The 2014 Atlantic cUpdate

The Galapagos Islands are almost in sight and though I’ll be there in less than a day, I’m going to take my time, so that I arrive in the morning hours of Thursday and thus have the day to make my way safely into the anchorage and secure Bodacious Dream for my stay.

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Pretty close to land … 1.34389S , 90.88464W

Once I tie off, as always, I’ll have to take care of the customs and immigration paperwork and then … (hallelujah!) … head to the showers! Phew! Overall, it hasn’t been too bad, but the last few days have been quite warm and a cleansing shower will make a lot of things better. So, give me a couple of days to sleep and sort things out in the Galapagos and I’ll return with a game plan to share as to what interesting things I might get to explore.

Atlantic CupIn the meantime … it’s May 1st tomorrow, which means just 10 days until this year’s running of The Atlantic Cup Race. Read on below for my preview on this year’s race. If I wasn’t here, you can be sure I would be there! So, read on and then follow the action.

May of 2012, Matt Scharl and I co-skippering Bodacious Dream were jib reaching up the Eastern seaboard of the US from New York City past Long Island towards Newport, Rhode Island in the second running of the Atlantic Cup Race. We had just spotted Block Island and Matt went down below to check in and see where we stood on the leader board. Moments later, he came up with an exuberant smile exclaiming we were in the lead by several miles. It was an exciting night as we worked our way into Narragansett Bay and ultimately to first across the finish line at Ft. Adams, winning the second leg of the event. We placed second overall in 2012 after the three event legs were totaled. 2013 proved even better for us as Bodacious Dream, after winning both offshore legs and placing second in the inshore regatta, placed first overall in what many have claimed to be one of the best Class 40 events in the world!

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Bodacious Dream/ 2013 Atlantic Cup – first across the finish line in NYC! (See Video Here!)

Those were exciting times, not only for us, but for many of you as well who followed the event with the great coverage provided by the event’s website @ www.AtlanticCup.org. The fun of all 7 boats arriving at the finish line in Newport Harbor within 45 minutes of each other, after 250 miles of ocean sailing … was hard to believe. I guess heart stopping awesome might say it best! Any one of those boats could have won that leg with just a wind shift of a few degrees.

As you know, I’m presently sailing Bodacious Dream back into the Northern Hemisphere and will miss the Atlantic Cup this year, but I know that Manuka Sports Event Management, energized by Julianna Barbieri and Hugh Piggin will once again be putting on a great event.

If I may, I’d like to take a few minutes to offer my own personal preview of the race and this year’s entrants, but before I do that, let me tell you a bit more about the event.

ac_map_2014Three Legs of the Race – Two offshore and One inshore …

The Atlantic Cup, presented by 11th Hour Racing, is a multi-discipline event. As you can see in the map above, there are two offshore legs – the first from Charleston, SC to New York City and then from NYC to Newport, RI —both of these double handed. Once in Newport, a third event—a two-day course-racing regatta with a crew of six completes the entire race schedule.

Unlike the long distance and trans-oceanic races in and around Europe, where one bad tactical decision early in the race or one equipment problem can make for thousands of miles of disappointing sailing, The Atlantic Cup competitors get a fresh start with each new leg and the event is generally won by the most consistent competitors!

seas-regAnother great attribute of the Atlantic Cup is its commitment to running a clean and carbon neutral event, which has earned the Atlantic Cup a Platinum Level Clean Regattas certification by Sailors for the Seas.

They have also worked hard at providing an educational platform for inner city kids and using their resources and website to promote direct experience learning initiatives. If you go to their Kids Page, you will see how they have taken a page from the Bodacious Dream playbook, and posted “educational guides.” You might even recognize that cartoon captain host … people tell me it’s a great likeness. Their work the past few years have allowed hundreds of kids to visit with skippers and tour the boats when they are docked in Charleston, New York City and Newport.

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And although Bodacious Dream, sporting our FiSH-emblazoned spinnaker won’t be on the water this year, our sponsor of the past two years, Jamestown FiSH, the award-winning restaurant across the bay from Newport, will once again be sponsoring parts of the racecourse with a mark off Jamestown Harbor, the finish line for Leg 2 and the inshore course races as well as a skipper’s reception at their excellent restaurant! Jamestown Fish is co-owned and managed by John Recca and Cathy Squires, along with the sponsors and owners of Bodacious Dream. A must mention, head chef Matthew MacCartney was just named the “People’s Choice, Best Chef in New England” by Food and Wine Magazine! Put it on your list of places to visit this summer and come join in the festivities during the skipper’s reception on May 23rd!

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The Competitors in this year’s Atlantic Cup …

Now, let me get back to my preview of this year’s competitors. This year’s lineup, in no particular order, so far is Gryphon Solo II, the former Icarus now being raced as JeffreyMacFarlane.com, Pleiad Racing, Dragon, and a new entry named Flatline.

Each one of these boats has proven worthy of winning major regattas. Gryphon Solo II placed 3rd in 2012’s Atlantic Cup, Icarus placed 2nd in 2013’s Atlantic Cup winning the inshore series, Dragon has a fresh new refit and new articulating bow sprit this year, Flatline has been resurrected after a major accident and is showing up in fine shape and the guys on Pleiad Racing have been refining their rocket ship all year!

