At noon we had reached 541 nautical miles out from Antigua and our course continues to be steady 76.3 degrees. We are in the tropical part of the Atlantic and the life around the ship is very limited. A few Leach's Storm-Petrels, one Sooty Shearwater migrating from the Southern Ocean to the northern part of the Atlantic.
The Leach's Storm-Petrels are heading for the breeding grounds after spending the winter outside Southwest Africa and the Sooty Shearwater has recently finished the breeding season at maybe the Falklands and are now heading north to winter. They both use the NW trade winds to take them from waters off Africa to America, just like the slave ships did in the 18th century.
As we make our way through the Atlantic en route to Las Palmas, we sail in the least productive part of the Atlantic. Very few things will be spotted, but still it is always good to keep an eye out on the blue sea. Although there is a very high influx of solar energy, the surface water houses few nutrients. The water is extremely clear, a good sign of little primary production. Still, it is always good to be out looking, because the deep ocean houses lots of unknown creatures.
Ocean covers about 70% of the surface of this planet and still we only have very limited knowledge about all the strange creatures it harbours. We actually know more about space than the ocean!
Oceanography and Marine Biology are both recent sciences. The year 1871 marked the very important start of these sciences, as the Royal Society requested the British Government to raise funds for a major ocean-wide expedition. This later became famous as the Challenger Expedition of 1872 - 1876. Much has been learnt since this first major oceanographic expedition, which produced more than 50 volumes of books. Still, more than 100 years later new a whale species was found and described as recently as last year!
Even if the bird and whale list are not as impressive as if you were to sail in the productive waters of the Arctic or Antarctic, every sunrise or sunset is a remarkable event. And to be able to enjoy the day at sea in shorts, T-shirt, sandals, with perhaps a dip into the pool, makes life easy!
