The vessel had the use of a hydrophone and to hear the cacophony of clicks and whistles as dolphins approached was something else.

I'm so grateful I could take part in this unforgettable trip and it's unlocked so much drive in me. I can't wait to get back out to sea again.

We also saw a number of different sea birds, some in vast numbers, including fulmar, manx shearwater, tern, gannet, kittiwakes, gullimots and razorbills.

On a marina day, we had the opportunity to visit the neighbouring wetland. It was amazing to see so many avocet, curlew, redshank and lapwing.

On the first day we were almost boarded by a leaping thresher shark, then when we moored at Portland the resident bottlenose visited us for three hours, and at sea, a pod of about 100 common dolphins raced with us across the waves. On the last day, a duo of rissos made a brief appearance.