But good boats alone don’t do it and the depth of talent this year is as deep as ever. Gryphon Solo II skippered by Joe Harris with Pat O’Connor, have been around and up and down the East Coast for many years; Joe has victories in Trans-Atlantic races and Newport-Bermuda Races. Jeffery MacFarlane.com (old Icarus), skippered by Jeffery MacFarlane, has spent the last couple of years racing around Europe in the Mini Class and was ranked no. 1 internationally last year! Pleiad Racing is skippered by Ed Cesare with Chad Corning … need more be said? Both these guys come from very extensive racing backgrounds; too many events to list here and they are back for the second year ready to take it on. Dragon will be skippered by Mike Hennessey and Rob Windsor. Mike is the North American Class 40 representative and has all the cards. Rob has sailed everywhere. He’s just now back from the latest Transat Jacques Vabre – a double handed Trans-Atlantic Race from France to Brazil. Flatline, skippered by Kyle Hubley with Frederic de Mesel are definitely the unknowns, but they have thousands of offshore miles between them, so experience is definitely not lacking.

ac13_bigsails1Bodacious Dream w/ FiSH sail … Atlantic Cup 2013 – photo by Billy Black

So, pairing up these sailors with these boats, all the signs are that this is going to be one of the closest Atlantic Cup Events ever. If last year’s finishes were nail biters, this year could chew those fingers to the bone. I can only say I wish I could be there, as the competition and camaraderie are going to be something else. And just as an indicator of how American boats stack up against the French and European boats that tend to dominate European races – only one European boat has made it to the podium, the German boat Mare in 2012. None of the top French competitors who visited in 2012 and 2013 made it to the podium. Suppose we scared them off? Could be! Now there’s a challenge to my European friends and competitors!

So, it’s time to point your browsers to www.theatlanticcup.org and check out the stuff happening on the website, vote for your favorite team and introduce your kids to the great information and educational fun on the kid’s pages. After you check them out then mark your calendar to follow the event when it begins on May 10th … or even better, get on down to the docks, visit with the sailors and join in the fun. This is going to be a great year!

From the middle of the Southern Pacific Ocean …

– Dave, Bodacious Dream (and native east-coaster) Franklin
1.34389S , 90.88464W

The Fellowship of the Sea

At the end of last week and with a huge sigh of relief, Bodacious Dream and I finally broke into the solid trade winds that blow up the western coast of South America! It was after another beautiful sunrise, that the winds began to stabilize and since then, we’ve been sailing a fairly steady and pleasant course at speeds right around 10 knots.

Bo loves this point of sail … an open beam reach where the wind is from the side of the boat and the waves are from behind! In the previous days though, while the wind had been from the side of the boat, the leftover waves from the earlier weather patterns had been hitting us on the bow making it bumpy and uncomfortable for days at a stretch. But right now, this is what “champagne sailing” is all about … it’s that Jimmy Buffet style of sailing!

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A song in the making … 18.58804S, 96.423916W

And speaking of Jimmy Buffet – while doing my regular rounds of the boat today, I captured this “still life” picture above titled … “a bucket, a sponge and my wool socks drying in the trade wind’s sun … and I thought, that’s GOT to be a Jimmy Buffet song in the making!” Go for it Jimmy … just remember me when the royalty checks start coming in!

Back home in the Midwest, it’s springtime and everyone’s working on their boats getting ready to put them in the water. One of the great traditions at my home yacht club,The Michigan City Yacht Club, is Cooper’s annual spring sock burning party – a time when you burn your winter socks and make the transition over to flip-flops. I’m not sure if the snow has melted enough this year for anyone to be burning their socks just yet, but in honor of my friends back home, I’m doing my part here – without the flames!

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The Waves of Night – 21.332942S_97.16551W

Right now, it’s the middle of the night; Bo is sailing smoothly and quickly and I just checked the log. We’ve sailed a over 5000 miles now since leaving New Zealand four weeks ago and have 500 miles left to go to the Galapagos Islands. I’m getting pretty excited to visit these famed islands and to see the many interesting animals and plants that exist there. At the same time, as you know, what we’re executing here is Plan B – as Plan A was to sail around Cape Horn. Naturally, I can’t help but wonder if that course might have worked out all right … but checking today’s weather down there shows 35-50 knot winds at the Horn and up the Eastern Seaboard of South America … so it seems like the course adjustment was a pretty wise decision.

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Eyes Forward Sailor – 19.02225S, 96.429072W

As each day goes by here, I move further and further north towards the Equator, which is just above the Galapagos Islands and each day, the temperature grows warmer. If you’re out of the wind, short sleeves and no socks is just fine. If you’re in the wind, a jacket works best. Earlier, I had to dig around to find the sunscreen. It had gotten buried since the last time I needed it. The air temperature was about 80 today. Even with 20 knots of wind, the wind chill temperature only takes it down into the middle 70’s! I haven’t been this warm sailing in quite a while!

I had a very special time on the water last night that I wanted to tell you about. After sunset, the wind and waves started going at it pretty good … and I decided to take a turn at the helm to test the balance of the boat. I wanted to see if the sails and the course were all working together and how much pressure I had to apply to the helm to keep the boat straight and on course. The point of that is to make sure that Otto (our auto-pilot) doesn’t have to work any harder than necessary. Happily, the helm felt JUST right … and the touch was feather-light – so, I relaxed and let my eyes and mind wander. The night was dark and moonless, and the soft, warm wind was tossing the clouds all about the sky. Then suddenly, a new round of bioluminescence erupted, sending sparks shooting out from the wake of the boat.

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Squalls a Coming – 22.536945S, 97.197512W

As I described in an earlier post on bioluminescence, these moments with the sea alight with glowing phosphorescent are extraordinary and unforgettable. As I watched the luminous trails spin and drift, I looked over the horizon and found a bright shining star … and I set my course to it. Soon enough that star moved away, and I found another star to follow … and before too long my everyday perception of time … just slipped away.

There I was steering my ship through warm trade winds and focusing my course on a single star. Minutes passed; I don’t know how many. But in the course of those few brief moments, I gradually felt myself drawn into some larger world. I felt as if I were a part of some weather-worn fraternity of sailors going back thousands and thousands of years, who had all done just what I was doing now … and in this moment, I was one of them!

As I gazed into the heavens, my thoughts drifted farther off, as I imagined myself steering Bodacious Dream straight across the universe! And then I thought … I AM doing that … in fact, that’s ALL I’m doing … and I wondered if perhaps somewhere out there beyond the stars, there was another world and another sailor who at that very moment was focusing his or her course on our star and on the soft glow of Earth that is home to all the dreams that we have ever dreamed.

