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 hours of our journey, we were bombarded by wildlife, including Bermuda Longtails, Cahows, dolphins, flying fish, and a pair of what we believed to be Northern Bottlenose Whales!
The weather has been great thus far but with very little wind, so we’ve been mostly motoring along. The crew is doing well. We are all developing our sea legs, some a little quicker than others. We’ve been experiencing some swells, which are proving to be quite problematic with a few crew members on board. However, I can assure you that the fish are being well fed and the deck super clean, resulting from the aforementioned problem. We are optimistic that by tomorrow morning everyone will be well adjusted to life on the boat.
Currently, we are approximately 90 nautical miles southeast of the island. I’m still working on the conversions, but I’m told adding 20% of that would give us the statute mileage. Slowly and surely, we are making our way toward the gyre.
We’ve conducted some visual transects and are beginning to see large debris, including some fenders, reusable bottles, and some miscellaneous plastic. While that provides some idea of plastics, the larger issue at hand is the microplastics scattered throughout the water column. It won’t be until tomorrow (Monday morning), when we do the first trawl, that we’ll have a better idea of what is going on with respect to plastics and the garbage patch. I’ll be sure to continue keeping you posted on life aboard the Sea Dragon. For now, good night!
– Winston Godwin, May 18, 2014