Join CIRCE as a research assistant in 2008

- You want to understand how dolphins and whales live?
- You dream of participating in a scientific expedition?
- You want to become active in the protection of the marine environment?

We invite you to join CIRCE research team for 12 days,
to work with the scientific staff
studying cetaceans in the Strait of Gibraltar!

Our Objectives

CIRCE's objective is not only to conduct research on cetaceans, but also to actively participate in increasing awareness and education of the public on the marine environment. For this reason, we have chosen to welcome research assistants on our boat and in our research center to assist the scientific crew in their studies on the cetaceans of the Strait of Gibraltar.

When inviting you to discover our fieldwork at sea, we aim to provide each research assistant with a rich and unforgettable experience.

Let's be clear: we are offering you the opportunity to participate in a scientific survey by sharing life on board our research vessel and in our research center with scientists studying whales and dolphins. We are not offering you classical whale-watching or commercial holidays, but we wish to share with you the day to day life in the field of the research scientists working on specific projects.

General conditions of participation

For your comfort, a maximum of 3-4 research assistants per voyage will accompany two to four scientists. This number is to maintain a balance between scientists and assistants, to enable optimum communication.

The limited number of research assistants will enable each one to participate in the research projects, by being actively involved in specific tasks directly supervised by a scientist. Research assistants will then participate, if possible, in the different steps of a research programme, starting with data collection, their recording on computers, and sometimes their analysis. Weather conditions dictate times when we can go out at sea and those when we stay inside to work or rest.

Life on board

"Elsa", CIRCE's vessel, is a 10m motorboat with two 130 HP inboard engines, well equipped to navigate in good safety conditions. All the scientific equipment is housed in a small cabin (no toilets onboard!). The tiller is outside, but protected from the sun. Hat and sunglasses are vital for days at sea. Even on overcast days, light is harsh (see general information).

Driving turn on the boat after the other turns (take data and search for animals)

Research assistants actively participate in life on board. They assist the scientists in their research work, sailing the vessel if possible, and share day-to-day tasks (grocery shopping, meal preparation, cleaning etc).

Searching for animals from Elsa's tower

Don't worry: no specific knowledges or skills are required, just a willing hand and a keen interest so that everyone has an enjoyable and convivial experience.

Time of departure and time of return will be given daily each evening according to anticipated task and weather forecast. As soon as the boat leaves the harbour, observations will begin according to guidelines given by the mission leader. There are many cetaceans within the study area and your tasks will be to help identifying, following and counting the animals, record the time they spend diving, and possibly take biopsies or put diving devices on them.

Biopsy and photo identification of a killer whale on the left. The sample collected ready to be cut on the right. The black part is de skin and the white part the fat.

We have objectives to meet and must optimise good weather conditions: when the sea is calm and the animals numerous, the days can be very long! We can leave the harbour at 8 a.m. and not return until 10 p.m.!… However, our days at sea are generally based on the weather and we wait for the morning to see the seastate and the fog before leaving the house.

We won't let you starve during these long days: soft drinks, snacks and a lunch of "bocadillos" (sandwiches) and salads will be provided.

Languages spoken on board will be Spanish, French and English.

The weather conditions

The Strait of Gibraltar is the meeting point of Atlantic and Mediterranean waters where the wind can blow strongly for many days. For security reasons, we cannot go out at sea if the wind is coming from the East because it is very unstable and generally foggy. Therefore, if there is a forecast of east winds in the Strait for the day, no matter how calm the sea is, we will not go out. Indeed, the wind can go from a force 1-2 to force 8 Beaufort in a few minutes. Furthermore, if the sea state is above 3, we will not be able to go out either because the sea becomes unstable to work in good conditions. It is possible that over the trip we will only be able to go out at sea for 2 or 3 days. Generally, weather conditions allow us to go out at least 5 days. To decide on the day program, we follow weather forecasts of www.weatheronline.co.uk, www.windguru.cz and Tarifa Trafico that are the most reliable for the Strait

Life on land

CIRCE's research vessel cannot accommodate you whilst in port. You will be accommodated in our research center in Pelayo. The adress and how to arrive is explained in general information.

View on the rock of Gibraltar from CIRCE in Pelayo

"Elsa" returns to port every night in Tarifa or Algeciras. The research center of CIRCE is situated in Pelayo, a small town between Algeciras and Tarifa in the middle of the Natural Park. If the weather conditions do not enable navigation (wind and fog can sometimes prevent us from going at sea for many days), the crew of CIRCE can offer you a range of activities:

We made up a program of presentations and specific tasks that will be alocated to you. This program could of course be adaptated to suit your preferences. You will learn all about our research projects and the last results of our studies. All our methodologies will be explicated: photo-identification, biopsy, transects, genetical analysis, diet study, etc. More general presentations on cetaceans, their adaptations to the marine environment, whaling and threats they are facing today in the world and more specifically in the Strait of Gibraltar will also be available to you.