20.26899S, 96.582191W
The Universe … straight ahead … 20.26899S, 96.582191W

I’ll leave it at that … before I lose the roll of the waves and the fellowship of the sea.

Stay tuned for more coming soon! Ok?

Here we go … sailing the trades—without any darn socks!

– Dave, Bodacious Dream (and the suddenly mystical) Franklin

6.11366S, 94.40054W
6.11366S, 94.40054W 

Tegan’s Science Notes #8: Glaciers

capt_dave_ac_125Dave Rearick: As promised, here’s the second half of our Glacier Report, the first part of which with my notes, photos and videos of my trip to Fox Glacier is viewable HERE!

Today’s follow-up post, from our Earthwatch Scientist, Tegan Mortimer summarizes much of what science has learned about glaciers. Tegan knows a lot about glaciers, so I encourage you to read on and learn more about this important subject.

And if you would like to share these learnings with those younger than yourself, be sure to check out our new (and easily printable) Explorer Guide on Glaciers – or engage Tegan or I with questions via email.

So, take it away, Tegan! 

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1. The Power of Ice: Discovering the Glacial Landscape

Tegan MortimerTegan Mortimer: Did you know that Charles Darwin was a geologist? Many of the thoughts in his most famous work, The Origin of Species were influenced by early discoveries in geomorphology – a field of science which tries to explain how landscapes change based on the pressures placed upon them. Ice is one of the greatest creators of landscapes. Just as Dave described the Great Lakes being carved out by glaciers in his previous post, in that same way was Cape Cod along with many other features of my native Massachusetts coastline also carved out by glaciers. When you really look closer, it’s possible to discover much of the history of a landscape by the way it looks today.

The photo below is of a place in North Wales called Cwm Idwal (in Welsh a “w” is a vowel and is pronounced like “oo”) in the Glyderau Mountains.

cwm_idwal_560Cwm Idal in the Glyderai Mountains of North Wales

Charles Darwin visited Cwm Idwal in 1831 to study the many fossils of ancient marine life that were found in its rocks. What they showed was that this land was once the bottom of the sea! For Darwin and his fellow geologists who were trying to show that landscapes could be shaped and changed in this way, these findings were so exciting that they somehow missed something even bigger!

It was another 10 years before Darwin returned to Cwm Idwal and this time he noticed the very obvious evidence of glaciation on the landscape. Cwm Idwal is what geologists call a “hanging valley” (alternately called a cirque, or a corrie or a cwm), which is the area from which a mountain glacier originates. Below Cwm Idwal, stretches a wide glacial U-shaped valley, which reaches all the way to current sea level. Cwm Idwal and the surrounding area are a wonderful example of “typical” glacial features.

2. How glaciers change the landscape

Glaciers and ice sheets form landscapes through two methods. The first happens when glaciers erode the landscape by scraping up the soil and bedrock after which they then deposit this material in other places.

NZ_scavenger_hunt_sidebarDepending on the type of rock that a glacier is moving over, different glacial features will be left behind. Soft rocks like sandstone or limestone are easily ground up by the pressure of the ice, while harder rocks like granite are usually eroded through a process called “plucking.” What happens here is that water from the glacier melts into cracks in the rocks which than refreezes. As the ice in the glacier moves, it plucks away pieces of rock which are then trapped in the ice. Water expands when it freezes and is capable of further breaking apart rocks in what is called “freeze-thaw weathering.

(:: For a fun sidetrip, explore Fox Glacier via Google Earth by clicking on this link or the image above!)

The second method of erosion results in a roche moutonnée or a whaleback, which is an area of exposed bedrock, which has a smooth gently-sloped side and a steep vertical side. The photo below shows a few roche moutonnées which are only a few feet tall, though it is possible to see very large ones as well. Based on the direction of the sloping and angle of the sides you can tell which direction the glacier was moving. Remember that fact, as it will come up again later. The sloping side is the direction the glacier was coming from and the ice grinds down that side of the rock. The steeper sided angle is the direction the glacier was going and here is where that process called plucking happens. The tops of roche moutonnées often have scratches called striations which are horizontal scape marks from the rocks and debris in the ice.

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Roche moutonnées

Crag and TailAnother erosional feature is called a crag and tail which is a tall hill usually with exposed rock and a gently sloping tail of softer rock behind it. In this case, the steep side of the hill is the direction that the glacier came from. The most famous crag and tail is Edinburgh Castle (pictured to the left)  in Edinburgh, Scotland. The crag in a crag and tail is an area of very hard rock, usually a volcanic plug which forms when magma cools inside the vent of a volcano creating a column of very hard rock. When the glacier hits this rock, it can’t erode it, so it is forced to flow around the plug like water flowing around rocks in a stream. The plug protects the softer rock behind it leading to the formation of the tail.

All that eroded material has to go somewhere, so it is that glaciers leave behind particular landforms made up of all that “stuff.” Sediment left behind by glaciers is usually called till, which is made up of sand and gravel and rocks of every size. Erratics are large rocks like the photo below which are left behind by a retreating glacier. Geologists study the mineral structure of erratics to learn where they come from and learn more about the behavior of glaciers and ice sheets.

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An Erratic

Glaciers push up ridges of material which are called moraines. These ridges can be formed at the base of the glacier which are called terminal moraines or at the edges of the glacier which are called lateral moraines. Cape Cod and Long Island on the US east coast are areas which have a series of terminal moraines formed thousands of years ago by the Laurentide ice sheet. As a glacier retreats, it can leave behind a series of terminal moraines which reflect the extent of the ice at different periods. Sometimes meltwater from a glacier will be kept from exiting a valley by a terminal moraine and will form a lake.

