In the twilight hours, with the stunsails set, cruising through tropical waters at a leisurely 5 knots, the South Pacific seems t o o good to be true. This morning, the first whale. It’s...
4 years ago we, as Rapa Nui islanders, used to have a direct flight from Rapa Nui to the island of Tahiti that took us in just 5 and a half hours to the southwest corner of the Polynesian triangle where we had a close and open...
After any given time away from land, the return to it can feel like a burst of activity and commotion. Indeed, the onboard routine that we settle into (the comforting, cyclical nature of “eat, sleep, work, repeat”...
On our last day on Easter Island we participated in a beach cleanup. When you think of a beach cleanup, you might imagine sandy beaches and sunshine. So did I. However, when we arrived this was not exactly what...
We are nearing Rapa Nui. It is the most eastern part of the Polynesian triangle, and one of the more isolated islands in the Pacific. Its closest neighbor lies 931km to the east, Isla Salas y Gómez, and...
The weather has not calmed down yet and we have almost gotten used to being wet. When I look out of the window, watching the rain pour down, I am happy to be inside. Though , when pulling lines and feeling the wind in...
Crossing paths with a Low Pressure System. Already from yesterday afternoon, we had to shake off the laziness and calm of a flat windless sea and start sailing on the increasing...
Time is a strange thing on board; days can fly by or pass very slowly. The hour before lunch is the longest hour of the day, where we wait with excitement, wondering what delicious things Shani and Cato will serve us today....
The Pacific Ocean. A convergence of many of the stories that shaped society and colonial and economic empires, and which aided the understanding of the world and the development of science. An ocean and an era of discoveries,...
Two or three at the beginning. Then 15 to 20. Now about 50. Growing numbers of the multi-colored plastic bits and pieces were collected in each of the Manta trawls samples. Fishing crates, buckets, buoys,...