© Greenpeace/Jiri Rezac
Penny - ex-Bosun
From: United Kingdom
Hi, I´m Penny from the UK, (Position onboard: The soon-to-be-departing, ex-Bosun/Lady of leisure!)
Maybe some of you know me a little. Maybe some of you have read parts of my story before; some of you not. Well, for those who wish to know, here is another small part of me.
How did you get involved with Greenpeace & why is this expedition important to you?
I came to Greenpeace by happy accident, though some people I know would call it ¨Fate¨ (perhaps a story for another time!) I have been privileged to sail regularly for many years now and have been a part of numerous campaigns, some won, some lost and some, like this one, continue on; every one of them, without exception, worth fighting.
This campaign is, of course, special. But then to me, they all must be. Moving from one campaign to the next, as we do sometimes when crewing on the ships, from one fragile habitat or threatened species to another, it is important to remember that it is not only the individual parts but the entirety of nature that sustains us all, physically and spiritually. Every part has value; a right to be here but all parts are linked to others. It must have taken Mother Nature millennia to evolve to this point of balance & interconnectedness and whether or not it is always clear to you or to me, every organism, from the smallest of plankton to those most magnificent leviathans, the great whales, whose torch we carry on this particular campaign, has its perfect place in that whole.
I am here, as always, because I cannot bear to see us lose another perfect piece.
When at sea, what do you miss most from home?
I am not aware of missing much when I am at sea, however, when I return to England, many things are once again a new joy. Perhaps that doesn´t make sense, it is hard to explain. I truly have the best of both worlds. Here, I am at home, on the wild oceans, amongst the waves and magnificent skies. Here, there is wonder, there is shared passion, challenges, friends, love, respect. And, on land I am also at home, wrapped in the arms of unconditional love from my family and friends and surrounded by natural beauty of a different kind. When it has been months since you last walked with a friend amongst the trees or along the willowed banks of a gently winding river, or tasted Dad´s home-made dandelion wine, smelled cut grass or thrown a ball for the dog to chase along a blustery sandy beach, these simple things become heaven.
[PS: I also love to laugh, I love to sing & to walk with bare feet to keep me grounded]
