Thursday, March 28, 2013

NWP 2012 S/V TELEPORT podcast


North West Passage with Chris Bray and Jess Taunton

Chris Bray and Jess Taunton




URL: http://thesailingpodcast.com/chrisbray/


Episode 29 of The Sailing Podcast is our interview with Jessica Taunton and Chris Bray about their recent trip in their junk rigged sailboat ‘Teleport’. These adventurous Aussies worked extremely hard to achieve their goal of sailing via the North West Passage.
The journey began with an offer of a cheap boat in Halifax, Canada and this led to an extensive refit prior to taking on the North West Passage. Returning the following year, Jessica was to get her first taste of extreme sailing in the Labrador Sea where they encountered storms with Force 12 conditions and reports of 12 meter waves by other ships in the area.
The adventure continues during the summer of 2013... follow along at:


Sunday, March 24, 2013

THE LAST FIRST - Not a Northwest Passage and why

UPDATE - 20130415

ExWeb interview with Kevin Vallely, the Northwest Passage, the iconic crux to the northern sea route
Posted: Apr 15, 2013 09:42 am EDT
(Correne Coetzer Update Apr 16, 2013 01:12 pm EDT) Already 15 years ago the seed for a traverse of a part of the Northwest Passage under human power in a single season was planted in Kevin's mind, by none other than Jerome Truran, one of the world’s top downriver paddlers in the 80’s.

In July Kevin Vallely, Paul Gleeson, Frank Wolf, Denis Barnett and their rowboat are off to Northern Canada to attempt a traverse of the Northwest Passage [Ed note update Apr 16, 2013 01:12 pm: from EDT from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, to Pond Inlet, Nunavut] under human power in a single season; which has never been done before.
http://www.explorersweb.com/oceans/news.php?id=21396

ExplorersWeb isn't fooled - they know that the Northwest Passage is over 3600 miles long and Kevin Fallely only intends to do less than 1500 miles between Tuktoyaktuk and Pond Inlet.



A Northwest Passage is from one Arctic Circle to the other Arctic Circle (Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean or vice versa - East to West or West to East)

“A sea route across the Arctic from the Atlantic Ocean Arctic Circle to the Pacific Ocean Arctic Circle (Latitude 66.5622°N)” (About 3600 miles depending on route)



IS THIS A NORTHWEST PASSAGE?  

"On July 1st, 2013 four modern-day explorers hope to become the first team to ever row the Northwest Passage in a single season – one of the Earth’s last great firsts.n July 1st, 2013 four modern-day explorers hope to become the first team to ever row the Northwest Passage in a single season – one of the Earth’s last great firsts."

WHERE ARE THE ARCTIC CIRCLES?


“A sea route across the Arctic from the Atlantic Ocean Arctic Circle to the Pacific Ocean Arctic Circle (Latitude 66.5622°N)”

SO LETS CALL IT WHAT IT IS... AN ARCTIC PASSAGE ROWING 1500 MILES  BETWEEN POND INLET AND TUKTOYAKTUK.

See - http://www.thelastfirst.com/The_Last_First/Route.html

Video url: http://youtu.be/fMcuJWkXsI8

Website: http://www.thelastfirst.com/The_Last_First/Welcome.html




SORRY - BUT THE EDUCATED WILL NOT ALLOW THE ILLITERATE TO BAMBOOZLE THE NAIVE PUBLIC.

EITHER REALLY DO THE 3600 MILE NORTHWEST PASSAGE ELSE CHANGE YOUR STORY - YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO ROW 1500 MILES BETWEEN POND INLET AND TUKTOYAKTUK.
  
JUST TELL THE TRUTH!


FYI - Collins Dictionary - Northwest Passage
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/northwest-passage

noun

  1. the passage by sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the N coast of America: attempted for over 300 years by Europeans seeking a short route to the Far East, before being successfully navigated by Amundsen (1903–06)

Northwest Passage

noun
a ship route along the Arctic coast of Canada and Alaska, joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Origin: 
1545–55



Definition of Northwest Passage 
a sea passage along the northern coast of the North American continent, through the Canadian Arctic from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It was sought for many years as a possible trade route by explorers that included Sebastian Cabot, Sir Francis Drake, and Martin Frobisher; it was first navigated 1903–06 by Roald Amundsen.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Northwest+Passage

Northwest Passage
A water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic Archipelago of northern Canada and along the northern coast of Alaska. Sought by navigators since the 16th century, the existence of such a route was proved in the early 19th century, but the passage was not traversed until the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led an expedition across it in 1903 to 1906. The ice-breaking tanker Manhattan was the first commercial ship to cross the passage (1969), after the discovery of oil in northern Alaska.



An improbable tale of one amazing Arctic rescue

Winter came early off the coast of Point Barrow in 1897, with calamitous results for the crews aboard eight whaling ships that were still working the waters off the United States’ northernmost reach. With good weather expected to linger a few more weeks, the ships were still trolling the Arctic Ocean on Sept. 1 when sea ice suddenly rushed in and left them and the nearly 300 men they carried trapped with no hope of escape.

The ships were not stocked with rations adequate to last their occupants for a full year, nor were the men supplied with the clothing and other necessities required to survive an Arctic winter. A whaling station and a small number of Natives were on hand to provide some assistance and limited housing, but the situation was dire.

There was one glimmer of hope, however. The Alexander, skippered by Capt. Benjamin Tilton, managed to avoid capture by ice and steamed as fast as it could to San Francisco to summon help. What happened next forms the storyline of “The Impossible Rescue” by Martin W. Sandler.

Tilton sailed southward as quickly as possible, arriving in San Francisco on Oct. 26. Word of the potential tragedy spread rapidly, and in Washington DC, President William McKinley ordered a rescue attempt the likes of which had never before taken place in the Arctic.

The plan was to send a boat as far north as possible, and when conditions blocked further progress, drop three men ashore who would travel overland up the coast, contacting two well-known reindeer herders and asking them to sell their animals. From this point the deer would be driven to Barrow in the dead of winter to provide food for the trapped seamen.

It was an audacious idea in the least, given the severity of an Arctic winter. This was complicated by the fact that the owners of the reindeer wouldn’t know their herds were being requested until the rescue party arrived on their doorsteps and could refuse to cooperate.

