Wednesday, July 27 - Sea Day sailing from Iceland to Greenland.
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JOURNAL ENTRIES (Posted Thursday 4:00 PM ET)

July 27, 2005

Alright, I'm going to start today's entry with a poem. I just came up with this poem this morning while looking out at the glassy ocean:


The blanket of Mother Nature's
A moment of Father Time's
Rolls up to meet the passengers
Of a ship's passage through that which is not mine

We argue for a solution
Though arguing gets us none
We protest against government
Saying, to blame, they are the one

But this is just an escape
An escape from our fear
Our fear is of the world
world too big and unclear

But we are the experienced
The ones who know the way
We can make the difference
Let the world hear what you have to say

We pass on our problems
The next generation fails
They follow their leaders
The cycle never derails

But this is just ignorance
Ignorance of our duty
The duty to protect
To protect, and live freely

But we are the experienced
The ones who know the way
We can make the difference
Let the world hear what you have to say

Alright, I apologize in advance about the length of this entry. I haven't been feeling well that much today. We hit rougher seas today. It still looks calm, but the swells are huge. The boat has turned into a huge teeter-totter (see-saw). I haven't been on one of those in a loooong time. I've been feeling a little queasy and a little dizzy. Nothing major has happened yet. Knock wood. I slept outside on deck for a quick nap and it helped tremendously. Anyway, today was filled with more lectures. We had a quick re-energizing game of Simon Says led by Justin. I suck at it. A lot of the people on the ship haven't been feeling well. We had two workshop sessions today. The first one I went to was about weather and clouds. Main thing I learned was that fog is not the same as clouds. Fog comes from the ground while clouds don't. The other workshop I did was on writing. How to write a book and how to publish it. I slept through the first half because I wasn't feeling well. Then one of our educators talked about his book on quilts that he published. He is a geomatics engineer and decided to take up quilting as a hobby. Anyway, after that we had our usual evening of recap and dinner. By the way, before I forget, we've reached Greenland. We're in Prins Christian Sund. Our first icebergs have been spotted. And Justin Trudeau came running onto deck wailing "My Heart Will Go On".

Ankur Gupta San Jose, California

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Yesterday was a day that no words in the English language could be used to describe it. As our first day at sea my thoughts were that it would be less exciting than our previous two days on land. Well I was proven wrong. The days started with a whale sighting and the whales came all day. We saw Sei Whales, Minke Whales, Sperm Whales, and Pilot Whales to name a few and the number of individual whales seen is still being calculated. Oh, I forgot the most exciting. We saw a Blue whale, well actually, TWO blue whales, a cow and her calf. Watching these two dinosaur sized animals surface was truly inspiring. To further add to this moment was the fact that the whales stuck around not swimming away. Finally it was time for us to leave and head towards Greenland, and leave the whales and their world behind. As well as whales our day was filled with lectures. The most inspiring was Justin Trudeau's speech in making that difference. We also had Fritz's lecture on Glaciers, which was more on doing field work on glaciers than the glaciers themselves, but it was so interesting as he told many stories. Well today's lectures are about to start, and there is so much to learn.

Hannah Munro, Salt Spring Island, BC

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First sight of Greenland-knew not what to expect-happy to get there-was a little nervous about 2 days at sea and no land in sight-both expansive and claustrophobic at the same time-and then the fog lifted and the icebergs appeared-and marched by like floats in a parade-each more spectacular than the last one-and the parade did not end-entered the sound and the majesty of the cliffs-and it was different from Iceland-and rocky and snow-capped-and the mist lifted upon entering the sound-and the sea became calm as a gesture of peace to all those who were sick during the day and she invited us out to see her beautiful treasures-and we entered the zodiacs and turned the corner and encountered face on the 10,000 year glacier tumbling down from the ice cap-3 tongues reaching into the harbour and we didn't know where to look first and it was awesome in the true meaning of awe-it will be hard to sleep tonight.