During your stay, you will be allocated with a specific task. you will help us with the identification of common dolphins, sperm whales, pilot whales, botllenose dolphins and killer whales from photo-identification. We are also collecting a large amount of data that you could help us enter in our database.

You could also take part to different activities such as:

- observation of cetaceans from the coast, on a hill overlooking the Strait,

- analysing pictures for the photo-identification catalogue and recording the sightings on our computers,

- a visit to the National Parks of Los Alcornocales and Strait of Gibraltar,

- a visit to the ruins of the whaling station at Getares, where thousand of cetaceans have been landed up to 1965,
- a visit to the sand dunes at Punta Palomas and Valdevaqueros,
- a visit to the roman ruins of Baelo Claudia, foundation of the current town of Bolonia

- a visit to the small town of Tarifa and its wind generator site

You may also visit (without the company of CIRCE staff):

- Ceuta Peninsula, Spanish city on the African continent, at 40 minutes of fast ferry from Algeciras (about 25€ for the fast ferry across the Strait),
- Gibraltar Rock, British colony at the Southern tip of Spain, on the other side of the Bay of Algeciras (20 to 30 minutes from Algeciras by car),
- Tangier, the main Moroccan city of the Strait of Gibraltar, at 40 minutes of fast ferry from Algeciras (about 25€ for the fast ferry across the Strait)
- or choose another activity proposed by the city of Tarifa : windsurfing, horse riding, cycling, …, or simply take advantage of the beautiful beaches. For more information please refer to: www.tarifa.net)

More detailed information is available for:

- research programmes on each species (pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales and fin whales) and our scientific presentations and publications.
- scientists and PhD students participating in projects
- research at sea (identification and counting of the cetaceans, photo-identification, taking biopsies, and attaching diving or satellite devices). See our Newsletters.
- visiting Andalusia,
- weather forecast in Tarifa (www.weatheronline.co.uk and www.windguru.cz)

Dates of voyages

You are welcome in our research center and our boat for 12 days trip from the 23rd of June to the 12th of September 2008. The dates of trips are detailed at the end of this page.

© photos Renaud de Stephanis
Photo-identification work on the dorsal fin for pilot whales and on the caudal fin for sperm whales

Registration fees

For 1 trip with CIRCE team, your contribution to the cost of the project and the accomodation in Pelayo is 950 € per research volunteer.

Reduced fees are available for groups and families (2 to 4 persons) or if you wish to book for more than one trip:

- 2 persons for 1 trip: 1 850 €
- 3 persons for a trip: 2 750 €
- 4 persons for a trip: 3 600 €
- 1 person for 2 trips: 1 850 €
- 1 person for 3 trips: 2 750 €
- 1 person for 4 trips: 3 600 €

These fees include:

- daily voyages onboard CIRCE research vessel in the Bay of Algeciras and the Strait of Gibraltar (according to the weather conditions), with the aim of studying the dolphins and whales of the area,
- The maintenance of the boat and harbour place costs,
- accommodation in Pelayo,
- running costs of CIRCE,
- certain research costs such as the reimbursement of material,
- soft drinks (water, sodas, fruit juice), snacks and a lunch of "bocadillos" and salads,
- time spent in CIRCE's house studying and talking with the scientists,
- other activities if the weather conditions do not allow sailing (except ferry to Ceuta Gibraltar or Tangier)

These fees do not include:

- the trip to Pelayo,
- breakfasts and dinners.

Accommodation in Pelayo

You will be accommodated in our house in Pelayo where we have a room (4 bedrooms), bathroom and living room/kitchen for all research assistants. Therefore, you will be in charge of preparing your own meals.

General information

To know everything about your welcome in Pelayo, to rent a car, how to get to Pelayo and your luggage, click here.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE

1 - Send us a booking email for the trip that best suits you at:

If there are still places left (see availability here under), we will reply to you with the bank account of CIRCE for the bank transfer of the deposit.
2 - Send us by mail your application form with the proof of the bank transfer.
3 - Once we have received your deposit and application form, we will send you an email of booking confirmation.
4 - The balance of payment for the trip has to be paid at the latest one week before your arriving in Pelayo.

Application form

You can download the application form in word (click here) or in pdf (click here).

For more information you can contact us at:

Dates and availability of trips for 2008

N.B.: The first and last day are dates of arrival and departure. We won't go out at sea on these days.

Trip number and number of places left in red

1. 23rd of June to 4th July: 3 places left

2. 7th to 18th of July: 2 places left

3. 21st of July to 1st of August: 4 places left

4. 4th to 15th of August: 4 places left

5. 18th to 29th of August: 4 places left

6. 1st to 12th of September: 2 places left

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