With nothing assured a team from the Revenue Cutter Service (the precursor to the Coast Guard) was soon on its way from Seattle. The chosen trio for the overland venture was headed by David Jarvis, a cool-headed man with extensive Arctic experience, assisted by Dr. Samuel Call, a surgeon who had also spent long periods of time in the North, and Ellsworth Bertholf, untraveled but highly motivated.

After attempting to get much further north than ice conditions allowed, the Cutter ship was forced to drop the men at the village of Tununak, well south of St. Michael. From there it was a northward scramble by dogsled.

Owing to complications and necessities, the team split up early with Jarvis and Call hurrying ahead and Bertholf assigned to obtaining more dogs and moving supplies along the route. Sandler weaves the writings of the three men in and out of his narrative as he follows their progress, their observations adding greatly to the account.

As the story progresses, the men are battered about by accidents and mishaps, high winds, deep sub-zero temperatures, exceedingly rough terrain, blizzards, open sea ice, and having to learn dog mushing, and later, reindeer sled driving on the fly.

Their tenacity in the face of these obstacles was remarkable, but what helped the men along was the unwritten code of the North: Whenever they encountered others, those people rose up to help them. This included the reindeer herders, Charlie Artisarlook and Tom Lopp, both of whom not only agreed to let go of their animals for a fair price, but also signed onto the uncertain mission and helped drive them to Barrow.

While this story is nowhere near as well known as the Nome Serum Run that inspired the Iditarod, it is in many ways a far more impressive tale. There was no relay involved here, two of these men went the entire distance (over 1500 miles) hauling an enormous amount of supplies and driving hundreds of animals over terrain that makes the Iditarod route look like a city park footpath. And unlike so many Arctic tales before it, this one didn’t end in mass tragedy. A couple of the stranded men died, but most were still alive when the rescue mission arrived on March 29th, weeks earlier than even the most optimistic prediction.

Sandler is the primary narrator here, but he has made extensive use of the journals and reports of the participants to tell much of this story. It’s a wise move that brings the tale vividly to life as readers gain a first hand idea of what these men endured to accomplish their goal. He has also included dozens of photographs taken by the men that add much to the already vivid account. And he has strategically placed a series of maps throughout the text that show the progress of each part of the rescue mission up to the point where they appear, keeping readers on top of where each of the events recounted transpired. It all adds up to a very well crafted package.

Although intended primarily for younger readers (age 10 and up, according to press materials), this book shouldn’t be missed by adults who enjoy Arctic sagas and/or good survival tales. Sandler writes eloquently, telling his story with solid narrative drive. Like the best authors of children’s books, he avoids writing down to his audience. He treats his readers as intelligent young adults, which is why older adults will enjoy this book as well. Apart from an occasional over-reliance on superlatives, Sandler’s authorial voice is never intrusive on the story. He lets it tell itself. And what a story it is.

“The Impossible Rescue:

The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure”

Martin W. Sadler

Candlewick Press

176 pages • 2012 • $22.99

Freelance writer David A. James lives in Fairbanks.

http://www.newsminer.com/features/sundays/book_reviews/article_4aa58de0-9401-11e2-84d7-0019bb30f31a.html


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Nathan Rogers does Stan Roger's song "Northwest Passage"

Nathan Rogers with the Stan Rogers song, "Northwest Passage". An acoustic version, just voice and guitar - with some audience participation.

http://www.nathanrogers.ca/



(http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858825812/)

CHORUS
Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

Westward from the Davis Strait 'tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea route to the Orient for which so many died;
Seeking gold and glory, leaving weathered, broken bones
And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones. [Chorus]

Three centuries thereafter, I take passage overland
In the footsteps of brave Kelso, where his "sea of flowers" began
Watching cities rise before me, then behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer, driving hard across the plain. [Chorus]

And through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking west
I think upon Mackenzie, David Thompson and the rest
Who cracked the mountain ramparts and did show a path for me
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea. [Chorus]

How then am I so different from the first men through this way?
Like them, I left a settled life, I threw it all away.
To seek a Northwest Passage at the call of many men
To find there but the road back home again. [Chorus]



Sunday, March 17, 2013

Cruise Year 2012 CONRADY awarded to Mariusz Koper of S/V KARTHESIS II

"CONRADS" have been awarded since 1997 to yacht persons of the world as an acknowledgement of their unusual, outstanding personalities, for propagation of friendship and brotherhood on world's seas and for uncovering their beauty for others. The award is a laurel for those who can be held as a model, for succeeding generations of the mankind, in fulfilling life passions and making dreams come true.

Congratulations to Captain and owner Mariusz Koper of S/V KARTHESIS II, for being awarded a 2012 CONRADY International Award by the Baltic Shores Brotherhood (Bałtyckie Bractwo Wybrzeża). Your 2012 Northwest Passage was an outstanding testament to you, your crew and the good ship KARTHESIS II.

Website: http://katharsis2.com/2013/03/17/conrady-i-rejs-roku-2012/#

Broadband video download: 
http://videos.videopress.com/yZJU4gp0/mariusz-koper-conrady-2012_hd.mp4
and
http://videos.videopress.com/yZJU4gp0/mariusz-koper-conrady-2012_fmt1.ogv

Pictures: 




















Thirteen-year-old’s flag design is symbol for Arctic’s protection



Winning design: Sarah showing her flag design which will be produced as a titanium flag to be planted at the North Pole.Winning design: Sarah showing her flag design which will be produced as a titanium flag to be planted at the North Pole.
KUALA LUMPUR: A 13-year-old Malaysian Girl Guide's flag design will be planted on a seabed at the North Pole next month.
Sarah Bartrisyia's flag design, reflecting the Future Artic, was selected by world renowned fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood at the closing of the global competition run by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
Sarah's winning entry featured seven brightly coloured doves and an Arctic starflower.
“We need to protect the Arctic because it is the home of many indigenous peoples and many animal species. It should be declared a global sanctuary,” said Sarah.
The seven doves, she said, represented the seven continents, each carrying an olive branch which when brought together formed a laurel wreath, a symbol of Arctic protection.
“The contest, part of Greenpeace's campaign to save the Arctic, inspired youth around the world to create a flag that would symbolise peace, hope and global community, as a statement of the commitment of millions of people who have signed a petition to protect the Arctic from oil drilling and over-fishing,” said a press release by Greenpeace Indonesia yesterday.
The three-month contest inspired designs from youngsters in 54 countries.
Sarah's winning design will be produced as a titanium flag to be planted at the North Pole, four kilometres beneath the ice. It will be put on the seabed in a time capsule containing the signatures of millions of Arctic defenders.
“The creativity of young people is one of the most powerful tools we have to build a better world,” said Dame Westwood.


