Another glassy morning, water slick and still, with an almost oily sheen indicative of these ocean dynamics. We’re in a high pressure system, about 600 miles from the center of the accumulation zone. Light, variable winds force us to motor along, occasionally grabbing ahold of opportune gusts to shut off […]
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Podesta Island
Nearly a thousand miles offshore in this south-east corner of the Pacific lies Podesta island. Uniquely from other Chilean islands in this area it does not have a corresponding detailed chart, nor does the cruising or anchorage guide reference it. However, it lies on our path towards Easter Island and […]
Read More(Drifters) Trapped in the South Pacific Gyre
Day 5, and we’ve all settled into the rhythm of a life at sea – cooking, cleaning, sharing meals, waking up at all hours, sleeping, trawling, and starting all over again. The worst of seasickness has passed, as formerly ashen-faced crewmembers are now able to laugh, read, and cook – […]
Read MoreFirst Trawl
The Hi-Speed Trawl, our original design for optimizing time at sea by collecting surface samples at 8 knots, has just come out of the water. We towed it for 55 nautical miles outside the accumulation zone of the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The result, two large visable fragments among a […]
Read MoreRobinson Crusoe Island – and the Scottish lure of the Bag Monster
502 miles and 4 days from Valdivia, Chile, we arrive on Robinson Crusoe Island, a volcanic pinnacle rising over 500 meters above the sea, and only 7 miles long from its furthest points. 6:00am the Sea Dragon idles into the protected harbor, “It’s looks larger than I imagined,” Clive […]
Read MoreSaved by our handymen
Noontime position: 37 54.7 South, 74 04.3 West We’re underway! 11 of us stand on deck, soaking in the stunning view as we navigate our way through the gorgeous channels that wend lazily from Valdivia to the sea. Picturesque little villages break up the thick, green forests bordering us on […]
Read MoreA Beach Without Plastic Pollution is Hard to Find
Half of the South Pacific Gyre Expedition Team took a trip to Neibla, Chile to see the sea. We are two days away from venturing into the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre, the last of the unexplored 5 subtropical gyres in the world. On the bus we were all talking about […]
Read MoreShip’s Log Day 8, March 12, 2011
We stopped last night in a TINY village called Puerto Eden. We had to stay there for the night and wait out the aftershocks of the earthquake in Japan. Everyone was worried about Tsunamis around the world. We are pretty far from Japan but it is better to be safe […]
Read MoreShip’s Log Day 9, March 13, 2011
the cove we are in Currently we are holed up in a little cove waiting out yet more weather. We are going to get going about 9 or so this evening again. We are on the midnight to 4am shift this time. Oh, that will be fun! 🙂 We […]
Read MoreCrew safe post tsunami
Just in from Sea Dragon… “We were given the all clear at 0800 local time to proceed and are headed north initially visiting Seno Iceberg before planning to cross the Golfo de Penas.” I’m sure there are many relieved friends and family knowing the crew are safe. All our thoughts […]
Read MoreTsunami update
Friends and family Following the imense earthquake off Japan this morning there are Tsunami alerts around the Pacific basin. After consulting with Pangaea Explorations, the Chilean Navy and after seeking all avaliable information we are anchored in a small fishing town called Puerto Eden off the Messier Channel. The crew […]
Read MoreShips Log Saturday March 5, 2011
Hello to everyone from the Beagle Channel! I hope this finds you well. We are underway and about 10 hours into our journey. So far we have taken 3 hour shifts. Duties include steering the boat (yes, really), recording each hour in the logbook, watching for rocks, kelp, other boats, […]
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