Nancy Rosenfeld Chaperone, Montreal

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Today we spent the whole day outside on deck because we were nauseous. We had to skip breakfast and lunch, besides lasagna and fruit salad. hehehe. By carrying around barf bags all day we managed to show up for most of the "fun time get togethers." During the one we had to sit out on, we were one of the few to actually see the four killer whales swimming just a few yards away from the ship!!!! Finally by dinner we anchored in the middle of nowhere and our appetites returned, so we fully enjoyed the penne! After dinner we went out on the Zodiacs and experienced the wonders of Greenland for the first time, to top off a great day we saw part of the ice cap collapse into the sea!

Hey Mom and Tobe and all my peeps stuck in China!!! I miss y'all.Mom: I know you won't read this cause you never use the computer, but it's the thought that counts. -Julz

HOLLA FAM!!! I know that you are probably waiting for me to call everyday but there are so no payphones anywhere so it's not my fault!!! Heart you all with a mad passion_dani

Dani Komiske, MD

Julia Cheng, Shanghai China

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Hello from Greenland!!!

We arrived to Greenland early in the evening and we greeted by masses of fog and fjords on either side of the ship. Among this landscape were iceberg upon iceberg, and I couldn't even believe my eyes. It was the most amazing feeling to be able to say that I have seen, touched, smelled, and absorbed Greenland. Wow! The highlight of the day was the zodiac cruise late this evening and the thought that I am now a member of the Polar Bear Swim Team!!! Yeah baby! A few of us jumped off the gangway at the side of the ship for a quick (and I mean quick) dip in the ocean. Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold. Well worth it though. Justin was the first one to recommend that we do it, and I decided to go for it!!! What a way to end off the day!!!!!!!!!! I'm off to bed now so I'll write a little later. Bye!

Kelsi Prince

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Today is the 27th of June, and is the roughest water we've passed through yet. Jessica is seasick, so it's Rebecca writing at the moment. This morning I did wake-up call with my roommate Alison. But there was a time change, and we forgot. We arrived one hour early, so we went back to bed. Once it was the proper time we sang our wake-up call. Immediately after I woke up I noticed the ocean was much choppier. I wasn't very hungry at breakfast, so I immediately knew something was wrong. During a lecture by David Gray about the history of Greenland many people started getting sick. Afterwards, I went out on deck, and I felt much better. I went to a workshop on GPS, and learned a lot. Unfortunately, I felt really bad and decided to have some Gravol. I tried to swallow it, and well.now I can really say I'm a hardened sailor. Anyhow, I feel better now, and I'm going to go on deck. Sorry this journal is so short - this has been a relatively quiet sea day. Oh yes, we saw one whale. It was a fin whale on the port side (left side) of the ship.

P.S - Jessica's friends and family: Don't worry; I'm sure she'll feel better tomorrow!!!

Rebecca's Friends and Family: Don't fret about me being sick. I'm feeling much better! We'll write more tomorrow!

Rebecca and Jessica

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We're on our way to Greenland!!! With Iceland behind us, and more to come, it finally feels like I'm here. Yesterday was the best yet. I had some brilliant lectures from Peter Johnson on weather, Fritz on glaciers and ice, and then Justin Trudeau ended the day with a very inspirational talk on action, ideas, and motivation. But the lectures were only the very start - we had a mother blue whale and her calf come right in front of the ship!! It was indescribably beautiful, and as each time they came up to breath, with a huge huff, their giant sides cast a spell over everyone, leaving us gazing at their footprint in the water, every part of you reeling with the moment.

There were 40 whale sightings that day. Unbelievable. After our recap and briefing (held on the stern deck because we kept seeing whales), we had dinner and relaxed afterwards. The water was like liquid silk, an inky mirror parting as we passed. Up at the bow birds glided over their watery reflection, silent and solitary.

