it was an ace all-female team. Luckily I was accepted and chose to take part in the coastal hopping voyage around Vancouver Island.
Tell us about your day-to-day life on board!
We were on-board our 72 foot ex-BT Challenge race boat, Sea Dragon, for one week. We sailed from Vancouver south west through the Gulf Islands up the west coast of Vancouver Island to the Broken Group Islands and then headed south to Seattle. Along the way we took numerous water and air samples, as well as logged floating marine debris and cetacean sightings.
Day to day life on-board was packed with activities and responsibilities that were shared amongst us. We were split into three watches that rotated every four hours throughout the day and night when the yacht was underway. For the nights we were sailing, we were partnered up for an hourly anchor watch. During our watches we were encouraged to helm, trim the sails, and assist in the experiments that were very much part of the routine.
The main, and most people dependent job, was deploying the manta trawl. This device is modelled on a manta ray, hence its name, and is a metre wide piece of metal that skims the surface of the water, with a foot-deep net trailing along, capturing anything in its path. It takes at least three people to haul it off the deck, over the guard rail and lower it safely into the water. One person would log the coordinates and exact time of each deployment and the helmswoman would keep a steady speed and course. Once retrieved, the contents of the net are filtered through three layers of a sieve and studied under the microscope to try to ascertain different types of plastic.
The science is ongoing, but it is hoped that it will help to better understand the sources of ocean plastic, to inform the design of waste management systems. In addition to being involved in the science, I was sweeping up as many shots of the action - inevitably salt water, limited power and light, and a less than stable footing threw up some challenges.
Photo: Beccy Finlayson.
Most people are aware that plastic has made its way everywhere around the world, but Vancouver Island doesn't necessarily connote high levels of plastic pollution... what did you see?
Sadly, Vancouver Island is far from immune from the purge of marine plastic pollution. As a west coast island it sits in the frontline of plastic sweeping across the North Pacific with the prevailing winds and ocean currents.
We sailed to the Broken Group Islands, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, located in the Pacific Rim National Park. The islands and islets are an ecological haven and the traditional territory of the Tseshaht Nation. Like many parts of the world, the impact of humans has been evident in the rock or the trees but today it is far from pristine with evidence of the world’s consumerist economy lapping at the shores. We anchored on the leeward side of the island and scrambled through thick vegetation to reach the windward beach which was being hammered by a large swell. Under the guidance of the beach keepers who look after the islands, we spread out and started collecting everything from the obvious plastic bottles to tiny pieces of unidentifiable plastic and large pieces of polystyrene. The more you looked, the more you found and within half an hour we’d filled up several large bin liners of plastic rubbish.
Photo: Beccy Finlayson.
What was your most memorable moment onboard the boat?
It’s hard to choose a memorable moment from such a varied trip, but two events stand out. The first being when we headed straight into the fog bank which, in summer, regularly hovers between Southern Vancouver Island and the US. It was daytime and the sun was trying to burn a hole in the mist but with limited success. We wore our sunglasses as the bright white light bounced off all the moisture in the air. We did not emerge from the fog until the following day when we anchored just off the Broken Islands.
The second memorable moment was near the end of the trip when we were sailing down to Seattle. We had been keeping our eyes peeled along the way for cetacean sightings as we were logging them for research. We’d had a few false alarms when orca spotting throughout the week but on the penultimate day we were truly awed as a pod of killer whales surfaced a mere few metres from Sea Dragon. It was pure magic as the whole family came up time and time again for what seemed like hours. Truly unforgettable.
What have you been up to since your time on eXXpedition?
Since taking part in last year’s eXXpedition I have made a short film about the trip, on top of continuing my day job. I spent the next few months on Countryfile, where I directed my first couple of films, and then moved onto Springwatch where I had the chance to really delve into natural history stories. Most recently I have spent some time travelling and was lucky enough to help the very final stages of preparation for eXXpedition’s Round the World voyage.
Can you tell us more about the Round the World voyage? Why this is different from what they have done before?
The eXXpedition Round the World voyage is the most ambitious programme yet, as it will see 300 women take part in various legs, as they circumnavigate the world. For the first time, the same scientific methods will be used across the worlds oceans to measure ocean plastic and therefore provide a more reliable comparison. It is being supported full time by marine biologist, Dr Winnie Courtene-Jones at the University of Plymouth, who is collaborating with many other scientific and industry partners. They set sail from Plymouth in October of 2019 and made their way in stages across the Atlantic before venturing into the Pacific early this year. They plan to visit all the major gyres and head into the Arctic before returning to the UK in 2021.
Photo: Beccy Finlayson.
In your opinion, what was the biggest lesson you’ve learnt as part of the eXXpedition that you want to share with the rest of the world?
The biggest lesson I’ve learnt since taking part in a voyage with eXXpedition is that everyone has a role to play, no matter how big or small, in cleaning up ocean plastic or any conservation movement. As the saying goes, it takes lots of people making small changes rather than a few doing it perfectly.
Emily Penn and the whole eXXpedition team, truly empowered everyone by sharing the scientific knowledge with us volunteer crew members, and by encouraging solutions-based discussions and workshops on board. eXXpedition alumni are a growing community that keep in touch and work together to create tangible solutions and spread the message further. The voyage really was just the beginning…
If you’ve enjoyed this interview with Beccy, you can follow her here @beccy.fin and see more of her work here. Keep up-to-date on the whereabouts of the eXXpedition team here, follow them on Instagram @exxpedition_ and Twitter @exxpedition, and hear more about daily life from the girls on board here.