3. Glaciers Today

So what exactly is a glacier? Dave explained it pretty well; a glacier is essentially a river of ice. A river of ice? Since you can’t see it moving, how can that be? The fact is that glaciers are always on the move. The immense weight of the ice in a glacier causes it to deform internally, which results in unstoppable movement. Gravity and meltwater underneath the glacier can also help it to move downslope. The areas at the edges of the glacier are under less pressure so this is where great cracks in the ice called crevasses form. When pieces of a glacier fall off the base of the glacier it is call calving – which is happening lately at a much increased rate. Here is an incredible high-def clip from a recent movie called “Chasing Ice” that records the longest and biggest calving ever recorded.

We know Fox Glacier is retreating, so how then is it moving downhill? The growth of a glacier is based on something called mass balance. Snow falls on the top of the glacier and freezes while ice from the bottom of the glacier melts or breaks off, a process that is called ablation. As long as the accumulation at the top outweighs the ablation at the bottom, the glacier will grow. However, if the ablation outweighs the accumulation, then the glacier will retreat. This is the case of the Fox Glacier, and unfortunately the case for many glaciers around the world.

4. Does it really matter if the glaciers disappear?

It would most certainly be a tragedy if alpine glaciers were to disappear due to the effects of human climate change. They are majestic places to behold and also provide revenue from tourism to areas in these regions. However, and more importantly, glaciers also provide huge stores of fresh water, which are released throughout the year. For example, about 1.3 billion people depend on Himalayan glaciers for drinking water and other water needs. If these resources were to disappear, it would have devastating effects on human populations.

5. Glaciers of the Past

At times throughout Earth’s history, huge swathes of the planet have been covered by ice. We know that some of these ice sheets covered thousands of miles and could be several miles thick. Such ice ages can last for millions of years and go through a series of glacial and interglacial periods where ice cover increases and decreases. The last ice age started 2.6 million years ago and is still ongoing today. We are currently in an interglacial period called the Holocene, which started 12,000 years ago. When people talk about the “Ice Age” they are usually talking about the previous glacial period, which occurred from 110,000 to 12,000 years ago. The ice was at its greatest expanse just 22,000 years ago when most of the northern half of North America and northern Europe and Asia were covered in ice. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Andes in South America and Southern Alps in New Zealand had large ice caps as well.

glaciation_560The glaciated landscapes of North America, Europe, South America, and New Zealand were formed during this Ice Age.

6. What happens when massive ice sheets disappear?

The most important thing to remember is that ice sheets (and glaciers) hold a huge amount of water. The sea level was about 120 meters lower during the last glacial period than it is today. We still have two major ice sheets on earth, the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Greenland Ice Sheet. If these were to melt – which they give every indication of doing, and quite rapidly, we would see increases to sea level, which would threaten many coastal cities and sea-dependent communities across the globe.

See all Dave’s photos and videos from Fox Glacier right HERE!

– Tegan

:: Tegan Mortimer is a scientist with Earthwatch Institute. For more exciting science insights, check out our BDX Explorer Guides or stop by our Citizen Science Resources page, where you can also find all of Tegan’s previous “Science Notes.”

We welcome your input or participation on our BDX Learning Discovery efforts. You can always reach us here or via email.

Glaciers – Dave’s Full Story

Fox Glacier – The Power of Ice

As some of you may recall, back in February on my layover in New Zealand, I visited Fox Glacier on the South Island. After so many years of being surrounded by water in its liquid form, the experience of being enveloped by frozen waves of water cracked open my curiosity in completely unexpected ways.

Seeing the power that glaciers had to literally move mountains and at the same time to witness firsthand the incredible speed with which they are disappearing right before our eyes was something I knew I had to further explore … both for myself, and for those of you who have engaged with us in the learning and discovery side of our adventure.

Dave at Fox GlacierDave at Fox Glacier

Though I know that what follows here (broken into two installments) is a larger than usual amount of information for the narrow confines of a blog post or an email, here’s what we’d like to share with you today!

  • In addition to our six earlier Explorer Guides, with our scientist colleague Tegan Mortimer‘s help, we’ve gathered our essential learnings on glaciers and complied them into a newly designed and easily printable Explorer Guide on Glaciers! We encourage you to check it out – and to once again … share it with the younger people in your world.

Explorer Guide - Glaciers
Here’s our new Explorer Guide on “Glaciers – The Power of Ice”

  • Given some time to reflect, I include below some new reflections of my own on the whole glacier experience. (My earlier Fox Glacier post is HERE!)
  • In addition to the glacier photos – here in slideshow format, we’ve also added five new videos to our BDX YouTube Channel from that day – each one fairly short, but each also showing some unique aspect of the glacier.

:: As this is a long post, and as Tegan has such a passion for the subject of glaciers and has so many great science findings to share, we’re following this with – Tegan’s Science Notes #8: Glaciers … which contains some very exciting and excellent insights on glaciers. She also includes a fun Google Earth Scavenger Hunt you can explore on your own!

We know it’s a lot of material … but there’s nothing small about glaciers … and as we are quickly learning, the fate of our planet is as much tied to the vitality of our glaciers as it is to that of our oceans.

So, ALL that said … let’s get rolling … !

capt_dave_ac_215Dave Rearick: Growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan, the second largest of the five Great Lakes, gave us every chance to learn about glaciers. Glaciers scoured out all five of the Great Lakes about 10,000 years ago. As they melted and retreated, they left distinctive land formations: great carved moraines, bogs, kettle lakes and wetlands, not to mention, the amazing fresh water lakes themselves.

Lake Michigan is over 300 miles long (483 km), 90 miles wide (145 km) and over 900 feet deep (275 meters) at the deepest point. What I learned in school about glaciers at the time just sounded like more ancient history and did little to prepare me for my recent visit to the Fox Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand.

For the past several years, we’ve all heard story after story about how human activity and global warming have affected glaciers around the world. Experiencing firsthand their amazing scale and force, as well as the incredible speed with which their dissolution is happening, brought those many stories to a very different level of reality for me. It also reinforced for me the amazing power and need for hands-on learning in and around nature, much like what we are trying to do through our Bodacious Dream Expedition updates that track my circumnavigation and by our now seven topic-specific Explorer Guides.

#1 – Click arrows to advance! Scroll over to read descriptions.

