Category Archives: High Seas

Dean and Mason Vazquez voice the characters of Santiago Montes and Toms Gaviota on Santiago of the Seas, a childrens television series that premiered on Nickelodeon. The English language series infuses a Spanish-language and Latino-Caribbean culture curriculum into its episodes. Bringing this beautiful diversity to younger audiences, the series follows the adventures of 8-year-old Santiago Santi Montes, a brave and kind-hearted pirate, as he embarks on daring rescues, searches for treasures, and keeps the high seas safe in a fantastical Caribbean world.

Monica sat down with Dean and Mason Vazquez who voice the characters of Santiago Montes and Toms Gaviota. These young and talented actors told us about how they maintain their work and school life, what they love about their characters and much more.

Dean Vazquez is the voice of Santiago Santi Montes, the shows protagonist. Santi is a brave and kind-hearted 8-year-old pirate who sets sail on amazing adventures with his friends and keeps the high seas safe from villains as the pirate protector of Isla Encanto. Vazquez recently wrapped up a role in the latest Transformers movie, Transformers: Rise of theBeasts, alongside Anthony Ramos.

Mason Vazquez is the voice of Toms Gaviota, Santiagos cousin and first mate. He plays a magical Calavera cuatro guitar that can harness the wind as he sails the high seas with Santiago. You may have seen Mason on-screen as Miggy in the movie In The Heights.

Santiago of the Seas is created by Niki Lpez, Leslie Valdes, and Valerie Walsh Valdes. Valdes and Walsh Valdes formerly worked on the beloved Dora the Explorer series and serve as executive producers with Lpez co-executive producing.

In the series, Santiagos steadfast and loyal crew consists of Toms, his clumsy energetic cousin whose magical guitar can be used to harness the wind; and Lorelai, a knowledgeable mermaid who can speak to sea creatures and transform into a human girl. Together, Santi and his best mates sail the seas on the majestic ship El Bravo, using their smarts, pirate skills, and moral compasses to guard their home of Isla Encanto from villains like the nefarious pirate Bonnie Bones and her Palm Crow sidekick Sir Butterscotch.

We know that its important for children to see themselves represented on screen. To hear voices that sound like theirs and to see their community beautifully depicted. The series features a Latino-Caribbean culture by highlighting the cultures music,language, cuisine, dances, architecture, customs, folklore, and more. In that way, it provides the audience who may be unfamiliar with Latino-Caribbean culture with a wonderful introduction.

Santiago of the Seas seamlessly infuses both English & Spanish, giving viewers a head start on learning the Spanish language. In the same vein as Dora The Explorer each episode features a targeted Spanish word or phrase that viewers are asked to repeat. Whenever the characters speak Spanish, its done in a way that provides context to clarify its meaning, so that viewers are easily able to understand and follow along.

Santiagoof the Seasapparel, home/bedding, footwear, and sleepwear are available now at Amazon, Target, Walmart, Kohls, and Ross. You can stream episodes ofSantiagoof the Seas onParamount+,with new episodes rolling out each month. You can tune into Nickelodeon every Friday in July at 11:30 am for brand-new episodes.

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Santiago of the Seas: Interview with Dean and Mason Vazquez - That Hashtag Show

Research from the Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) project has been showcased at the GeoHab Conference held at The Venice International University in Italy during the month of May 2022.

GeoHab is an international conference that brings together geological and biological mapping specialists to present the latest mapping methodological developments and findings from shallow coasts to deep-sea settings.

SAERI scientist, Dr Tabitha Pearman presented her research focused on creating predictive distribution maps of VMEs in the Falkland Islands Conservations Zones. Predictive distribution maps use mathematics to capture the relationship between where species occur and the environment, which is then used to extrapolate species distributions beyond where they have been sampled but the environment is known. The talk generated a lot of interest because so little is known of southern Patagonian deep-sea environments and scientist were keen to hear how government fisheries, fishermen and scientists can work together to achieve common goals.

