Lunchtime finds us back in the shelter of Bigbury Bay, Devon. The sun is shining but it's still very cold outside - which hasn't been making it much fun for our dolphin watchers this morning. The glare of the sun on the sea is also a hindrance to them. We're sheltering to move some of our Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) about on deck - not an operation you want to be doing when the ship is pitching and rolling at sea.

On board we have four small RIBs and one jet boat. These small manoeuverable boats are the ones many people associate with Greenpeace - whether it's from an encounter with a whaling ship, a shipment of illegal timber, or a vessel carrying nuclear waste.

Each of our ships carries some of these boats, and some of our bigger offices have some on land too, for land-launched campaigning on water. They vary in size and power - so sometimes they get changed around between offices and/or ships so that we have the right ones in the right place for a specific campaign.

They have their own unique names too... which just makes them easier to refer to! The two biggest RIBs onboard the Esperanza just now are the African Queen ('Queenie' to her friends) and the Gray Whale. RIBs are often named on their first campaign trip, and we usually try to find a name that suits the 'personality' of the boat. That sounds quite strange when you write it down - but it does make sense, honest.

RIBs can be launched from the ship in a few minutes. The boat is craned in and out of the water with a driver and a crew member - but any other crew must get on and off the RIB via the pilot ladder from the ship itself. As I'm sure you can imagine, when the ship, RIB and sea are all moving around a lot, that can be a precarious business!

Of course when the sea is too rough, we can't launch the RIBs as it's simply too dangerous. Just like the situation we were in on Tuesday when we encountered the dead dolphin.

We've put together a slideshow of photos from when we found the dead dolphin. Apologies if you find any of the images distressing - but this is the sad reality of the tragic cost to our marine environment from destructive fisheries.

Willie, Campaigner