Blogger of the Day-Jimmy Truong, MSc Candidate/ Tough Tree Planter!
Montreal-Toronto Expedition
Freshwater Research and Scientific Communications Course
Crew size: 14
Jimmy Truong, MSc Candidate, collecting a water sample using a van Doorn water sampling device.Blogger of the Day:Jimmy Truong- MSc Candidate
Blogger of the Day: Jimmy Truong
MSc candidate and intrepid Tree Planter Extroardinaire
Jimmy Truong joined us on board last Saturday, only 4 days after he returned from 2 months tree planting in Northeastern Ontario.
This fall, Jimmy will be returning to the University of Toronto to begin his Masters of Science program, under the advisement of fellow Sea Dragon crew member, Paul Helm.
Read today’s blog to find out how Jimmy will use his experience aboard Sea Dragon to supplement his future research on Great Lakes contaminants.
The Montreal – Toronto expedition is unique in that it has 3 renowned fresh water scientists onboard who have enriched the experience for us.
Professors Sam Mason and Bill Edwards lead a class on the history of the Great Lakes Ecosystem
Today we learned about the “industrial heritage” of the Great Lakes – Saint Lawrence Waterway, which is a PC way of saying that these waters were once, and still are the waste yard for human progress and excess. Dr. Bill Edwards gave us a brief history today about the formation of the Great Lakes, touching on their misuse and maltreatment after the creation of the canals and locks and the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
These waterways were crucial in the division of British and American territories during the war of 1812, and important for the economic development of this region. The region was once full of shipbuilding, fishing and manufacturing industries that left their traces in the contaminant profiles of the lakes.
What stuck with me from this talk was what we learned about the topography of the lakes. All the water from the higher Great Lakes drain in to the St. Lawrence and into the Atlantic Ocean. This was impressionable because Lake Ontario, having the lowest elevation, receives drainage from all the other lakes through Niagara Falls. This means that in addition to all the runoff that goes into Lake Ontario, there are additional contaminants from the drainage of the other lakes, which makes Lake Ontario one the dirtiest of the Great Lakes. This was troubling to learn for me because I’ve lived along the shore of Lake Ontario my whole life and have swam in its waters since I was a child.
Depth Profile of the Great Lakes Ecosystem, showing the drainage towards Lake Ontario. Image courtesy of Ohio's Department of Natural Resources Website.
This brief lecture brought me back to why I hopped on board the Sea Dragon. I came here to learn more about Dr. Mason’s sampling techniques for micro plastics, but also to collect my own samples to do preliminary tests on Organophosphate Flame Retardants (OPFRs) in the Great Lakes.
Organophosphates have been a major concern in the past when they were used as pesticides and leeched into our waterways. They are currently being used as a replacement for recently banned and controlled Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) flame retardants.
Flame retardant sources inside the home. Image taken from sourcewatch.org.
Sea Dragon begins to transit the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The history of the Great Lakes shows the incredible ingenuity of man with the construction of dams and locks. It also demonstrates the lack for foresight of the unforeseen consequences to progress. Opening up the Great Lakes to the ocean allowed in invasive species such as the zebra mussel that have caused irreversible damage to the Great Lake ecosystem.
We see this lack of foresight into the future today in the microplastics that Dr. Mason has found as well as with the unraveling story of the OPFRs making their way into our water.
This journey is about discovery but also one of hope. In order to fix our mistakes we must discover them and find ways to mitigate them. I hope that the work we are doing here on the Sea Dragon will serve as an example that more studies need to be done on chemical products and their replacements, before they are deployed.
As the mounting evidence that microplastics from face exfoliants and replacement flame retardants are being washed into our waters, we need to realize that industry and government need to follow the precautionary principle to make sure that we keep our waters clean. I hope that our scientific work and the advocacy and educational programs that Pangaea Explorations does can educate the public about the consequences of our petrochemical dependent lifestyles and that we should demand more from chemical industries and more government regulation.
📸 Meet your expedition photographer for The Viking Route! Brian Doyle @briandoylephoto has worked with National Geographic, Red Bull, and Canon — and he’s spending 18 days with us crossing the Denmark Strait, Greenland to Iceland, the old Viking way.
⛵️ You’ll stand watch, learn the ropes, and pick up a thing or two about shooting in extraordinary Arctic light along the way.
23 Jul – 9 Aug 2026. Spots are limited.
🔗Link in bio
#photographer #natgeo #expedition #sailing
We’re official 🏁⛵️
Panexplore is proud to be an Official Race Supporter of the 2026 Newport Bermuda Race @bermudarace — 100 years of one of ocean sailing’s greatest blue-water classics 🌊
Next Friday, June 19th — come watch 155 boats launch on a 636-mile Atlantic passage at the Starting Line Festival, Fort Adams, Newport 🧭
🎵 Live music
🍔 Food trucks & bars
📺 Live race commentary
👨👩👧 Kids’ zone & family activities
💥 Cannon signal countdown to the start
Free entry. Free parking. 11am–4pm. 👋
🔗 bermudarace.com @cruisingclubofamerica @royalbermudayc
#NewportBermudaRace #OffshoreRacing #OceanRacing #SailingLife
It’s easy to assume something like this is out of reach.
Too technical, too unfamiliar… maybe even a little intimidating at first.
But that’s usually before you’ve actually tried it.
Because once you’re there, learning step by step and getting more comfortable each day, it starts to feel a lot more possible than you expected.