Due to her expertise, Dr Pearman was also asked to chair the session Habitat mapping for maritime spatial planning within an ecosystem based approach. This area of research looks at how habitat maps can be used by government, fishermen and other marine users to manage their marine resources.

In recognition of the important work that SAERI is doing via the VME project Dr Pearman received sponsorship to attend the conference from the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) deep-sea experts travel grant.

An award supported by the Ocean Foundation and High Seas Alliance.

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Falklands' SAERI project on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems of the Southwest Atlantic - MercoPress

How do you watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in order? Yoho, yo ho,a pirates life for us, with the blockbuster adventure movies led by Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Since the original in 2003, these Disney movies have become a phenomenon for the House of Mouse.

Set during the Golden Age of Piracy, from 1630 to 1730, thefantasy movies take us out on the high seas for Jacks eccentric, over-the-tophijinks that continually tend to put his friends in danger. For most instalments, thats Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), but they do get some reprieve later on.

Sailing the seven seas has uncovered quite a few ancient myths thus far, and understanding how to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in order can be tricky in all the maelstrom. Have no fear, though, because we have a map with all the requisite exes marked for you. If its treasure youre after, step aboard, just be careful of the Black Pearl, and Davy Jones, and anyone asking for captain Jack and just stay quiet and enjoy the ride.

Whats the right order to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies?

You might not even know this Pirates of the Caribbean short exists, because it was confined to home media boxsets for the first four movies. Two women, played by Vanessa Branch and Lauren Maher, believed themselves to be Jack Sparrows one-and-only, except theyve both been traded to an auctioneer.

Its a daft preamble to The Curse of the Black Pearl that explains why Jacks boat is sinking, and why the women hate him, if such questions were burning in your mind. Somewhat impressive for being put together in a couple of days before sets were taken down.

The first proper instalment is The Curse of the Black Pearl, a classic pirates tale in blockbuster form. Will Turner, a blacksmith, needs to save Elizabeth Swann, his partner, from the crew of the Black Pearl, a cursed ship.

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He begrudgingly enlists the help of Jack Sparrow, who knows the captain of the Black Pearl. Hilarity ensues! Later sequels become unruly and convoluted, but director Gore Verbinski captures the energy of the theme park ride with the original Pirates of the Caribbean.

Soon after The Curse of the Black Pearl, Will and Elizabeths wedding is interrupted by someone whos mad at Jack Sparrow, because of course it is. Lord Cutler Beckett strikes a deal with Will for Elizabeths freedom: find the heart of Davy Jones and the Dead Mans Chest.

Needless to say, neither are as easy as following a map to an X. Meanwhile, Jack is actually stuck working for Davy, and needs the chest to get out of his servitude. Notable for the tentacled effects work on Davy Jones.

Piracy is on the way out, so the remaining crew of the Black Pearl save Jack from Davy Joness Locker, while Will sets out to get his father off the Flying Dutchman. They all rally together to stop Cutler from putting an end to pirate trade.

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The war against Cutlers regime has its costs, and by the end Will is condemned to guide souls lost at sea. He leaves Elizabeth with a locker containing his heart, and a post-credits scene has him returning ten years later to meet her and his grown son. Jack, on the other hand, is off to find the Fountain of Youth. A bit of a mess, this one.

Ian McShane as Blackbeard? An inspired addition to the Pirates of the Caribbean cast. Penelope Cruz stars as Angelica opposite Depps Jack Sparrow for this misadventure, picking up after At Worlds End with the search for the Fountain of Youth.

Angelica is Blackbeards daughter, hinting at the films moving into a new era. Their journey is made difficult by Barbossa, another captain Jacks managed to piss off to a supreme degree. The only sequel without Will or Elizabeth.

The baton is passed to Wills son Henry, now 13-years-old, who sets out for Poseidons Trident to free his father from the Flying Dutchman. Hed like Jack Sparrow to help, but the legendary adventurer is a tricky one to track down (for once).

