By Cath Hough eXXpedition – Barbados to St Lucia The first watch team arose before sunrise to lift the anchor and set sail to St Lucia. After an adventurous first sail, a few days before the ladies were hoping for a smoother downwind passage! We were greeted with a pleasant […]
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Mermaids unite for Caribbean 2017 on Sea Dragon
The arrival of the new crew on board Sea Dragon, sees eXXpedition Caribbean get underway, for their 8-day island hop through the Caribbean. 8 glorious days of science, sea, stories and sunshine. Excited conversations, inspiring stories, laughter, happiness, and anticipation filled the air as eleven strong, powerful and inspiring women came together […]
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Gyre to Gaia II: Settling into the rhythm of life on board
The crew have settled well into the rhythm of life on board, with watchkeeping, rest, trawling, cooking, cleaning, and keeping Sea Dragon running smoothly. We have continued our twice daily trawls off the stern, and our scientist Adam is pleased with the results. He’s collecting enough data to keep him busy in the laboratory at Exeter University over the long winter months.
Read MoreGyre to Gaia II: Of plastic and plankton
The latest estimate of plastics afloat in our seas and oceans is put at 5.25 trillion pieces, weighing in at 250,000 tonnes. That, coupled with the fact that over 260 marine related species are known to be ingesting plastics from our oceans, and well documented evidence on the impacts of this ingestion on a wide variety of marine animals including zooplankton, makes man’s legacy a dirty one. However, it is not too late! We can change things.
Read MoreGyre to Gaia II: Setting Sail
Sea Dragon slipped her mooring lines at 1230 this afternoon to start the latest Pangaea expedition, the Gyre to Gaia II, from Horta to Lanzarote in the Canaries. The distance is about 980 miles and should take us about 7 days.
Read MoreThe Ocean Cleanup: Final day of trawling
Last day of trawling today, and now we point straight for the Azores! 33 successful trawls under our belt.
Read MoreThe Ocean Cleanup: The ocean during night watch
Plastic pollution is more much important that I could ever imagine in deep waters. The trawlings today happened without any problem. Everybody seems confident for the utility of the research, so am I. We already have 297 samples for TOC to study. We are at the beginning of something big!
Read MoreThe Ocean Cleanup: Halfway between Bermuda and the Azores
During the past 6 days, we have successfully deployed our Multi-level Trawl 18 times and are doing test-runs of our new Sighting Survey app, which will be officially launched during the upcoming Mega Expedition. We plan to arrive at the Azores on the 13th of July with 363 ocean plastic samples, 13 happy people, and a finalized version of The Ocean Cleanup Survey App for both Apple and Android smartphones.
Read MoreThe Ocean Cleanup: Plastic in the North Atlantic Gyre
On first impression, it seems possible to confirm the theory of a higher accumulation of plastic in the area called the center of the gyre. But only when all the samples have been processed in the Ocean Lab, and the results analyzed and discussed, will we be able to definitely confirm this theory. By the time this blog is posted, our team on the Sea Dragon will have already set sail in the direction of the Azores, where the boat and all the team will again reach safe land after having crossed the Atlantic Ocean collecting samples.
Read MoreThe Ocean Cleanup: Reaching the center of the North Atlantic Gyre
Lead Oceanographer for The Ocean Cleanup Foundation Julia Reisser wears a hat resembling the foil bags that trawl samples are stowed in for safe keeping. Written on her hat? Trawl 33, Net 11!
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The Ocean Cleanup: The illusion of emptiness in the ocean
Flying fish rush over the waves. First mate Shanley has spotted bioluminescence. We felt like we could almost touch the dolphins that briefly played around the boat. The emptiness is an illusion, that much is clear. There’s not just plastic in there, there’s life, there’s beauty. And this is what I think we came here for – life and beauty, to experience, and preserve.
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Boyan Slat & The Ocean Cleanup: Second day at sea
It’s our third day on board the Sea Dragon, our second day at sea. Most of us have never been on any type of sailboat, so the first and second day consisted of a lot of very basic training: how to pump the head, coil a rope, where all the supplies are kept. While still in the quiet harbor in Bermuda, we practiced putting the multi-level trawl in the water, each of us assigned a specific task, working as a team to ensure it was deployed safely.
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