By Ally Nobels – Guest Crew Hello from off the Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic! We are now half way to our final destination of Key West, Florida from the mesmerizing St Lucia. We’ve got a sturdy crew of eight, four men and four women, led by the latter! […]
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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 MoreThe Ocean Cleanup: Underwater selfie
Today, due to the lack of wind and calm seas, we had a late afternoon swim call.
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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Boyan Slat & Ocean Cleanup: Trawling in the North Atlantic Gyre
Today, with a now experienced crew and a comfortable 15 knot-wind, three back-to-back trawls were performed, each around an hour in length. Lots of millimetre to centimetre-sized particles were visible in the samples of the top few nets. Team member Francesco is currently working with some volunteers to clean the nets’ cod ends and prepare the samples for transportation.
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Happy New Year! eXXpedition by GoPro!
As we draw closer to the beginning of 2015, we wanted to ring in the New Year by sharing a taste of our journey across the Atlantic Ocean with you all! It is important to not only reflect on the past year and how far we’ve come with our project, but also how to move it forward – through film, education, and outreach.
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eXXpedition: Land ho!
It did not take us long to get our land legs, and we followed tradition by dining at a local restaurant, Mango Bay, where we enjoyed Caribbean cocktails and food. We all sensed the outside world pressing in on our bubble at sea, with the cacophony of sounds and so many people. We could all sense that the time together was growing short and our new found friendships would have to be maintained at a distance. This incredible experience has left a mark on us all in quite unique ways and is likely only to be fully appreciated after our return to our homes and busy, daily lives, only days away.
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eXXpedition: Science, seaweed, and songs
We ended the day with a touching and impassioned talk from our Head Scientist and co-founder of eXXpedition, Dr Lucy Gilliam. She is an incredible human being, with a wealth of personal and professional experience that has made her an astonishing advocate for the health of our planet. From her school day passion to stop logging in the rainforest, to her current fascination and determination to save the oceans, she is an inspiration to us all.
Read MoreeXXpedition: The Future, climate, and toxics
After our trawl work, we had a mission. We are supporting a campaign called The Future. This campaign is spreading awareness on climate change and telling our politicians “we are keeping an eye on you” by watching the political process and policies being created (or lack thereof). To represent The Future campaign, we encircled one eye with black or red makeup (eco-friendly) and took photos to share. We feel our mission of exposing toxics in our environment is connected to The Future’s mission, as well.
Read MoreeXXpedition: Art and our daily consumption
Discussions on board have also centered on making visual the problems we are facing with plastics. This was further emphasized in the evening presentation by Maria, our other on-board artist. Maria shared with us pictures of her many dramatic sculptures and installations that capture the impact of humans on the environment. She has no shortage of creative raw materials and easily collects several bags of plastic daily from a small patch of beach.
Read MoreeXXpedition: A wind of active positivism
We are still enjoying the amazing crew members’ talks, and yesterday evening we heard from the Norwegian environmental activist, Malin. Malin started her environmental activist career at the early age of 14, and then by 18, she was named Norway’s Environmental Hero after succeeding in her work to stop Hydro’s oil drilling off the southern coast of Norway. Even at her young age, her work has consisted of intense involvement at the intersection of environmental activism and political participation. Questions of where our energies are best directed arise directly from this. Her talk has kicked off an active discussion on board about how individual actions can move and inspire bigger decisions, even at higher political levels.
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eXXpedition: Exploring health and building community
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…
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