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Javier Bardem shows up as an undead captain intent on killing every pirate he can find. Lot of zombification and curses back in the late 1600s to early 1700s, eh? Silly fun, as has been the general MO.

How do you watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in release order?

Watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in release order is almost identical to following in chronological order. Youve got The Curse of the Black Pearl first, then Dead Mans Chest and At Worlds End.

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On Stranger Tides, from 2011, follows, and then we have the one blip. Takes of the Code: Wedlocked came out the same year as On Stranger Tides, with Blu-ray and DVD sets that combined the first four Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It still hasnt made its way to Disney Plus and YouTube, leaving you to search out one of these bundles if youd like to see it.

After that, you just have Dead Men Tell No Tales. For now, thats all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but a sixth is on the horizon. Captain Jack Sparrow may ride again, and if he does, keep all your treasured possessions close.

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How to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in order - The Digital Fix

Residents of southern states with abortion bans could potentially seek out the procedure on the high seas.

Driving the news: A California doctor recently outlined her idea for a floating abortion clinic in the Gulf of Mexico as an option to maintain access for people who would be pressed to travel long distances to receive treatment.

Details: Meg Autry's proposed ship, PRROWESS (Protecting Reproductive Rights of Women Endangered by State Statutes), would offer first-trimester surgical abortions, contraception and other care while out of reach of state laws.

Flashback: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas have all banned abortions since the repeal of Roe v. Wade last month. Getting to a boat in the Gulf may be easier than traveling to another state that allows the procedure.

What they're saying: "Part of the reason we're working on this project so hard is because wealthy people in our country are always going to have access (to abortions), so once again it's a time now where poor, people of color, marginalized individuals, are going to suffer and by suffering I mean like lives lost," Autry told NBC Bay Area.

Point of intrigue: This wouldn't be the first abortion boat to set sail. Dutch nonprofit Women on Waves, sails to countries where abortion is illegal, like Poland and Ecuador, at the invitation of local women's organizations.

Of note: While the organization has been receiving U.S. requests, its founder Rebecca Gomperts told Dutch network EenVandaag the ship plans to stay put for now.

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Doctor proposes abortion boat clinic on the Gulf of Mexico - Axios

Following the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, we spoke to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Director-General Marco Lambertini and WWF Oceans Practice Lead Pepe Clarke, who overlooks the organizations strategy for ocean conservation efforts, to get their take on the health of the Ocean, what needs to be done to improve it, and the role WWF and the UN Ocean Conference play in implementing such change.

As WWF Director-General Marco Lambertini pointed out, we managed to do tremendous damage to our oceans that can only be solved by eliminating pollution and overfishing and immediately start[ing] to responsibly manage and protect all marine life around the world.

Meanwhile WWF Oceans Practice Lead Pepe Clarke reminded us that the Ocean is a powerful economic engine, highlighting that [c]ompanies and investors risk trillions of dollars due to declining ocean health and climate change if business as usual continues.

To put these comments in perspective, lets take a brief look at what oceans mean for the health of the planet and what they do for us.

The oceans, covering 70-71% of our planet and representing 99% of its living space by volume, are essential to our existence as we depend on them to regulate our climate as well as for food, water, energy, and oxygen (half of Earths oxygen is provided by the oceans).

They are also crucial for protecting biodiversity and play a key role in our battle against climate change; as UNEP puts it, they are our key ally in this fight, absorbing over 30% of carbon dioxide caused by human activity and more than 90% of the excess heat.

As to their role in the global economy: Over three billion people depend on the oceans for their livelihoods, with 80% of international trade taking place by sea and coastal areas accounting for around 80% of global tourism, which in some countries supports more than a third of the labor force.

Marine fisheries meanwhile employ 57 million people around the world and provide the primary source of protein for over half of the least developed countries populations.

The science, as UNEP puts it, is clear: The oceans are seriously degraded, and if present trends continue, there will be catastrophic consequences for the planet.