As you hike up the glacier, you can easily see the various markings that the receding glacier had left. Just five years earlier, in 2008, the glacier had scoured the hillsides to a height that was now clearly marked by a vegetation line, below which was barren rock, over two hundred feet above us!

The access paths to the glacier must be regularly reworked. Just a year earlier, the path was about 50 feet higher up the side of the canyon wall. We learned that the glacier was melting at the rate of 6 inches (15 cm) a day! That’s 3.5 feet a week, 15 feet a month, 180 feet a year! Glaciers don’t do anything quickly, but they sure do it steadily. They gather snowfall up in the mountains, compress it so that it must move with gravity, ever so slowly changing and sculpting the earth on its way. Natural history unfolds, and the story of the Earth is told by these slow moving rivers of ice. What looks to the casual eye to be a static natural wonder, is in fact a dynamic display of the forces of nature undergoing constant and rapid change.

 #2 – Click arrows to advance! Scroll over to read descriptions.

Each step of the hike exposed us to more wonder and amazement. There is so much beauty in the color and shape of the ice, and in tracking the constant changes brought on by the ever-flowing ice and water.

Be sure to check out our Explorer Guide on Glaciers for more amazing learnings!

I hope you enjoy the videos taken while at the glacier. They may not be of a professional travel brochure quality, but I think they offer a true and authentic entry into the story and into what you yourself might experience on the glacier if you were to go there. The rains and fogs of the day certainly added their effects as well, but to me, they all combine to show the stark beauty and harsh contrasts of this hard yet fluid environment – much like my videos of the stormy tempests at sea revealed the powerful nature of the ocean.

I hope that if one day you have the chance, you will choose to experience a glacier firsthand. If you do, I would recommend you hike rather than take the helicopter ride. I am sure the helicopter ride is beautiful, but you will land on a very static snowfield up on the higher slopes of the glacier, and you might miss the story of these fascinating indicators of our environment, that are unfolding farther down towards the terminal face.

Of all the sights I witnessed that day, the one that stood out for me was the one about this enormous boulder, about the size of a small truck, tilted up on its edge as if it might at any moment fall over.

FG_boulder_300The Fox Glacier Guides have been keeping an eye on this boulder for five years, ever since it first appeared, after having been carried down by the glacier. In those five years, they have seen the boulder reposition itself in many different angles and positions, but no one has ever actually seen it move! That is the power of the earth and nature – the capability, one drop at a time (or one wave at a time) to move a boulder or wash away a shoreline. If you’ve ever wondered just how your single life could have an impact on the larger world, I think somewhere in such a truth might be your answer.

 #3 – Click arrows to advance! Scroll over to read descriptions.

As I mentioned at the top, tomorrow we’ll follow up this post by publishing Tegan’s Science Notes #8: Glaciers … so we hope you’ll look for and check that out!

Again, thanks so much for following along … and if you should have any questions – or suggestions, don’t hesitate to drop us a line at oceanexplorer@bodaciousdreamexpeditions.com

– Dave
21.85887S, 97.30453W

P.S. I just learned about this amazing set of photos from a photographer named James Balog who has spent years taking photos of vanishing glaciers … truly outstanding and sobering images  … http://billmoyers.com/content/vanishing-glaciers-now-and-then/

Bouncy Sunrises & Bumpy Sunsets

It was a sweet Easter out here about 500 miles southeast of Easter Island, (so named by a Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who first encountered it on Easter Sunday in 1722.) It seems appropriate to be in this vicinity at this time. It was my hope to be close enough to make sight of the island or to actually stop there and visit the amazing statues … but just like other parts of this particular dream; it will have to wait for another time.

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33.27293S, 105.108964W (sunset)

This past week brought a good deal of rough weather and uncomfortable sailing, as we weaved our way between a high-pressure system off the Chilean coast and a low-pressure system that pressed in from the West. We chose to run the low-pressure system on the “wrong” side so that we could set up for an entry into the trade winds that are still about 100 or so miles ahead. This put us in weaker winds, but riding on the bigger and more forceful waves which made the going a bit bouncy – to say the least.

31.427674S,101.594474W31.427674S,101.594474W (sunset)

To explain this a little more, the high-pressure (fair weather) system to my right spins counter clock-wise creating winds from the southeast. To my left, the low-pressure (storm) system spins clockwise sending wind and waves towards me from the northwest. It’s a bit like the two spinning wheels that spit out baseballs in a pitching machine, but in this case, I’m the ball! When the two winds – the northwest push from the low and the southeast from the high, converge with each other, there is a resulting transition zone where they diminish. While the stormy (40-45-knot) winds may diminish by half, the waves we encounter are still the size generated by the bigger winds. This has made the sailing super-sized bumpety as we make our way north through the next transition zone of light winds and from there into the trade winds, in another day or so.

33.336974S,106.439005W33.336974S,106.439005W (sunrise)

Hopefully, the worst of the weather for this leg is behind me, and the “champagne” sailing of the trades is ahead of me … so all in all, life is good. I haven’t been able to write much with all the lively weather of the past week, but we do have a number of photographs here of some of the dramatic and beautiful sunrises and sunsets to share with you – the bookends of our days and nights. Hope you enjoy them.

30.50673S,100.3168565W30.50673S,100.3168565W (sunrise)

Later this week, we’ll also share a piece about objects that float in the ocean in the great “harmonic” gyres. These include natural things like seeds that drift across vast stretches of ocean to land on a distant shore … the sorts of things that gave Columbus the idea that there was another continent out there to the West … but they also include totally unnatural things like Nike Shoes and rubber bath duckies! A MOST interesting tale … so stay tuned for that!

30.50673S,100.3168565W30.50673S,100.3168565W (sunrise)

Also coming soon will be an update on this year’s Atlantic Cup Race, sponsored by loud friends at 11th Hour Racing, which starts in less than a month from Charleston, South Carolina. While Bodacious Dream (last year’s winner!) won’t be able to be there, our presence will be felt nonetheless in a number of ways … so log onto the Atlantic Cup website and begin following along. Be sure to vote for your favorite boat and share with your kids their new Kid’s Pages, featuring none other than “Capt. Dave.”