Friday, March 15, 2013

China Plan Northern Sea Route Voyages this Season


A Chinese shipping firm is planning the country’s first commercial voyage through the Northern Sea Route, summer 2013.
By 2020 as much as 15 percent of the country’s international trade can be shipped through the Arctic, reports the Barents Observer.

With melting icecaps accelerating the opening of new shipping routes and the exploration of oil, gas and mineral deposits in the Arctic, China has been eager to gain a foothold in the region. In 2012 the icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon) became the first Chinese vessel to sail all along the Northern Sea Route into the Barents Sea and upon return sailing a straight line from Iceland to the Bering Strait via the North Pole.
For China, the route would save time and money. The distance from Shanghai to Hamburg is 5,200 kilometers shorter via the Arctic than via the Suez Canal.
Source: Barents Observer

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Arctic port study highlights Nome and Teller


Two western Alaska communities will get scrutiny as possible deep-water ports for Arctic vessels.
Nome and nearby Port Clarence, a safe harbor near the small community of Teller, are the choices for additional analysis in a report completed by the state of Alaska and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Both Nome and Teller are south of the Bering Strait and the Arctic Circle but are far closer to Arctic waters than Kodiak, the nearest Coast Guard base.
The study stems from a 2008 conference put on by the Corps and the state Department of Transportation that identified the need for deep-water ports serving the Arctic as summer ice melt marine traffic increase in the region.


View Deep Water Ports in a larger map

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Study finds climate change is making Arctic seasons more like south


Newly published research says climate change has already altered seasons in the Arctic to make them more like southern regions.
And while tundra plant communities are already becoming shrubbier, scientists behind the paper say there's no way to predict what's going to happen as the change continues.
"We are doing a strange experiment," said Ranga Myneni of Boston University, co-author of the paper published Sunday in Nature Climate Change.
It's long been known that climate change is proceeding more quickly in the Arctic than anywhere else — about twice the global average.
Myneni, one of an international group of scientists behind the research, decided to look at how that warming is happening. He and his fellow researchers found the effect was on the difference between the seasons.
The amount that temperatures change as the seasons pass depends on latitude, said Myneni.
"In any given year, you start with a horizontal line that's the temperature profile of the equatorial regions. Gradually, you build up a bell shape as you go further north."
But most of the warming that's happening in the Arctic is taking place in winter, with somewhat less happening in spring and fall and the least occurring in the summer.
"If you start warming the winters more, and the transitional seasons a little bit more, you're basically flattening out the bell shape," Myneni said. "The bell in the North is looking less like a bell shape."
In effect, he said, climate change is giving the Arctic the temperature profile of the south.
Using satellite data, the team found the change that's already happened is equivalent to about five degrees of latitude. They then averaged 17 different climate models to suggest that by the end of the century, Victoria Island will have the same temperature profile as Wyoming.
What effect that will have on the plants and animals of the North is anyone's guess, Myneni said. Shrubs are already growing further north.
Myneni points out that warmer temperatures don't mean more hours of daylight. Nor will they improve thin Arctic soils or prevent melting permafrost from destabilizing the land.
There are too many variables in play to guess what's going to grow in the North or how that will affect associated animals.
"The Arctic is a feast for two-and-a-half months," Myneni said. "There's a tremendous amount of food available."
Animals from birds to whales flock north to take advantage, but timing is everything.
"It's seasonality that is important," he said. "Once you change seasonality, the whole food web is connected to that. We could not predict what the next 90 years will hold in terms of biology."
More research on the future of the Arctic is needed to try and understand what's in store, said Myneni.
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/weather/study-finds-climate-change-is-making-arctic-seasons-more-like-south-1.88630
- - - snip - - -

Start Geo-Engineering The Arctic By Spring 2013 Or Face Catastrophe!

Enviroment
As many everyday people have been observing atmospheric aerosol spraying taking place over the years, and billionaires like Bill Gates keep pouring money into Geo-engineering programs. I have known that a large public push for the weather manipulation programs was not far away.
Between the countless main stream news articles being published on the topic (on a daily basis) and countless scientist calling for the programs. It is not a hard thing to piece together.
That public push now seems to be in full tilt. A group called AMEG (Arctic Methane Emergency Group) has been lobbying the British government in recent months to begin Geo-engineering the arctic in an attempt to combat the melting ice.
Here is an example of their ideas in the response section of the AMEG website.
Notes on Geoengineering Requirements to Avert Catastrophic Global Warming from a Sudden Large Emission of Methane, Arctic Methane Emergency Group, December 2011:
Flux to be overcome to save the sea ice
• Arctic warming is much faster than global warming, by a factor of about 6 times, and the warming is accelerating, due to positive feedback.
• Warming is mostly driven by currents from the Atlantic and the loss of albedo effect.
• The extra heat flux, which is warming the Arctic with respect to its pre-industrial temperature, is currently of the order of one petawatt.
• September sea ice volume trend is to zero in 2014 or 2015, by which time the heat flux would be nearly double what it is at present.
• This could be a point of no return, when it becomes impossible to prevent further retreat of the sea ice, with accelerated Arctic warming causing ever larger methane emissions in a feedback loop until runaway global warming becomes inevitable.
• Geoengineering techniques for cooling the Arctic have to be applied by spring 2013 to reduce that risk as far as it is possible to do so.
ameg.me/index.php/response
According to the AMEG group, Geo-engineering of the arctic must begin by the spring of 2013, to avoid a global catastrophe.

