At Sea
Eighteen Hundred miles of ocean stretches out before us, nothing but blue water surrounding us, the Cape Verde islands now far behind, not even a speck on the horizon. Endeavour’s transit of the Atlantic Ocean has begun, our aim: Salvador in six days time.
The ocean is fascinating, holding many mysteries and secrets. As Endeavour and her guests skim across the surface, we travel over many things unseen. We miss the symbiosis of different sea creatures, interacting and reacting with each other. Whales, dolphins, and sharks swim below us, our only hint that they are there, is the occasional fin sticking through the waves, or even perhaps some dolphins bow riding. But most often, as quickly they appear, they disappear into the azure depths, our memory the only trace they were there. There are abyssal trenches that fall thousands of meters below us, too deep for most conventional man-made machines to go, possessing creatures that man has never laid eyes on. Occasionally the sonar on the bridge will show large masses, up to 100 meters below the ship, most likely a school of fish transiting these waters as well.
Undersea Specialist, Dennis Cornejo, and myself as dive buddy, do our best to explore the ocean with conventional methods. During our visit to the Cape Verde islands, we had a chance to do some remarkable dives, and bring the footage back to the guests on Endeavour for their enjoyment. The waters are getting warmer, almost 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and we are starting to see new species of more tropical fish, such as butterfly fish and puffer fish; and even though there are no reefs in the Cape Verde’s, coral encrustations are prevalent.
We found this Spiny Lobster or crayfish, relaxing under a rock ledge. Behind this intimidating face, there is a large body covered with a strong carapace. It has antennae that are longer than the body, waving in the air to almost 3 feet in length. Quite intimidating. Most of these species combine predatory feeding (mostly at night) with scavenging. They are also filter feeders, using appendages to close to their mouths, to pick up small plankton particles out of the water column. These fellows are very good eating, and the Cape Verdians harvest quite a few.
As we continue on our transit we keep a sharp look out for anything popping up from the depths that might give us a greater understanding of the deep secrets of the ocean.
Eighteen Hundred miles of ocean stretches out before us, nothing but blue water surrounding us, the Cape Verde islands now far behind, not even a speck on the horizon. Endeavour’s transit of the Atlantic Ocean has begun, our aim: Salvador in six days time.
The ocean is fascinating, holding many mysteries and secrets. As Endeavour and her guests skim across the surface, we travel over many things unseen. We miss the symbiosis of different sea creatures, interacting and reacting with each other. Whales, dolphins, and sharks swim below us, our only hint that they are there, is the occasional fin sticking through the waves, or even perhaps some dolphins bow riding. But most often, as quickly they appear, they disappear into the azure depths, our memory the only trace they were there. There are abyssal trenches that fall thousands of meters below us, too deep for most conventional man-made machines to go, possessing creatures that man has never laid eyes on. Occasionally the sonar on the bridge will show large masses, up to 100 meters below the ship, most likely a school of fish transiting these waters as well.
Undersea Specialist, Dennis Cornejo, and myself as dive buddy, do our best to explore the ocean with conventional methods. During our visit to the Cape Verde islands, we had a chance to do some remarkable dives, and bring the footage back to the guests on Endeavour for their enjoyment. The waters are getting warmer, almost 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and we are starting to see new species of more tropical fish, such as butterfly fish and puffer fish; and even though there are no reefs in the Cape Verde’s, coral encrustations are prevalent.
We found this Spiny Lobster or crayfish, relaxing under a rock ledge. Behind this intimidating face, there is a large body covered with a strong carapace. It has antennae that are longer than the body, waving in the air to almost 3 feet in length. Quite intimidating. Most of these species combine predatory feeding (mostly at night) with scavenging. They are also filter feeders, using appendages to close to their mouths, to pick up small plankton particles out of the water column. These fellows are very good eating, and the Cape Verdians harvest quite a few.
As we continue on our transit we keep a sharp look out for anything popping up from the depths that might give us a greater understanding of the deep secrets of the ocean.
