Hi Everyone,
Below an update on the progress of the Sea Dragon, as posted by the Captain, Rodrigo and the First Mate Jessie, in the last 24 hrs. They are in constant communication with Pangea Explorations obtaining weather updates and advice as they skirt the edges of typhoon Guchol.
“We have been making slow progress yesterday and today, yesterday going NE and today going SE. Wind has been from WNW. Also yesterday there was a lot of stopping to pick up stuff all day. Today we have been moving mostly but at times the winds slack and we have to motor. Looking forward for the SW wind from the lows to make better progress. Don’t want to motor too much as we still are half way across and we already finished 1 of the fwd tanks of fuel, and half of the 2nd one.l I am looking forward to have more speed and progress. – Rodrigo”
“Thanks for the weather info guys, keep it coming. Just an update. Found front bow portion of Japanese fishing skiff today. dove on it, took pics and then pulled it on board. (carefully!) Lots of interesting stuff out here. winds are minimal so lots more motoring than we would like, and seas are mixed swell, so speeds about 5kt. East, ever east…. – Jessie”
Also, some pics below of interesting things found in the last couple of days.
Spare tyre in the Gyre
Bottom of a bucket found adrift
There are also several very interesting posts on the expedition websites where you can see the sort of debris they are encountering. See links below.
The Greatest Migration on Earth and Plastic is on the Menu – Katie Transue
Typhoon Guchol, Plastic Every 1.5 Minutes and Anemone of The People. – Alex
Critical decisions on the high seas – Markus Eriksen
Finally, below is their latest position track, showing roughly 3,200 Kms to go. They are expected to be two days late arriving in Maui which may change depending on the weather and the amount of interesting things they spot. Last message from the Sea Dragon was that they had spotted a Japanese Fishing Boat adrift so I imagine they will spend quite a bit of time documenting that.
All the best,
1plasticDad.