Another study that now has been published, is stating that the Sulpher Dioxide released by volcanoes is creating a protective layer in the atmosphere and block the sun. (exactly what the goal of aerosol spraying is). They also state that this could be the reason behind the stall in global warming in recent times.
Volcanic eruptions may counter the effects of global warming and help keep the planet cool, according to a new study that explores why the Earth hasn’t warmed as much as predicted over the past decade.
Active volcanoes spew sulphur dioxide, which rises up to the stratosphere. Scientists say the sulphur dioxide provides a protective layer that reflects sunlight back into space — keeping the planet cooler than it would have been otherwise
Previous theories had suggested microscopic pollutants from smokestacks in China and India were responsible for the layer of sulphur dioxide, approximately 20 to 32 kilometres above the Earth. But Ryan Neely, lead author of the study, says industrial pollution had little or no effect on temperatures.
“This new study indicates it is emissions from small to moderate volcanoes that have been slowing the warming of the planet,” said Neely, a scientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Between 2000 and 2010, the researchers studied the atmosphere and found the average concentration of carbon dioxide – the gas that leads to global warming — rose more than 5 per cent.
That increase, on its own, should have led to a 0.2 C rise in average global temperatures.
But because the layer of aerosol particles was thickening in the atmosphere at the same time, as much as 25 per cent of that increase was counteracted.
Aerosols are measured by their “optical depth,” or transparency.
“Since 2000, the optical depth in the stratospheric aerosol layer has increased by about 4 to 7 per cent (annually), meaning it is slightly more opaque now than in previous years,” says a release accompanying the study.
Scientists have been aware that aerosols are increasing in the planet’s stratosphere, but they haven’t agreed on the cause.
Some scientists argued that Asia was the source, largely because coal-fired generators in China and India triggered a 60 per cent increase in sulfur dioxide emissions between 2000 and 2010.
Neely and his colleagues countered this theory by comparing recorded stratospheric aerosol levels with known volcanic eruptions.
They used two sophisticated computer models in their study. One model allowed researchers to study the atmosphere’s aerosol layer, while the other allowed them to track the properties of specific aerosol emissions around the planet — and thereby isolate volcanic emissions from industrial emissions.
The two models were then combined to show the patterns of eruptions and the resulting effect in the atmosphere’s aerosol levels.
Continue Reading
Both of these examples are pushing for large scale Geo-engineering to start taking place publicly, from different prospectives. One one hand it is do it now or face catastrophe, and on the other it is “hey look” it is happening naturally. So why not just give it that extra little nudge.
The main stream media and NGO’s are working extra hard to give people every excuse to accept these destructive, foolish programs. Are you going to fall for it?

Monday, March 11, 2013

Boston Family Finds Riches In Arctic Adventure - FANTASTIC !!!





BOSTON — Imagine retiring from your job — but only for a year. That’s how Winston Chen and his family came to live on an island north of the Arctic Circle.

Chen got the idea from watching a TED talk by designer Stefan Sagmeister.

“He presented this absolutely irresistible idea,” Chen remembered of the initial inspiration. “He said, ‘Why don’t we take five years out of retirement and spread them throughout your working life?’ ”

In the talk, Sagmeister claims, “The work that flows out of this year flows back into the company and into society at large, rather than just benefiting a grandchild or two.”


Marcus, 6, and Nora, 4, eat dinner on their first night at home in Rødøy. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

Chen told the idea to his wife, Kristin Botnen. Leaving work, though, at a time when jobs don’t exactly grow on trees? That’s hard.

“You know, I wouldn’t say we are perfectly conventional,” Chen said. “But we’re not totally crazy either. So we feel the gravitational pull of what you should do as well as anybody.”


The Botnen Chen family left Boston to live for a year on Rødøy, a Norwegian island north of the Arctic Circle. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

Two summers ago, they broke that gravitational pull. Chen quit his job as chief technology officer at Kalido, a Burlington, Mass., company that builds software systems for big corporations.


Long daylight during the summer made the short growing season productive, and wild berries were a regular part of family’s diet. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

Botnen, who’d been staying home as a mom, took a job as a schoolteacher in a place desperate to have one — a place about 3,500 miles from Boston, east and way north, past Greenland, beyond Iceland. The family headed to Rødøy, a small granite island jutting from the Norwegian Sea north of the Arctic Circle.

Botnen was born in Norway, so that made it easier. But it wasn’t about returning home, or fleeing Boston, either.


Rødøy’s population of about 180 includes a doctor, who uses the pictured ambulance boat to treat residents of neighboring islands. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

“For us, this was not an escape,” Botnen said. “We really liked our lives. But we still wanted a year where we could just do something completely different.”


Marcus on one of the family hikes. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

It was completely different. They used the daylight that burns until the wee hours of the morning that far north to explore the island of about 180 residents. Winston and Kristin and their kids Marcus and Nora hiked and camped. They discovered beaches so clean and the water so clear, they looked tropical — except for the really cold water.

And they went out on the water to fish for the big cod that swim down from even further north in the Barents Sea.


Residents of Rødøy celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

They hung the cod to dry outside the kitchen of their hilltop home. They made chips by frying fish skin. They picked berries that flourished under the long days of sunlight. And they plucked eggs from seagull nests to fry for breakfast.

It was wild. It was pristine. And it got dark.

Those very long days turned into very short ones. During the deep Arctic winter, the horizon held the sun down for months.


Kristin cooked a traditional American Thanksgiving for neighbors on the island. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

“The Northern Lights are the only consolation for the Arctic winter, which is otherwise dark and stormy and cold,” Chen said.

Botnen added, “I don’t think the cold got any of us. But the darkness — I think that could make any stable soul a little bit shaky.”


Click to enlarge: See Winston Chen’s schedule to make the hours of arctic freedom productive. (Courtesy of Winston Chen)

To keep their souls stable, Chen mapped out an hourly schedule in a spreadsheet, color-coded for personal and professional times, chores and family time. He dedicated an afternoon to each child. Tuesdays were for Marcus, who was 6 years old; Wednesdays for Nora, who was 4. For the first time, Chen said, it seemed like he had the time to do what he wanted.


Chen devoted part of his weekly schedule to “Daddy Time” with each of his children. (Courtesy Winston Chen)


Marcus crafts during “Daddy Time” with Chen. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

“I had a list of things that I wanted to do,” Chen recalled. “I had oil painting, photography, blogging, learning Norwegian, learning how to play the ukulele, reading long books that I haven’t had time to read.”