Until later … 

– Dave, Bodacious Dream & (the all-bounced-out) Franklin  27.2291S, 97.61472W
Currently @ 27.2291S, 97.61472W

The Wonder & Science of Bioluminescence

4.16.14 – The boisterous conversation between sky and sea that was supposed to last 12 hours lasted 36 instead and dealt us winds up to 35 knots … making for some fun times. While we are now riding along towards the trade winds, we’re also pushing into the waves of the previous outburst. The cloud cover has been thick, which has prevented us from viewing either the sun or the eclipse of the full moon. This morning however, I was treated to a most wonderful sunrise. 

So, while we enjoy the sunshine and mid-70’s temperatures and continue to sort our way towards the Galapagos Islands, we wanted to share our experience of the amazing bio-illumination phenomena that we’ve witnessed several times on this voyage. So, read on to get the story … first my own experience … followed by Tegan Mortimer’s terrific scientific explanation. So that said, let’s get illuminated!

________________________________________________________________
:: The Wonder of Bioluminescence

Dave RearickDave Rearick: One afternoon right around New Year’s, not long after leaving Cape Town, I crossed paths with a fishing boat – a traditional colorful wooden boat painted in bright greens, yellows and reds. As our two courses passed, the captain contacted me and we spoke for a few moments over the radio; I found his English was excellent with a smooth, lyrical accent to it. We talked of the beautiful weather and seeing that I was sailing east and away from Africa, he asked me where I was headed. New Zealand I told him … and alone! He marveled at that and wished me great luck, explaining that I should have good weather since it was now summer, and then he told me to watch for the bioluminescence which he assured me I would find very beautiful. With that, we said our goodbyes – he headed off to another fishing ground and I proceeded on my way east.

Up to that point, my direct experience with bioluminescence had been memorable but limited. But a few nights after I left the fisherman, I stepped into a world of bioluminescence that was unlike any I even knew existed. Let me tell you, that fisherman knew of what he spoke.

Bioluminescent PlanktonThe experience of sailing through a floating forest of bioluminescence steals away any words you might offer up to describe it.

It is all just so simple and elegant; a photograph would be impossible – though still we try. If I could draw you a picture, I would … but I know even that would fall short.

As I stood and looked forward, Bodacious Dream sailed along, rising up and bumping her way over the tops of small waves, sending out splashes of a wake to either side, which appeared to be lit indirectly from a light beam located directly underneath the boat – but of course there was no light down there. The glowing white froth of the wake glowed bright, artificial and surreal. As if that wasn’t enough on its own, looking back behind the boat provided an intoxicating view.

Bodacious Dream has two rudders, one on each side of the boat approximately 5 feet to each side of the centerline. From the centerline, the hydro-generator drops into the water from the stern of the boat. Standing near the mast of the boat and looking aft, the entire wake of the boat was fully aglow … tossing dancing sparks glittering across the water. Like I said, it was as if Bo had this bright swimming pool light underneath her pointing aft, beyond the transom.

Leaving the foredeck and walking toward the stern and looking over the edge, revealed an entirely different and no less spectacular show.

A couple of feet below the water, off the slender tip of each rudder, there were these luminous streamers – not unlike what you might see flying from the top of tent poles at Renaissance Fairs … long, slender and snaking back and forth in the wind. Looking further under the water, you could see they glowed white-green and extended back for maybe 12 or 15 feet beyond the boat. Wavering back and forth, the ends subdividing into three or four strips, each waving independently and criss-crossing back and forth over each other. Off the centerline and close to the hydro-generator, a plume of glowing white bubbles rose up, not as sleek and mesmerizing as the streamers, but giving a round and ruddy glow to the surrounding waters. The water above, below and all around the rudders and hydro was clear, with all their outer edges carefully defined and illuminated by thous delicate refracted light.

biolumin2_550

While on one hand, this was something I could have sat and watched for hours, on the other, something about it felt almost indecently beautiful – like something SO beautiful that you felt you shouldn’t stare at it, least it lose its genius and grow too quickly mundane to human eyes. As I continued to stare at it, I felt it expressed something so beyond the eyes of man, that I couldn’t help wonder what other surprises waited for us … out there over the horizon and beyond the stars.

And in the middle of that, I recalled what my fisherman friend had said to me, “Ahh yes … and you will surely enjoy the bioluminescence. It is so beautiful at night. Be safe my friend and have a good journey.” Yes indeed, my friend! Thank you!

 – Dave
34.1974S, 109.2991W

________________________________________________________________
:: Tegan’s  Science Notes #7 – The Science of Bioluminescence

Tegan MortimerAs Dave’s story reaffirms, bioluminescence is a truly spectacular phenomenon! Phrases like “a sea of stars” are used to describe what it looks like and that is completely accurate. If you’ve ever seen a firefly or lightning bug, you’ve seen bioluminescence!

But what is it actually? Bioluminescence is the ability for some animals to create light through a chemical process called “chemiluminescence.” Two chemicals are required for this reaction: “luciferin” and either “luciferase” or “photoprotein.” Luciferase is an enzyme that interacts with oxidized (oxygen-added) luciferin in a chemical reaction that results in the creation of light. Some animals create luciferin themselves and some acquire it by eating other animals or by having a symbiotic relationship with a luciferin-creating organism. Bioluminescent shrimp have a symbiotic relationship with luciferin-creating bacteria that lives in their guts. The shrimp gets light and in trade the bacteria get somewhere to live. That’s a symbiotic relationship: everybody wins!

AnglerfishI mentioned fireflies, but most bioluminescent organisms live in the ocean, especially in the deep sea where it is completely dark. The most famous bioluminescent animal of the deep sea is probably the anglerfish, (pictured to the left) which has a bioluminescent lure that hangs directly above its tooth-filled mouth, just waiting for smaller prey to be attracted to the anglerfish’s glowing light.

