The first one landed on board just after three in the morning. Its gossamer wings beating frantically against the rubber stucco deck, its eyes spinning crazily in their sockets. Gasping wetly at nothing. Its scales dripping with sea slime in our headlamps, shining dully in the baleful red shadows in the leaden night.
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Even the mundane is touched by the whales: Reflections by Captain Eric Loss
Even the mundane is touched by the whales – yesterday while cleaning the bilges Shanley was surprised to hear them singing to her, the noise resonating through Sea Dragon’s steel skin. This is truly one of the most spectacular places I have ever been.
Read MoreHumpback whales: Silver Banks, Dominican Republic
We’ve successfully made it out onto the silver banks, navigating a minefield of coral heads with a lookout up the mast, snorkelled with whales while trying to find a place to anchor, had what appeared to be a mild whale-fight happen just feet in front of the boat, then got the film crew in the water filming an 2-3 day old newborn humpback and its mother…
Read MoreExploration Science: Leaving the mothership
We would like to thank Megan, Shanley, Keene Haywood, and E-money for never giving up on us, teaching us the ways of the big blue, and opening our eyes to the magical world of exploration of land, sea, and caves.
Read More‘Missing plastic’ in the oceans: data collected on board Sea Dragon
We’re excited to see this piece on the vertical distribution of buoyant ocean plastics in The Conversation – ‘Missing plastic’ in the oceans can be found below the surface – which contains data collected on board Pangaea’s S.V. Sea Dragon by our partners at The Ocean Cleanup.
Read MoreDr. Jenna Jambeck: Science waste inputs from land into the ocean
We’d like to congratulate S.V. Sea Dragon and eXXpedition crew member Jenna Jambeck on her superb paper, “Science waste inputs from land into the ocean,” published in Science in February 2015.
Read MoreMy Amazing Adventure at Sea: One More Generation’s Olivia Ries
We wanted to share My Amazing Adventure at Sea, a great piece in The TerraMar Project’s news outlet, The Daily Catch by Olivia Ries, co-founder (with her brother) of One More Generation!
Read More5 Gyres study on ocean plastic pollution in PLoS ONE
Our partner, 5 Gyres, recently release a major study on plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. The study is a very big moment for public awareness around marine debris, plastic pollution, and our oceans.
We’re very happy that S.V. Sea Dragon was lucky to be part of a huge amount of the data collection through several ocean expedition, and we wish to congratulate everyone involved in this massive study.
Read MoreeXXpedition: 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.
Read MoreeXXpedition: Inspiration from our skipper & sessions on the future
Too close to land to do more science in the afternoon, we finished our series of talks with Emily, our skipper. She took us on a journey of her life, studies, and ultimately her thrilling adventures at sea, which have helped to shape her philosophy that brings us all here. Emily was one to “never say never,” leaving one career to pursue her adventures both on sea and land, all of which were geared toward building awareness of and creating more sustainable communities around the globe.
Read MoreeXXpedition: 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.
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