Pangaea Exploration

Post Tagged with: "Expedition"

Whale Watching Outside the Faroe Islands

by panexplore_u6q245 July 13, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

Last night at about 7:30 pm, when we most needed a boost, the whales heard our plea and we were joined by a pod of over 25 pilot whales and a group of dolphins. For about an hour, they followed alongside the boat, coming right up next to us and swimming around the bow. When we finally sped up at the end, they steamed after us jumping through the waves trying to catch up. For me, and for many others on the crew, it was totally magical. I had expected it to be amazing, but not quite to the extent that it was.

Watching The Colors Change On The Waves

by panexplore_u6q245 July 13, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

It’s humbling when you have the opportunity, like we all do on this boat, to learn a little more about such highly intelligent creatures, occupying a space completely uninhabitable to us.

36 Hours at Sea

by panexplore_u6q245 July 9, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

The sea goes from deep blue, to silver to gold, depending on the sun. The sky has stayed clear. It feels altogether magical and, punctuated by volcanic islands and swooping seabirds, our watches are no hardship. Armed with sunglasses and cups of tea, it is possible to sit on deck for hours, basking in the sunlight. The only difficulty is forcing ourselves to sleep – none of us want to retreat back down to our bunks when the weather is so glorious.

Bright Icelandic Colours

by panexplore_u6q245 July 9, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

I am excited to envisage on paper the experience of being on the ocean, with no land in sight. It’s a new thing for me, to embark on this kind of expedition, and I want to try to get the feeling down in pencil and paint – the raw wilderness surrounding us on all sides.

The Wild Earth

by panexplore_u6q245 July 9, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

Here, where the wilderness shouts so very loudly, words seem quieter somehow. Less important. I can imagine my own melting away, driven by the sound of the wind and rock. In Helen’s maps though, her collections of words and drawings are the anchors that connect place to place, person to person, creature to creature. Sea shanties from an Icelandic village are tied, across an ocean, to perhaps a Faroese folk chant or a viking childrens’ tale.

Greetings from Iceland

by panexplore_u6q245 July 8, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

For us, and our small team of emerging artists, it won’t be plastic but rather whales and dolphins that will be our watchwords. But, one cannot help bleeding into the other. As more whales wash up on beaches with stomachs full of plastic, how not to feel the weight of Sea Dragon’s most recent research as we gaze across the bright blue sea?

Stars, Satellites, and Sea Lights

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

As our eyes began to adjust even more to the night sky, we were able to pick out more and more aspects that only being on the ocean in the dead of night would present. The waves crashed against the bow, and we created a wake as we travelled further south. It excited some of the smallest marine organisms called plankton, causing them to illuminate and dance in the sea beneath us.

Trawl Baby Trawl

by panexplore_u6q245 May 21, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

Being able to see the moon, the stars, and planets was breathtaking, and certainly not something we see everyday. There was also enough wind at the time to allow for straight sailing. As a result, we were able to turn off the boat engine and have the waves be the background soundtrack for our watch. We were also treated to a beautiful sunrise, painting the sky various hues of pink, orange, red and blue.

Smells like salty team spirit?

by panexplore_u6q245 May 20, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

Early observations of the samples show that most of the plastic and debris was being found in the top three nets, so approximately the first meter of the water column. Julia, the scientist spearheading this project, has her work cut out for her as she analyses the information collected. Once the two trawls were completed for the day, it was time for lunch – quesadillas or Casey-dillas, as they were renamed by Casey.

Casting Off!

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

Today we officially casted off for what will be the last time until we return to Bermuda. We were a little slow casting off due to the customs officers having difficulties with locks and keys. Once those issues were sorted, we were quickly on our way! Within the first 2 […]

From Scattered Bolts to A Cohesive Unit

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

We’ve got a mix of 13 crew members from all over, including the UK, Holland, United States, Brazil, Sweden, and one person all the way from Bermuda! We spent the larger part of the morning assembling our multi-level trawl, which is paramount in collecting any plastic debris. It collects debris at various levels to create a depth profile of plastics within the gyre.

Race to Bermuda

by panexplore_u6q245 May 8, 2014 in Uncategorized, Blog, Pangaea, legacy Comments are Disabled

We’ve finally got some breeze again after a few interminable days of motorboating towards Bermuda and have had a glorious day sailing upwind, doing 8, sometimes 9 or 10 knots through the waves.