So what is Dave seeing? It’s definitely NOT thousands of anglerfish under Bodacious Dream! What Dave is seeing is bioluminescent “plankton.” There are many different types of plankton, both “phytoplankton” (little plants) and “zooplankton” (little animals) can be bioluminescent but two types: “copepods” and “dinoflagellates” are the most commonly seen. Unlike the anglerfish that uses its bioluminescence to attract prey, these tiny planktons use bioluminescence to avoid getting eaten. When they are disturbed, either by a predator, or a human diver, or even by a boat like Bodacious Dream moving through the water, they emit a light, which is thought to startle and repel whatever might have been planning on eating the plankton.

Scientists think that some species of sharks and whales put the plankton’s defensive bioluminescence to use in helping the larger creatures to hunt. Sperm whales for example will go to an area with large amounts of bioluminescent plankton. When the plankton’s predators (fish or squid) approach, the plankton’s light alerts the whale who is then able to more easily catch the fish. Neat trick!

– Tegan 

:: For more exciting science insights and opportunities, please check out our BDX Explorer Guides or stop by our Citizen Science Resources page, where you can also find all of Tegan’s previous Science Notes, Also, we welcome your input or participation to our BDX Learning and Discovery efforts. You can always reach us at …  <oceanexplorer@bodaciousdreamexpeditions.com>

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The Weather Changes like the Weather

Late Thursday night, we passed our 3000-mile halfway point on Leg 3 … always a big milestone! At present, Bodacious Dream and I are sailing in a northeasterly direction trying to position ourselves for some interesting weather that’s between us and the trade winds, which will move us towards the Galapagos Islands.

38.1276S,121.1474W
Saturday, April 12, 2014 – 38.1276S,121.1474W

We’re in a part of the Southern Pacific Ocean that doesn’t get much traffic or attention from weather gurus, so most of the forecast data we use comes from the folks at Commanders Weather – the accuracy of which can vary widely. For example, yesterday’s winds were forecast to be between 12-20 knots, yet most of the day they were from 24-28 knots … a pretty noticeable difference. While they do their best, you can never be certain with weather. So keeping all options in mind, I’ve set up BoDream with the smaller storm sail on the bow for the next few days. As weather’s been a lot on my mind here, I thought I’d talk a bit more about that in this update.

38.545782S, 125.12947W
Cold front waves – 38.520408S,124.282397W

As best I can piece it together, the first upcoming event is a cold front that’s supposed to move up from the south and bring with it winds of 20 knots  – but they could be higher of course, and should the front carry with it squalls and rain storms, you need to prepare for winds up to 30-35 knots. This system is supposed to pass through so that by mid-weekend, the wind speeds should ease down for a day or so … at which point, we will likely encounter another low-pressure system.

38.521624S,124.301575W
Starboard Views – 38.521624S,124.301575W

For this second low system, we’ll go with a different strategy – one that has us trying to race east of it. This is not a typical strategy, because the eastern side of the front is the windier side, BUT if we can get there ahead of it, it may be possible after it passes, for us to capitalize on the prevailing southerly and southeasterly winds that flow up the South American Coast and use them to push us towards the Galapagos Islands. That’s the plan anyway!

38.520591S,124.284739W
Low-Pressure Waves – 38.520591S,124.284739W

At the moment, I’m sailing east and northeast as fast as I can. I’m being cautious of course, given the variables, but the hope is to get as far in front and east of this new low as possible. Now, add to that, the fact that this low system is only FORECAST to develop; at this point, it’s not actually there yet! Credit these kind of projective weather forecasting tactics to the amazing power of today’s computer weather models and satellite imagery capacities.

38.1276S,121.1474W
Rolling Big Ones – 38.520408S,124.282397W

In “predicting arrival date” news … with just under 3000 miles left to the Galapagos Islands, I think back to that same point in the previous two legs and how fun it was to try and predict the arrival date from this far out. My best guess at this point is that I still have two and a half weeks left. The troublesome part is that the last bit of distance, the 200 miles or more south of the Galapagos, is in an area of little or no wind, which I expect will be a bit frustrating for the old salt who smells land nearby. In any case, right now, I’m guessing we’ll make land on April 28th.

In “food” news, at a few days beyond two weeks from New Zealand, I ate the last fresh orange yesterday. I have a few fresh apples left, but whatever else remaining is either canned or freeze-dried. I do have some cheese in wax, which will keep a little while longer; long enough I hope to re-enact a few of my appetizer happy hours from the Trans-Atlantic crossing of a year and half ago when at sunset, I’d slice part of an apple, some cheese and some crackers … and live the good life!

I hope life is good for you all, as well …

More soon …

– Dave, Bodacious Dream and Franklin

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Happy Birthday Waves!

People often ask me, “So, what do you do out there with all that time?” Well, there’s the obvious things like boat maintenance, eating, napping, trimming sails and navigating … but in and around those jobs, there’s lots of time to read books and write emails, but often I find myself just sitting and staring out across the waters. At what, I really don’t know. But I do know I will just stare and watch the waves; my mind logging millions of bytes of data on waves, wind and sea conditions … most of it unconsciously. Some days I find myself recognizing wave patterns from the past and knowing exactly what type of winds will follow. Other days, I just relax into the beauty of the waves and into the immense reality of this wavy watery world.

2837_happy_wave2_500

There are good waves, calm waves, windy waves, choppy waves, steep waves, square back waves, big waves, OMG waves, storm waves, cross waves and rogue waves … but today, while I was watching the end of the day come and the sun setting behind the clouds, I captured with my camera some what felt to me to be “happy waves” – a few of which I thought I’d share with you.

2837_happy_wave2_500

BTW, today April 9th, Franklin, Bo and I will be celebrating my 56th trip around the sun! It’s a pretty nice weather out here … sunny and 56 degrees, wouldn’t you know. What an amazing place to celebrate a birthday … in the middle of the Southern Ocean, sailing on a course towards the Galapagos Islands. Wow… wow… WOW!

