Pangaea Exploration

Post Tagged with: "Atlantic Ocean"

eXXpedition: Exploring health and building community

by panexplore_u6q245 November 28, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

As the evening came along, we all jumped outside to get some fresh air of hope and listen to the story of the night. This time it was Sue’s turn. She spoke passionately and beautifully about community spirit, drawing on her experience at the all-women’s protest in Greenham Common in the 80s. Her presence here is like an embodiment of the endurance of female power, and she eloquently helps us all to feel the strength that can and needs to be drawn from our shared journey. She reads us Joanna Macy and Anita Barrow’s translation of Rilke by moonlight, and we all get goosebumps…

eXXpedition: Flying fish, manta trawls, and gender balance

by panexplore_u6q245 November 24, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

The sun was shining and Sea Dragon was sailing wing-on-wing. This diamond sail combination makes a beautiful sight against the cool blue sky. At 1pm sharp, it was time for our second manta trawl, which we accomplished smoothly in 1 hour 20 mins. Shanley assures us that this is a great time for our second attempt, and we are all pretty excited at the prospect of breaking some kind of record. We’re hoping to be down to 1 hour by the time we reach Martinique – let’s see if we’re up for the challenge!

eXXpedition: Our first trawl

by panexplore_u6q245 November 24, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

Finally after days of rain, storm and strong winds, we made our first trawl. The trawl was an ‘all hands on deck’ task. We put out the trawl in calm seas, travelling at 2 – 3 knots of boat speed. All the path was recorded in detail with Marine Debris Tracker, as were the conditions, like wind, speed, and direction. Everyone watched the trawl with curiosity as is it sliced through the water, resembling an animal gobbling plankton on the surface. The ocean looked pristine and deep blue, but the trawl told a different story.

eXXpedition: Finally the storms pass

by panexplore_u6q245 November 22, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

At around 3am, we spotted a cargo ship just after we emerged from yet another squall and realising that the vessel was less than 6 miles away and bearing straight down on us, our captain Emily picked up the radio and said: “San Fernando, San Fernando, we are the sailing vessels 6 miles in front of you on a collision course with limited manoeuvrability, as we have just one sail at the moment, are you able to avoid us?” Just another night on Sea Dragon crossing the Atlantic Ocean with her rookie crew.

eXXpedition: All hands on deck

by panexplore_u6q245 November 22, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

In the afternoon we were having a very merry time bouncing through the swirl occasionally getting face full of seawater as waves broke over the boat. We were pinching up wind with Shanley at the helm making 7-9 knots with 2 reefs in the main sail and both the Yankee jib and the staysail flying. Then all of the sudden the sheet of the Yankee jib severed in a gust of wind.

eXXpedition: Wide eyes and bright stars

by panexplore_u6q245 November 22, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

As we listen to the watch handover by the watch leader, we hand over some smiles to the tired crew about to crawl into their dry and cosy places below. And we get some back. The energy among us is one of companionship and care, as we move deeper into the moody Atlantic. One thing we are all learning or re-learning is that sailing is really about being present in the moment and dealing with change as it comes along.

eXXpedition: Setting sail from Lanzarote

by panexplore_u6q245 November 18, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

After five days in Marina Lanzarote, taking part and leading workshops/talks for the Atlantic Odyssey, Sea Dragon and her team of 14 changemakers has finally set sail! After crossing the line with 34 Atlantic Odyssey boats, we set a course between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura heading out into the BIG WIDE ATLANTIC OCEAN!

Brilliant

by panexplore_u6q245 September 19, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

Brilliant. That’s the word in mind today. The combination of people, skills, professions, interests and passions on board – marine scientists, photographers, film-makers, plastic pollution activists and campaigners, commercial project managers, conservationists, philosophers, generally interested folk and, of course, sailors. With luck and a fair wind, bringing these perspectives to bear on the horrible challenge that is ocean plastic pollution will throw up some genuinely constructive ideas and solutions.