Hannah Jones

Growing up on the coast of South Wales, I always had a strong awareness and respect for the sea and for the creatures that lived in it. As a child I was lucky in that my parents were often keen to go on holiday and visits to wild, lonely places miles from anywhere. While this meant I was a particular trial to take on holiday as a teenager, it also meant that I was able to see things that whetted my appetite for wildlife spotting: grey seals in a Scottish loch popping up for a stare at us as we puttered past in a boat; gannets diving as we headed out to Skomer and Grassholm in Pembrokeshire; common dolphins from a North Cornwall cliff. Like lots of little girls, dolphins and whales fascinated me, particularly after I saw the humpback whale which had stranded on the beach at Aberthaw. After school and University, I worked for three years at outdoor activity and education centres in the Brecon Beacons, Perthshire and North Devon, when I often worked with young people who were completely unused to the great outdoors. I enjoyed it so much that I often wondered how to make this sort of thing into a "proper" job. I then went travelling round the South Pacific and New Zealand, spending time working and volunteering in Kaikoura and the Banks Peninsular. Like everyone who has ever been there I was staggered by the beauty and wildlife of New Zealand. On return to the UK I spent a year teacher training in Swansea where I met Duncan who had come up from St Agnes, North Cornwall, and we returned to Cornwall a year later to start teaching. A few years into this, we returned to West Wales and had a fantastic trip round Ramsey Island on a RIB seeing porpoises, seals and loads of seabirds. "What if...?" and from that moment the idea of Marine Discovery Penzance was born. The company is now finishing its fifth season and we are delighted by how it is developing and growing. For me the best part is recognising people who are on their second, third or even fourth visit.

Kimara McCrindle

I grew up in the fishing village of Newlyn and lived in New Zealand for a shortwhile as a child before settling again in Penzance . My dad was a fisherman and so I grew up on tales of deep sea fishing and the incredible encounters which could be had in local waters and used to watch the boats coming back into the harbour from our garden. I was even named after a fishing boat. Having this affiliation to the sea from a young age, it then seemed natural to do a Marine Science foundation degree in Falmouth Marine School - Cornwall is the ideal place to study marine sciences. I also knew Marine Discovery operated locally and decided to approach them for some work experience and I'm still here three years later (though as a proper employee now!). The weather and sea conditions have been notoriously challenging over this time with lots of soggy trips, but the encounters I have had have more than made up for this. I never realised the extent of the wildlife that could be found so close to home.have also progressed to the University of Plymouth to complete my BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science specialising in marine conservation and eco-tourism. All the information I've been able to collect from trips has been invaluable also in writing my dissertation and I'm very excited about using my findings to help plan and guide trips.