We could be the last people on earth, if it weren’t for the fact that we are passing through the oil fields of the North Sea, and strange alien like constructions breach the horizon where a few days ago we hoped to see whales. The first rig I saw was named ‘Heather’. Orbited by the lights of protective supply ships, fire spurted from her innards, like dragons nesting.
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The Faroe Islands: Reflections from the Crew
“A distillation of all the magical notions I had conjured up for myself about this area of the world.”
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Whale Watching Outside the Faroe Islands
Last night at about 7:30 pm, when we most needed a boost, the whales heard our plea and we were joined by a pod of over 25 pilot whales and a group of dolphins. For about an hour, they followed alongside the boat, coming right up next to us and swimming around the bow. When we finally sped up at the end, they steamed after us jumping through the waves trying to catch up. For me, and for many others on the crew, it was totally magical. I had expected it to be amazing, but not quite to the extent that it was.
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Watching The Colors Change On The Waves
It’s humbling when you have the opportunity, like we all do on this boat, to learn a little more about such highly intelligent creatures, occupying a space completely uninhabitable to us.
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36 Hours at Sea
The sea goes from deep blue, to silver to gold, depending on the sun. The sky has stayed clear. It feels altogether magical and, punctuated by volcanic islands and swooping seabirds, our watches are no hardship. Armed with sunglasses and cups of tea, it is possible to sit on deck for hours, basking in the sunlight. The only difficulty is forcing ourselves to sleep – none of us want to retreat back down to our bunks when the weather is so glorious.
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Bright Icelandic Colours
I am excited to envisage on paper the experience of being on the ocean, with no land in sight. It’s a new thing for me, to embark on this kind of expedition, and I want to try to get the feeling down in pencil and paint – the raw wilderness surrounding us on all sides.
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The Wild Earth
Here, where the wilderness shouts so very loudly, words seem quieter somehow. Less important. I can imagine my own melting away, driven by the sound of the wind and rock. In Helen’s maps though, her collections of words and drawings are the anchors that connect place to place, person to person, creature to creature. Sea shanties from an Icelandic village are tied, across an ocean, to perhaps a Faroese folk chant or a viking childrens’ tale.
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Greetings from Iceland
For us, and our small team of emerging artists, it won’t be plastic but rather whales and dolphins that will be our watchwords. But, one cannot help bleeding into the other. As more whales wash up on beaches with stomachs full of plastic, how not to feel the weight of Sea Dragon’s most recent research as we gaze across the bright blue sea?
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Getting Ready
Here on board Sea Dragon, the last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. We returned from a very successful trip with The Ocean Cleanup on Saturday, and on Monday we head back out to sea with BAMZ, the punchily-acronymed Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo. In the intervening time, we are getting the boat ready for our voyage to Iceland with The 5 Gyres Institute.
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Smooth Sailin’
The calm, clear skies made trawl deployment and recovery very easy. The weather, in conjunction with the ease of deployment, was welcomed by the very wary crew! The only ‘problem’ we had at one point was a pesky Cahow trying to investigate the equipent and whether or not he could make a tasty meal out of it.
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Stars, Satellites, and Sea Lights
As our eyes began to adjust even more to the night sky, we were able to pick out more and more aspects that only being on the ocean in the dead of night would present. The waves crashed against the bow, and we created a wake as we travelled further south. It excited some of the smallest marine organisms called plankton, causing them to illuminate and dance in the sea beneath us.
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Trawl Baby Trawl
Being able to see the moon, the stars, and planets was breathtaking, and certainly not something we see everyday. There was also enough wind at the time to allow for straight sailing. As a result, we were able to turn off the boat engine and have the waves be the background soundtrack for our watch. We were also treated to a beautiful sunrise, painting the sky various hues of pink, orange, red and blue.
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