During the summer months, the sun hardly ever sets. Chen snapped this photo on a camping outing at two o’clock in the morning. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

And he also taught himself something new that changed his fortunes: He wrote an iPhone application that reads text out loud.

“Part of that was occupying my time when it got dark,” he remembered, calling it just a project. “So I wrote it without knowing that it would see the light of day.”


Other island residents made their livelihoods from the teeming waters, including this eagle. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

It did see the light of day when Chen posted it on Apple’s app store under the name Voice Dream. People started buying it, including visually impaired people, commuters and also teachers who got it for their dyslexic students.

At $10 a piece, the app is now selling more than 500 copies per week.


Screenshot of Voice Dream, the iPhone app Winston Chen developed during his family’s year away in the Arctic.

Its commercial success flies in the face of the dogma of the Boston tech sector, which is all about the cluster: bringing smart people together in open floor plans. Chen did the opposite — something almost biblical — by withdrawing alone to a remote wilderness, searching. Chen said he never would have created the app without his arctic adventure.


But during the Arctic winter, the sun hardly clears the horizon. Kristin says the darkness can make your soul “a bit shaky”. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

“Living in a place where you’re not distracted by the day-to-day,” Chen reflected, “where you have time to think, where you’re not in a hurry. Then with all these ideas floating around, it becomes as simple as: What do you keep going back to?”

He kept going back to Voice Dream. And after a year above the Arctic Circle, the family went back to Boston.

At home in Arlington, the family has been living off the income from the app. Voice Dream works in more than two dozen languages. Botnen said the year was a dream, but not because of the app.


The reward for enduring almost perpetual darkness is the stunning northern lights. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

“It’s hard to measure success based on the end-product,” Botnen said. “Because the process, and the year that we had, really was a good one.”


Chen could go fishing and pretty much guarantee coming back with something for dinner, like this pollack. (Courtesy Winston Chen)


The family would dry their fish outside the kitchen window. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

A retirement year inserted into their working ones, it was a year that helped them find new riches, both personal and professional.


Double rainbows cut into the sky after a Rødøy rainstorm. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

To read more and see additional photos, visit Winston Chen’s blog, Arctic Dream: Our Family’s One-Year Adventure Living on an Arctic Island.

Marcus, Kristin, Winston, and Nora (left to right) left their Arctic Dream in the summer of 2012 to return to Boston. (Courtesy Winston Chen)
Marcus, Kristin, Winston, and Nora (left to right) left their “Arctic Dream” in the summer of 2012 to return to Boston. (Courtesy Winston Chen)

http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/11/arctic-app-adventure


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Boating suggestion - Satellite Two-Way Safety Messaging - WHICH ONE???


Two-Way Satellite Communication Solution Among Winners Named at Miami International Boat Show

MIAMI – Feb. 14, 2013 – (Marine NewsWire) The DeLorme inReach™ two-way satellite communication solution has been named a “Hot Pick” product for 2013 by West Marine, the world’s largest boating supply retailer. inReach was one of five boating products named as Hot Picks by West Marine during a press conference held today at the Miami International Boat Show.

inReach is the world’s first affordable two-way communication solution and allows boaters of all types to stay connected when voyaging on waters beyond cell phone range. inReach provides text messaging and email, SOS alerting with message delivery confirmation and remote GPS Follow-Me/Find-Me tracking and locating. The device is compact, lightweight, waterproof, buoyant, impact-resistant and it can maintain satellite signal lock even in difficult GPS environments. In the event of an emergency, the inReach SOS button, which has built-in protection against false alarms, will trigger a distress alert with delivery confirmation and automatically activate remote GPS tracking.

“It is an honor to be acknowledged by West Marine as a 2013 Hot Pick product,” said Michael Heffron, CEO of DeLorme. “DeLorme recognizes the significance of such an endorsement from one of the largest boating industry retailers in the world, and we are proud to share this honor with the other innovative Hot Pick products. Over the last year, the boating industry and consumers alike have adopted the inReach solution to enhance their marine lifestyle, and we are excited to work with West Marine to help more of them discover the freedom and peace of mind only inReach offers when they are offshore and out of cell phone range.”

inReach can be used as a standalone device or can also be paired wirelessly with popular smartphones and tablets, enabling interactive text messaging and emails. inReach automatically transmits its GPS position at regular intervals, which friends and family can view via DeLorme’s MapShare website. They can also ping the inReach at any time to get an instant update of its current location.

DeLorme’s free Earthmate app controls the interface between the inReach and smart mobile device. The app installs on a smartphone or tablet and supports free downloads of topographic maps or NOAA nautical charts, providing a portable backup GPS navigator if the boat’s primary navigation systems should fail. It also enables full two-way texting with any mobile or email address when boating beyond the range of shore cellular networks or VHF radio.

inReach operates over the Iridium satellite network, providing truly global two-way satellite communications, high network reliability and low-latency data links of less than 60-second delivery of messages end-to-end anywhere on Earth, even in areas outside of traditional cellular coverage.

Check many boating websites for discount offers.
http://www.delorme.com/boatus/
http://www.inreachdelorme.com/
http://www.oceannavigator.com/Web-Exclusives-2013/DeLorme-inReach-Named-Hot-Pick-Product-by-West-Marine/
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=11151&partNumber=13813381&langId=-1#.UTzCQyUuca0

Long Distance Communication
Randy Repass’ Wylie 65' Convergence is equipped with a Single Sideband radio and an Iridium satellite phone.


So many satellite communications choices - now what? Checkout the following: 

http://web.globalmarinenet.com/blog/bid/108001/Marine-Satellite-Communications

http://www.kvh.com/Commercial-and-OEM/Maritime-Systems/Communications.aspx

http://cruisingresources.com/Satellite_Communication

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/WestAdvisorView?langId=-1&storeId=11151&page=High-Seas-Communication#.UTzDsSUuca0

http://www.inmarsat.com/

Alternative to hours of study and technical decisions:
Make a $100 Paypal donation and learn from someone who has actually installed and used KVH, Fleetbroadband, BGAN, Sat-B, Mini-M, Iridium, WiFi, Ethernet and SSB/HF modems... what are the secrets to cost effective user and equipment optimization success... or you can buy it and try to figure it out yourself... likely not because the real problems are not up-front in black-n-white until you have receiving your first $1,000+ satellite airtime bill and think you can fight it... but it will be without success - you are going to pay it.  So why not work smarter - ask a 20 year satellite communications expert for help.  Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Email me at: 
master (at) greygooseadventures (dot) com 
with your contact details and lets get started. 
I can save your hard earned money!