2831_happy_wave1_500

BTW … here’s a  link to the second half of our Leg 2 photos on Facebook.

trio2_500
Leg 2 Photos (Cape Town to Wellington #2)

That’s all …  except another big thanks for following along!

– Dave (older definitely … and maybe … a little bit wiser .. hard to say)

42.5723S, 132.0234W

Slowing Down to Speed Up

It’s been a busy day here onboard Bodacious Dream. With the pending gybe* around the coming weather system, I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish first thing after sunrise. The most important of these was reefing the sails and changing the setup on the foredeck for smaller sails. Changing sails is how we control the horsepower of the boat. As winds increase, they generate more horsepower from the sails, which means our only way to “depower” is to “shorten” sail by using smaller sails.

Lunchtime ...
A late and modest lunch on the aft deck

At just over two thousand miles from Wellington, NZ, and considering the approaching weather system, it has become time to make our gybe and head north towards our target, the Galapagos Islands. Though that sounds easy enough, there’s more to it than that. It’s not a straight shot to the Galapagos. While it felt good late this morning to gybe and put the Islands directly on our bow, it’s still necessary for us to get further east and catch the prevailing winds before we can make an earnest move to the north. At the same time, a significant low-pressure (storm) system sits directly in our way.

Galapagos ... this way!
The Galapagos are that way!  – 47.16029S, 136.136105W

We’re in the Southern Hemisphere where storm systems rotate clockwise, so the best place to be when one comes by, is behind it to the west and northwest. Our gybe will take us northward as we rendezvous with the storm system that will begin to move SE on Thursday, opening a pathway behind it where we can hopefully use the winds that spin off of it to propel us northward … and then back east over the top of it. If we simply continued to head east, the storm would come down right on top of us.

So, the reason for changing the set up on the bow for smaller sails is to control the speed of Bodacious Dream once the wind speeds start to increase. In this instance, we want to slow our pace to the north to give the storm a chance to set up and begin to move to the southeast, so that we can follow behind it. Right now, I’m trying to hold a steady a pace at 7.5 knots. That’s not so easy though, as the boat really wants to be going 10 knots with the wind and waves behind us. But, if I were to go at the 10 knots, I’d sail smack into the storm. So, it’s a bit tricky out here today … but in the meantime, we have enjoyed another beautiful Southern Ocean day with another lovely and dusky sunset.

Moody sky
Sunset, April 7, 2014 – 46.303469S, 148.377016W

Also, we put up the first half of our Leg 2 photos (Cape Town to Wellington) on our BDX Facebook Page. Click the link or the image below to see those.

Facebook Album
Leg 2 – (Cape Town to Wellington) Album #1 

Thanks, and more soon.

– Dave, Bodacious Dream and the ‘devil-may-care’ Franklin
Currently @ 45.2426S, 133.3764W

(* For the more unsalty among you, A gybe (or jibe) is a sailing maneuver whereby a sailing vessel reaching downwind turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other.)

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Behold the Stars!

Presently, Bodacious Dream and I have put about 1700 miles between us and New Zealand and have just less than 4000 miles to go to get to the Galapagos Islands. The weather gods have been kind with us the past week as we sailed along in pretty steady conditions making 200 miles or more a day!

As we approach Tuesday this week, the weather conditions are likely to become challenging, and we’ll need to find our way past two low-pressure systems that are swinging down from the north — between us and the Galapagos. This may prove a boon if a front comes through that we can hitch a ride on, but it might also mean we have to hold tight to our eastward course until we get much closer to the coast of Chile before we can turn and sail north.

Our objective is to get into the prevailing south winds and then to the SE trade winds at around 30°N. That’s about 16° latitude north of where we are now. If you followed our earlier math lesson posts, you can likely tell me about how far that is. If not, here’s a hint: each degree of latitude represents 60 miles of distance!

2711_sunset46.303469S, 148.377016W

The skies have been mostly cloudy the past 10 days. I’ve had some glimpses of sunshine, but not many. In fact, as I write this, the sun is pushing its way through the clouds. In the late afternoon, as the sun begins to set, the edges of the clouds turn a warm orange-pink color for a short time signaling that the sun is approaching the horizon. Yesterday, I caught some very pretty colors and clouds during this time.

2695_moonA bit further to the East from where the sun set yesterday, there was a break in the clouds just long enough for me to catch sight of the moon. I know it’s up there and I can follow the time the moon and sun rise and set via my navigation instruments, but not seeing those celestial bodies themselves, is just not as much fun.

Very late last night … actually early in the morning when I went on deck to do my walkabout, the skies had cleared enough that I could see the stars again. Out here … alone in such a remote place … the presence of the stars glistening in the vastness of the sky elicits a special kind of emotion, one that reminds me I am not really alone.

As my day-to-day existence this week has been largely routine, I sometimes lose perspective on the significance of it all … but then I think of all of you following this dream as it unfolds and I regain my perspective and once again realize how lucky I am to be able to experience all this and how lucky too that I am able to share it with you all … through the gracious help of our sponsors … Earthwatch InstituteHurricane Island Outward Bound School and Henri Lloyd … and through my magical editor and online guru Mark Petrakis back in California. Thank you one and all!

We have also begun to doing some video edits with the help of a dear and talented friend, Helen Babalis … starting with the amazing ones of Fox Glacier … with more to come.


Fox Glacier, NZ – Beautiful Sculpted Ice Formations

I also want to thank the brilliant Tegan Mortimer for her fantastic science notes. I hope you are enjoying those and choosing to share them with the younger folks in your world. There’s just SO much to learn and know about this world isn’t there? I learn something new (and astonishing) every day I’m out here.

2665_rainbow
A little rainbow in my day …

So for now, from a long ways away … enjoy the return of spring to your northern climes!

– Dave, Franklin and Bodacious Dream

https://goo.gl/maps/l226l
46.5028S, 141.1433W

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