Forget the sharks, we’ve seen dolphins! And rainbows! Really! I know it’s so clichéd … but when we went out for more boat training we saw both. Lowering the inflatables into the water with the crane, a huge, full, arching rainbow framed a small volcanic island beyond. In the water, speeding along, we caught glimpses of dolphins swimming alongside us. They weren't actually jumping through the rainbow arch ... Maybe tomorrow …

Chris, our Radio Operator took a (deliberate) plunge off the side of the ship to practice an “at sea” pick up from a safety boat already on the water. The ship was going pretty fast. We've been assured that if we fall in, we will not hit the ship, as the water pushes you away. The best thing to do is relax, and go with it. From the moment Chris hit the water the little inflatable sparked into action. It reached him in ten seconds and he was on board it in thirty. So not much of swim ...

At the end of the training I got to drive again. I had another bash at the docking procedure and lined it up right at the pilot door. Woo-hoo! I definitely have a new-found passion for driving inflatables.

Faye, one of our deck-hands, got some rust in her eye while chipping away at the rust on the ship. It was pretty painful for a while, but thankfully is almost fixed now. She's still got her eye bandaged up, and has been going around with a black eye patch over it – and a parrot named 'Bird' stuck to her shoulder.

Last night we watched the first of some DVDs the PNG office gave us as a parting gift, documentaries about the peoples of the Highland regions of PNG. There is footage of when first contact was made with tribes in the highlands by gold miners. Amazing to see how recently these cultures were completely unaware of the rest of the world, they had never seen or heard of the sea and thought the white men exploring their area were spirits. It’s sad to see how quickly things change and how fast their culture is being eroded now.