Good sailing!


Friday, March 8, 2013

Matt Rutherford, NWP 2011 - Ocean Research Project 2013?

Website: http://oceanresearchproject.org/

"Ocean Research Project provides scientific data and education about the changes within our oceans to inspire people to action..."

OK Matt - what are you thinking (or hoping for) that people can really do from your project?


Our Story

The Ocean Research Project is seeking funds and materials to carry out our objectives:
developing and conducting expeditions to various locations throughout the world to collect data to aid the scientific community and to create documentaries that are both educational and fun to watch.
A nonprofit science and public outreach organization, we are dedicated to gathering scientific data that enable improved characterization of the global oceans and coastal areas.  In addition to collecting useful scientific data, Ocean Research Project creates educational documentaries promoting sailing and discussing the various problems and solutions for our changing oceans.
The expeditions will be carried out aboard a sailboat, which provides us with a floating research station as well as an affordable and environmentally low-impact method of transportation.  For each expedition, the 

At present, we have determined locations for the first three expeditions:

Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
home-NWP
Arctic & NW Passage
Pacific Garbage Patch
Pacific Garbage Patch









Sure thing Matt, but what do you expect people to really do?  You are going adventure sailing - using other people's money. You will create a video and rally the troops to join your cause... but then what will people really do? Use more "green" products?  Not use or throw their plastic into recycle waste bins?  
Your stated Mission is...
Mission
Ocean Research Project provides scientific data and education about the changes within our Oceans to inspire people to action.




WE BELIEVE
We believe that while no one can do everything, everyone can do something. At Ocean Research Project, we are dedicated to gathering scientific data that enable the improved characterization of our global oceans and coastal areas. Through the use of scientific data, informative and entertaining documentaries, and providing a clear way to get involved, we will empower people to act on behalf of one of our greatest resources: our oceans.
OUR MODEL
Using a team of expert scientists and sailors, we embark on expeditions to some of the world’s most dynamic parts of the ocean. The expeditions are carried out on a sailboat which provides an affordable and environmentally-friendly floating research station. We then use the data for several purposes. 1) Using a blog during the expedition and a documentary after, we provide people with education on how and why the oceans are changing. We also provide them with resources and tools they need in order to get involved and help make change themselves. 2) We share our scientific data with established research organizations such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center to help further continued understanding.
MATT - OTHERS HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU - MANY HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS RESEARCH - BUT UNLESS YOU CAN STATE CLEARLY WHAT YOU EXPECT PEOPLE MIGHT DO FROM HEARING AND SEEING YOUR ADVENTURE ITS JUST ANOTHER ASKED AND ANSWERED QUESTION.  A MUTE POINT!!!
Lets take your projects for examples

1. Warming of Alaskan Permafrost and Implications for Hydrate Stability:

As a part of a large, collaborative effort in the 1970’s between the Office of National Petroleum Reserve Alaska and several companies (Mobil, Exxon, BP, Sinclair, and Forest Oil) several exploratory wells were given to the science community for long-term temperature monitoring to depths of 2,000 feet. Data from these wells indicate that the Arctic is warming more rapidly than the rest of the planet; however, the last data acquired in many of the wells was taken nearly ten years ago. Warming of Arctic permafrost has global implications because of the large amount of terrestrial methane that may be released from these areas as they warm. As a greenhouse gas, methane released into the atmosphere will accelerate climate warming, thus accurately estimating how much has been released and how much may be released in the coming decades is of critical importance to the broader community. Our expedition will visit eight of these wells, those which are nearest to the coast, so that we may continue this time series into the present decade. We will make the data available to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) upon completion of the voyage.
Because the depth of hydrate stability (the solid ice within permafrost) is extremely shallow in terrestrial environments (sometimes <100 m), only slight surface warming is required to release possibly significant quantities of methane. Furthermore, because surface warming occurs much more quickly in terrestrial environments than in deep ocean basins (where the large reservoirs of hydrate exist), permafrost hydrate reservoirs represent a “canary-in-the-coal-mine” indicating how future warming (particularly in the oceans) may ultimately impact climate, and if the melting of permafrost plays a role in abrupt warming events.
In short, this research will help the scientific community address the following questions:
  1. How much methane has likely released from permafrost regions over the past century, and how does this compare to estimated atmospheric methane quantities?
  2. How much atmospheric methane injection will likely occur from permafrost regions in the next century, and will it have a significant impact on climate?

2. Exploration of Northern Baffin Bay and the Northern Northwest Passage

This expedition will be exploring the Arctic in places where little or no scientific data have ever been acquired. All areas of Arctic science, whether it be fundamental physical oceanography, plate tectonics, climate change, or mineral exploration are affected by knowledge of the seafloor topography as well as profiles of the ocean’s salinity, temperature, and depth. The ocean water column, defined by the sea surface to the seafloor, quite literally defines the volume through which energy is transmitted from the overlying atmosphere to all areas of the earth through global, interconnected ocean currents. When these data are combined with the salinity, temperature, and velocity profiles of the water column acquired at various, characteristic points throughout the ocean, it is possible to provide a complete characterization of the water body at a given point in time.

HOLLY GEE WHIZ BATMAN... A "COMPLETE CHARACTERIZATION" AT A GIVEN POINT IN  TIME?  YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR SCIENCE BETTER.
The Arctic appears to be a particularly sensitive environment as indicated by rapidly rising temperatures and unprecedented changes in ice conditions. However, any computer models that attempt to predict the future of the climate/ocean system rely on accurate knowledge of the present ocean conditions. Therefore, continuously throughout the proposed expedition, we will measure the depth to the seafloor as well as the salinity, temperature, and water velocity at various depths in the water column and will make the data available to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) upon completion of the voyage.

