‘Tuesday 30th April – Today was hard; from the outset, I made silly technical mistakes. I hadn’t done my usual basic camera checks, so I was bumbling around for the first half hour, missing focus and exposure. I’d chucked a handful of spare batteries into my bag before leaving home, but had I even charged them? On deck, I felt clumsy and sluggish. So then, the inevitable self-doubt started creeping in. ‘What am I doing here? I’m just in the way. I should have checked my gear. The light’s shit.’ – self-doubt and excuses. 

Around midday, we moved from the relatively calm waters just west of Largs into the faster, more turbulent swell around the mouth of the Firth of Clyde. I tried to ignore the watery mouth, the cold sweat, that vague headache, and the urge to be somewhere cool. Oh, hello, seasickness. I’ve been expecting you. Come in. Something else I’d forgotten was to take anti-nausea meds. For the next two hours, it was Game Over.’