You stop overthinking it. You trust yourself more.
And by the end of it, you’re not the same person who hesitated at the beginning.
#Panexplore #WomenWhoExplore #SailingAdventure #AdventureTravel #LifeAtSea #TrySomethingNew #ConfidenceJourney #ExploreMore
Welcome to the Crew joining for our next sailing expedition up Newfoundland and across the Labrador Sea to the very icy Nuuk, Greenland 🇬🇱
Skipper Ineke has briefed on passage planning, weather forecast and ice coverage. It’ll be windy, cold and icey! 🥶 proper adventure!
They’ll have to be on a strict iceberg watch 🧊
But next stop: St John’s, Newfoundland!
#panexplore #adventure #highlatitude #icebergs #sailing
📸 @christoffer_moshiri
“Sail through the good days, and on bad days pick a spot of blue sky to steer toward.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes ⛵
Life offshore has a way of putting things into perspective. Some days bring smooth seas, golden sunsets, and easy miles. Others test your patience, your resilience, and your ability to keep moving forward.
But somewhere between the watches, conversations on deck, and shared moments at sea, you’re reminded that even difficult days pass. Sometimes all you need is a direction to keep steering toward.
Sea Dragon has become that place for many people, a space to disconnect from the noise, reconnect with nature, and return to something simpler for a while.
#Panexplore #SailTheWorld #OceanJourney #OceanAdventures #SailingInstagram #TrySomethingNew
🌊 World Oceans Week with The Explorers Club 🌊
One of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
A 72ft expedition vessel. And a cause worth bidding for.
We’re donating a Galápagos sailing expedition to the @the_explorers_club #WOW2026 auction — because exploration and conservation belong together.
Link in bio to bid.
#WorldOceanWeek #Galapagos #OceanExploration #SailTheWorld ConservationMatters Panexplore
Join NatGeo photographer Brian Doyle aboard SV Sea Dragon for an 18-day Arctic passage from Nuuk, Greenland to Reykjavík, Iceland. Learn to shoot pictures like a professional in extraordinary light, in extraordinary places — while actually crossing an ocean.
July 23 – August 9 · $6,990 · limited avail, HURRY UP!!!
🔗 Link in bio.
@briandoylephoto
#TheVikingRoute #PhotoExpedition #ArcticAdventure #ExpeditionSailing #Panexplore NatGeoPhotographer Greenland Iceland
There’s something powerful about stepping into the unknown, especially when you’re not doing it alone.
In August 2026, an all-female crew will set sail across the North Atlantic, navigating more than 550 nautical miles from Iceland to the Faroe Islands. Delivered in collaboration with Her Planet Earth, this is a demanding, fully immersive offshore passage where participants won’t just be along for the journey, they’ll be actively sailing, standing watch, and adapting to constantly changing conditions.
Participants won’t just cross the ocean. They’ll learn how to navigate it. Step into leadership. Make decisions that matter in real time. And beyond the experience itself, the expedition contributes to a wider mission, supporting women-led environmental initiatives and expanding representation in offshore sailing.
#Panexplore #SailTheWorld #OffShoreLife #SailingInstagram #WomenWhoExplore #TrySomethingNew
Saying yes to something like this doesn’t always feel easy.
It’s a bit unknown, a bit outside your usual routine, and definitely not your typical kind of trip.
But once you’re out there, you settle into it. You learn, you adapt, and you become part of something that feels both challenging and incredibly rewarding at the same time.
Crossing an ocean isn’t just about getting from one place to another; it’s everything that happens along the way.
#Panexplore #SailingAdventure #CrossTheOcean #AdventureTravel #LifeAtSea #ExploreMore #BucketListTravel #RealAdventure
Legend says this is the original spinnaker of Global Challenge @barclaysuk CB37…so when it got torn across the Atlantic last year, we sent it to @northsails to repair it. Why get a new one when we get to use this incredible piece of history?
Come and join us onboard Challenge 72 Legend SV Sea Dragon along the coasts of Nova Scotia & Newfoundland - see our itinerary and book your berth before it’s too late!
🔗 Link in Bio
From New York to the wild coastlines of Atlantic Canada, this is the kind of journey that completely changes your sense of distance.
The further north you sail, the quieter everything gets. Cold air, open water, dramatic cliffs, whales surfacing beside the boat, puffins along the shoreline, every part of the journey feels a little more remote than the last.
And somewhere between offshore watches, changing weather, and long days at sea, you stop feeling like a passenger and start feeling genuinely connected to the experience around you.
This isn’t just about reaching Newfoundland or Nova Scotia. It’s about everything that happens on the way there.
Join us.
#Panexplore #NovaScotia #Newfoundland #SailingAdventure #OceanExpedition #AdventureTravel #LifeAtSea #ExploreMore
Greenland has a way of making everything else feel very far away.
The scale of it is difficult to explain until you’re actually there, towering icebergs, silent fjords, shifting light, and stretches of coastline with almost no sign of human presence at all.
It’s not the kind of place you rush through. You move with the weather, the ice, and the rhythm of life on board.
And somewhere along the way, the Arctic stops feeling like a destination and starts feeling like a completely different world.
#Panexplore #Greenland #ArcticSailing #SailingAdventure #IcebergExpedition #AdventureTravel #LifeAtSea #WildPlaces
Flame retardant sources inside the home. Image taken from sourcewatch.org.
