At Sea, Atlantic Ocean & Gulf Stream
The final day of our voyage dawned clear, bright and warm. We have been heading south for the past ten days since our departure from Nova Scotia – a total distance of some 2,250 nautical miles (= 2,600 statute miles = 4,100 kilometres). The autumnal colours of New England were a clear sign that it is time to head south, a message that many other inhabitants of North America also received. On our journey south we have encountered many other travelers. Migratory warblers have joined the ship for a few hours en route to the Caribbean or South America. Monarch butterflies have been seen making their way to Mexico and humpback whales on their way to the Caribbean.
At sea today we had a brief encounter with the Gulf Stream, the warm water current that heads north from the Gulf of Mexico up the east coast before crossing the Atlantic and bathing the coast of North-west Europe. Once in the warmer waters (30¢ªC = 85¢ªF) we started seeing flying fish. We also encountered bottlenose dolphins once again and mats of sargassum weed drifted past. This weed proliferates in the slack oceanic waters of the western North Atlantic and is a valuable habitat for a diversity of pelagic organisms.
An interesting mix of seabirds was also encountered, taking advantage of the productivity of the se waters. Three species of shearwater were seen. These smaller relatives of albatrosses are ocean wanderers also. The Cory’s shearwaters have crossed the Atlantic from the Azores or one of the other archipelagoes in the eastern Atlantic. Great shearwaters travel here from Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic while the Audubon’s shearwaters have a relatively short commute from the Caribbean. While many are heading south, others are heading west or north, making the waters we travel through a crossroads for a range of species undertaking extraordinary journeys like our own.
The final day of our voyage dawned clear, bright and warm. We have been heading south for the past ten days since our departure from Nova Scotia – a total distance of some 2,250 nautical miles (= 2,600 statute miles = 4,100 kilometres). The autumnal colours of New England were a clear sign that it is time to head south, a message that many other inhabitants of North America also received. On our journey south we have encountered many other travelers. Migratory warblers have joined the ship for a few hours en route to the Caribbean or South America. Monarch butterflies have been seen making their way to Mexico and humpback whales on their way to the Caribbean.
At sea today we had a brief encounter with the Gulf Stream, the warm water current that heads north from the Gulf of Mexico up the east coast before crossing the Atlantic and bathing the coast of North-west Europe. Once in the warmer waters (30¢ªC = 85¢ªF) we started seeing flying fish. We also encountered bottlenose dolphins once again and mats of sargassum weed drifted past. This weed proliferates in the slack oceanic waters of the western North Atlantic and is a valuable habitat for a diversity of pelagic organisms.
An interesting mix of seabirds was also encountered, taking advantage of the productivity of the se waters. Three species of shearwater were seen. These smaller relatives of albatrosses are ocean wanderers also. The Cory’s shearwaters have crossed the Atlantic from the Azores or one of the other archipelagoes in the eastern Atlantic. Great shearwaters travel here from Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic while the Audubon’s shearwaters have a relatively short commute from the Caribbean. While many are heading south, others are heading west or north, making the waters we travel through a crossroads for a range of species undertaking extraordinary journeys like our own.