Valerie and I stood on the bow, and through a blue opening in the gray clouds, it was as if heaven was opening up over to the right, the sun was shining on a single patch of water, turning the cloud lining and water a shiny gold.

My love to everyone at home, and all those who helped me get here.

Alysia Garmulewicz

New Denver, BC

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(Posted 9:00 PM ET)
A few links ...

www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gl.html

www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/greenland/

www.greenland.com

www.fallingrain.com/world/GL/3/Prins_Christians_Sund.html

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(Posted Wed 2:30 PM ET)

It is now mid-afternoon on July 27th, and we are nearing the coast of Greenland in thick fog. David Gray's lecture this morning on the history of Greenland showed us that we are following the same path the Vikings took when they sailed from Iceland to Greenland. The seas have been a bit rougher this afternoon (although still relatively quite calm) and some of the students have been experiencing their first bouts of sea-sickness. As we say, it is all part of the experience!

We hope to enter Prins Christian Sound at the southern tip of Greenland early this evening, and possibly go ashore for our first steps on Greenland just after dinner! Stay tuned.

Geoff

A few new photos ...

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About the “Bottle Drop” Project

"Not all those who wander are lost." - J.R.R. Tolkien


Every year, volunteer vessels are used to deploy drift bottles in an effort to study the large-scale ocean circulation. In our experiment, bottles have been dropped all around the coast of North America, and who knows where they will turn up next?

Using drift bottles to map the currents that surround the world is improving our knowledge of the role ocean currents play in climate change and biodiversity. For example, water from the Pacific Ocean flows northward through the Bering Strait carrying nutrients into the Arctic Ocean. This water floods the upper layers of the Arctic Ocean and much of it exists eastward through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and into the North Atlantic. In such ways ocean waters of the world and their living biota are interconnected.

Still, this is not a new idea. The first recorded drift bottle we know of was thrown into the Mediterranean by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus, in the year 310BC. He was trying to show that the Mediterranean was created by waters from the Atlantic. In the 1950s, Guinness Beer threw more than 200,000 bottles into the ocean as part of a marketing plan, and people still find them from time to time.

This project started in 2000, when a Canadian RCMP vessel, St. Roch II and a support vessel, Simon Fraser, left Vancouver on July 1, 2000 to cross the Northwest Passage from West to East. In 2001, the Sedna IV, a 50m sailing ship deployed bottles as it circumnavigated North America. The Canadian "Students on Ice" organization has also helped us collect data, and other bottles have been dropped by various vessels such as the CCGS Louis St. Laurent and the CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

Drift bottles are carried by the surface currents; that means they travel about five or ten kilometres a day. Although we can't be sure how long a bottle lies on the beach before it is found, we can use what we know about surface currents to give us an idea of where and how long a bottle's trip might have been.

We collect all the data and publish it on our webpage, which can be found online on the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Pacific Division) site.

We need your help! The drift bottle project relies on the initiative of bottle reporters to create our map of ocean circulation. We have received reports from all around the world, with bottles dropped in the Arctic coming ashore in Canada, the USA, Russia, Greenland, France, Ireland, Scotland, and even islands in the Caribbean and the Philippines. We need to hear from you and add your discovery to our collection.

Already, interesting information is turning up. For example, Hooper Bay in Alaska has had more than fifty bottles wash ashore. The farthest any bottle has travelled to our knowledge is either the Philippines or the Caribbean, but we have no way to tell which one actually took a longer route - we only know where they wash ashore.

Drift bottles aren't the only thing that washes up on the shore. There are areas where beachcombing is a serious hobby. Container ships crossing the oceans sometimes get caught in storms and lose cargo over the side. That was how 33,000 Nike running shoes were set adrift in 2002 and found their way ashore all along the coast of North America. There are more stories and links on our web site, as well on that of Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer's http://www.beachcombers.org. We would love to hear any story about how the bottle was found, or see any pictures from the area. Some of the pictures and stories get posted on our website.