Simon Burgan
Second Mate - Mauritius
Home: Bognor Regis, England

Simon has a love of sailing and a love of whales. He joined Ocean Alliance in September 2003 to fulfill an ambition to get close to whales, especially Humpbacks; he would love to see a Humpback breach and hear at close quarters their hauntingly beautiful whale song. His other ambitions are to run a marathon, to circumnavigate the globe in a sailing vessel and to continue to pursue a spiritual path in life.

Simon graduated with a science degree from the University of Bristol in 1988 having completed a final year thesis on 'The digital analysis of sound'. He left the world of Physics to go backpacking in India, Thailand and Australia before pursuing a career in accountancy. He qualified as an accountant and worked within this field, mainly as a financial analyst, for a total of 13 years.

In 2002, he decided it was time for a change and trained as a professional yachtsman obtaining his Yachtmaster Ocean qualification in early 2003. During an Atlantic crossing in March 2003, Simon spotted a Minke whale and was delighted when it stayed with the boat for about 40 minutes sparking in him a new interest in whales.

Along with closeness to the sea, to nature and to wildlife, Simon finds music and yoga very spiritual experiences. He is fascinated by the 'whale song' recordings and sound sampling the Ocean Alliance is conducting and feels it connects him back, full circle, to the physics of sound of his student days.

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