3. Pacific Garbage Patch


Scientific and educational exploration of the Garbage Patch.

 Ocean Research Project – Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch stretches for hundreds of miles across the North Pacific Ocean, forming a nebulous, floating junk yard on the high seas. It’s the poster child for a worldwide problem: plastic that begins in human hands yet ends up in the ocean, often inside animals’ stomachs or around their necks. Earth has six major oceanic gyres — huge spirals of seawater formed by colliding currents — but one of the largest is the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, filling most of the space between Japan and California.
The upper part of this gyre, a few hundred miles north of Hawaii, is where warm water from the South Pacific crashes into cooler water from the north. Known as the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, this is also where the trash collects. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is thought to be the size of Texas. Previously other expeditions have gone to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for two to three weeks taking water samples.
Spending approximately 100 days, the Ocean Research Project would not just taking samples of water and debris but also map out the boundaries of the Garbage patch itself. Again, the project would create a documentary that will teach people about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and come up with possible solutions.
IT HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY ASKED AND ANSWERED... YOUR QUESTIONS ABOVE WERE POSED MANY YEARS AGO AND THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, THE ARCTIC COUNCIL ET AL RESPONDED AND THE SCIENTISTS STARTED RESEARCHING... MANY COMPLETED THE ASSIGNMENT AND PRODUCED PAPERS... EVEN OTHER BOATS BECAME INVOLVED AND DID EXTENSIVE CRUISES AND POSTED OBSERVATIONS... I DARE SAY YOU HAVE NOT DONE YOUR HOMEWORK - BEEN AT SEA FOR SO LONG...

ALL YOU NEED DO IS GOOGLE THE FOLLOWING:
WHAT COULD HAPPEN FROM PEOPLE YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH? PEOPLE WHO READ YOUR WEBSITE? PEOPLE WHO VIEW YOUR VIDEO? WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE?  PLEASE DON'T SAY CARBON CREDITS OR GREEN PRODUCTS OR CLAIM TO HAVE INVENTED THE INTERNET... AL GORE HAS ALREADY TAKEN THOSE CLAIMS AND MANY MORE....LOL
WHAT THE HECK OVER???
THE WEBSITE IS A HECK OF A LOT OF SLICK WEBMASTER WORDS WHICH BASICALLY SAY YOU ARE GOING TO SEA TO COLLECT DATA - WHAT NEW DATA DO YOU EXPECT TO COLLECT? THEN YOU ASK TO BE  SPONSORED - THIS IS YOUR PRIMARY GOAL IN IT NOT? GETTING YOU BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN SAILING?... I DON'T SEE YOUR BACKGROUND AS A SCIENTIST, THE FACTS, THE FIGURES, AT LEAST THE SCIENTIST NAMES, YOUR CREW NAMES AND CVs, THE PROPOSED SAILING SCHEDULES ETC... BOTTOM LINE - THE HOPED FOR FINDINGS AND BENEFITS?
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD INVOLVES A HYPOTHESIS - A PROPOSED EXPLANATION - SO LETS START SIMPLE - TAKE EACH OF YOUR THREE PROJECTS AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK WILL OCCUR AS A RESULT OF EACH OF YOUR PROJECTS - HOW DO YOU PROPOSE TO ACHIEVE THOSE RESULTS - DO YOU HAVE A METHOD - WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT EACH PROJECT? WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO OBSERVE THAT HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED PREVIOUSLY OR IS IN NEED OF REVISION OR CHANGE... ETC.

1. Atlantic Ocean Expedition

2. Arctic & NW Passage

3. Pacific Garbage Patch



WE ARE STANDING BY - FEEL FREE TO POST YOUR REPLY BELOW AS A COMMENT(S).

IF YOU JUST WANT TO GO SAILING - SAY SO - NO ONE IS GOING TO HOLD IT AGAINST YOU. WE ALL LOVE THE SEA AND LONG TO BE BACK UNDERWAY... ALL OF THIS WEBSITE RHETORIC ABOUT SAILING ADVENTURIST MATT RUTHERFORD DOING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE IS TO MUCH PIE IN THE SKY THINKING.

ENJOY SAILING FOR THE PURE ENJOYMENT OF LETTING THE WIND AND WAVES BE YOUR COMPANION... IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE GARBAGE IN THE OCEANS - ASK PEOPLE TO WRITE THEIR REPRESENTATIVES FOR LEGISLATION CHANGES... MAKE BETTER BUYING DECISIONS... SO MANY OTHERS HAVE ALREADY ATTEMPTED AND SAID IT MUCH BETTER... THAT WOULD BE A GOOD FIRST STEP... RAISE MONEY FOR PEOPLE TO JOIN YOU SAILING - SO THEY CAN SEE THE TRASH, SMELL THE METHANE STINK, AND KNOW HOW OUT OF CONTROL HUMANS ARE HERE ON PLANET EARTH...   

GOOD LUCK!


References:

Ecofinley - Keep the Sea Free of Debris

The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) supports national and international efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris. The MDP serves as a centralized capability within NOAA, coordinating and supporting activities within NOAA and with other federal agencies, as well as using partnerships to support projects carried out by state and local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry.


Arctic Council (www.arctic-council.org)
The Council's activities are conducted in six working groups.
There are six Working Groups of the Arctic Council:


Major findings include:

Snow cover: A new record low snow extent for the Northern Hemisphere was set in June 2012, and a new record low was reached in May over Eurasia.
Sea ice: Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September 2012 set a new all-time record low, as measured by satellite since 1979.
Greenland ice sheet: There was a rare, nearly ice sheet-wide melt event on the Greenland ice sheet in July, covering about 97 percent of the ice sheet on a single day.
Vegetation: The tundra is getting greener and there’s more above-ground growth. During the period of 2003-2010, the length of the growing season increased through much of the Arctic.
Wildlife and food chain: In northernmost Europe, the Arctic fox is close to extinction and vulnerable to the encroaching Red fox. Additionally, massive phytoplankton blooms below the summer sea ice suggest estimates of biological production at the bottom of the marine food chain may be ten times too low.
Ocean: Sea surface temperatures in summer continue to be warmer than the long-term average at the growing ice-free margins, while upper ocean temperature and salinity show significant interannual variability with no clear trends.
Weather: Most of the notable weather activity in fall and winter occurred in the sub-Arctic due to a strong positive North Atlantic Oscillation. There were three extreme weather events including an unusual cold spell in late January to early February 2012 across Eurasia, and two record storms characterized by very low central pressures and strong winds near western Alaska in November 2011 and north of Alaska in August 2012.
The major findings listed above reinforce the findings presented in AMAP’s recent assessment of snow, water ice and permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA), see http://www.amap.no/swipa
The Arctic Report Card was released today at a press briefing at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco, California. For more information on this year’s report please visit: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/

National Science Foundation (nsf.gov)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) invites investigators at U.S. organizations to submit proposals to conduct research about the Arctic. Arctic research includes field and modeling studies, data analysis, and synthesis about the arctic region.
The goal of the NSF Division of Arctic Sciences is to gain a better understanding of the Arctic's physical, biological, geological, chemical, social and cultural processes; the interactions of oceanic, terrestrial, atmospheric, biological, social, cultural, and economic systems; and the connections that define the Arctic. The Division of Arctic Sciences and other NSF programs support projects that contribute to the development of the next generation of researchers and scientific literacy for all ages through education, outreach, and broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Program representatives from OPP and other non-OPP NSF programs that support arctic research coordinate across NSF, including joint review and funding of arctic proposals and mutual support of special projects with high logistical costs.

Cognizant Program Officer(s)

  • Renee D. Crain, Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program Director, telephone: (703) 292-4482, email:rcrain@nsf.gov
  • Henrietta Edmonds, Arctic Natural Sciences Program Director, 755, telephone: (703) 292-7427, email:hedmonds@nsf.gov
  • Patrick R. Haggerty, Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program Director, 755 S, telephone: (703) 292-8577, fax: (703) 292-9082, email: phaggert@nsf.gov
  • Anna M. Kerttula de Echave, Arctic Social Sciences Program Director, 740 S, telephone: (703) 292-7432, fax: (703)292-9082, email: akerttul@nsf.gov
  • Erica Key, Arctic System Science Program Associate Program Director, 755S, telephone: (703) 292-7434, email:ekey@nsf.gov
  • Neil R. Swanberg, Arctic System Science Program Director, 740 S, telephone: (703) 292-8029, email:nswanber@nsf.gov
  • William J. Wiseman, Arctic Natural Sciences Program Director, 740 S, telephone: (703) 292-4750, fax: (703) 292-9082, email: wwiseman@nsf.gov



    Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program


    ARCSS Overview
    The Arctic is highly complex, with a tightly coupled system of people, land, ocean, ice, and air that behaves in ways that we do not fully comprehend, and which has demonstrated a capacity for rapid and unpredictable change with global ramifications. The Arctic is pivotal to the dynamics of our planet and it is critical that we better understand this complex and interactive system. The goal of the NSF ARCSS Program is to answer the question: What do changes in the arctic system imply for the future?
    To address this question, researchers must:
    Advance from a component understanding to a system understanding of the Arctic.
    Understand the behavior of the arctic system–past, present and future.
    Understand the role of the Arctic as a component of the global system.
    Include society as an integral part of the arctic system.



    Max Holmes, TREC teacher Amy Clapp, and other researchers from the NSF-funded PARTNERS project, teach Russian children sampling protocols on the Lena River, Siberia in June 2004.

    In the twenty years since its inception, ARCSS Program research has evolved toward an increasingly integrative, rather than disciplinary, approach to studying the arctic system. Now, building on the solid foundation of more than a decade of observation, modeling, and process studies, the ARCSS Program has undertaken a synthesis effort aimed at achieving system level understanding of the Arctic.

    More information about ARCSS activities can be found through the links on the left.

    More information about NSF's Division of Arctic Sciences, including arctic funding opportunities, can be found through the NSF Arctic Sciences website.

    Publications: http://www.arcus.org/arcss/publications/index.html



    Corporate and Private Vessels:
    http://www.globalreefexpedition.org/ (Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation)

    Tara (Arctic) Expeditions - http://arctic.taraexpeditions.org/
    http://oceans.taraexpeditions.org/en/arctic-navigation-what-awaits-tara-next-summer.php?id_page=1286


    http://inhabitat.com/plastiki-plastic-bottle-boat-unveiled-in-san-francisco/

    San Francisco recently saw the unveiling of the Plastiki, a boat constructed of 12,500 2-liter plastic bottles that will be embarking on a 7,500 mile journey to Sydney this spring. Built by Adventure Ecology and captained by David de Rothschild, the vessel will brave the waters surrounding the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ in an attempt to bring awareness to the mounting plastic debris floating in our Oceans. If the 50 knots of wind and rain at the unveiling last Friday, followed by tsunami warnings post-earthquake in Chile the following day, are any indication of what the crew could face on their voyage, we wish them luck!
    David de Rothschild, adventurer, environmentalist and founder of Adventure Ecology, became inspired (or perhaps perturbed) by a 2006 report issued by UNEP. Called ‘Action Urged to Avoid Deep Trouble in the Deep Seas,’ the report contained the fact that plastic debris outnumbers plankton in many of the world’s oceans. Adventure Ecology’s ‘message in a bottle’ is that we are all responsible for plastic waste because we all use plastic, and despite the fact that much of the plastic we use is 100% recyclable, less than 20% of all plastic bottles ever reach a recycling facility and 4 out of every 5 plastic bottles end up in the landfill. It would appear that the other 1 out of 5 ends up in our Oceans.


    ...and the list goes on and on... you get the idea,... WHAT ARE YOU, MATT RUTHERFORD, GOING TO DO TO MAKE PEOPLE TAKE NOTICE... EVEN A PLASTIC BOTTLE BOAT NAMED PLASTIKI DID LITTLE NOR THE NAME 'DAVID de ROTHSCHILD'... YOU PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF HIM OR THE BOAT.... lol

    Neither did we hear of Matt Rutherford sailing the Northwest Passage and 23,000 miles around the Americas solo until you did it - my hat goes off to you. I wish you the best in all that you challenge!
        Website: http://www.solotheamericas.org/