Those carbon emissions that our activities have been causing since the industrial revolution the oceans have been absorbing them all along and they are now causing unprecedented levels of oxygen loss, acidification, and ocean warming, among other things.

The new water temperature never higher than today is threatening the oceans ecosystems and destroying coral reels in a way that spares no part of the world. Similarly, the new lows of water oxygen levels are creating more and more dead zones, areas without enough oxygen to sustain life. These zones have almost doubled between 2008 and 2019.

As a result, fisheries around the world are collapsing, which in turn threatens coastal communities that depend on them for food and jobs. At the same time, harmful fishing practices continue, including overfishing even if 35.4% of our fish populations are overfished ( i.e., exploited beyond sustainable levels) as new UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) figures show.

To make things worse, we are polluting the oceans with debris, nutrients and minerals, which is having major environmental and economic impact, deteriorating coastal waters and costing us billions of dollars every year. Marine pollution, 80% of which originates on land, is set to increase by 20% by 2050.

The financial losses and cleanup costs from plastic alone come out at around $13 billion per year, according to UNEP research. Our plastic-consuming habits are well known by now yet still somehow difficult to grasp: We buy a million plastic bottles every minute and use about five trillion single-use plastic bags every year, which account for 89% of the debris found at the bottom of the oceans.

But while potentially catastrophic, the damage done so far is not (yet) irreversible. And that is what is of main concern to the United Nations and major environmental organizations like WWF.

The good news is that by knowing how these crises happened, we also know what we need to do to prevent them from evolving passed the so-called point of no return. And we still have some time (if not much).

We also have comprehensive guidelines (in the form of 17 goals with 169 specific targets) for addressing all major issues facing our species, from climate change to economic inequality. Theyre called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and were unanimously adopted in 2015 by the UN General Assembly i.e., by all 193 UN member states.

Among, the one of direct relevance here is SDG 14: Life Below Water, meant to guide national policies to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. The goal has 10 targets that aim to address, inter alia, marine pollution, harmful fishing practices, (unsustainable) sea trade, ocean acidification, conservation, and resilience.

Now, the achievement of the SDGs is up to individual countries and their societies. From individuals to local authorities to national ministers to UN agencies, each must take ownership of the Goals in their particular contexts acknowledging that all Goals are interrelated and mutually reinforcing, the UN explains.

In this context, the NGO sector plays a critical role in the implementation of the SDGs, providing technical expertise and helping to raise awareness, mobilize resources, and design and implement projects. Perhaps most importantly, NGOs track and monitor SDG progress and are key to holding governments accountable to their commitments.

When it comes to WWF and the implementation of SDG 14, Marco Lambertini and Pepe Clarke illustrate what their organization is doing to help:

WWF supports states to deliver on their commitments under SDG 14 in a variety of ways, including our support for the designation of new marine protected areas, our efforts to curb harmful fisheries subsidies through the World Trade Organization, and our global campaign for a legally binding treaty to address plastic pollution. We also call on states to finalize an ambitious new High Seas treaty to conserve biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.

Looking at the last World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting outcome, the efforts by WWF and 180 other organizations seem to have started to pay off: The new agreement reached by 164 WTO member countries will prohibit certain harmful fisheries subsidies, which is what the sixth target of SDG 14 calls for (albeit by 2020 so we are two years late).

While the agreement wont end harmful fishing practices altogether (target 4 of SDG 14), it sets unprecedented new rules to curb harmful subsidies, which WWF has been calling for since 1997.

Besides, the agreement comes after almost two decades of negotiations and should, as Lambertini underlines, be a catalyst for further subsidy and fisheries reform.

The new agreement is the product of compromise among 164 countries, so its not perfect, Lambertini admits. But the ocean needs help now, and marine ecosystems as well as coastal communities cannot wait for a perfect solution.

Through its Oceans Practice initiative, WWF also forms partnerships with both the private and public sectors to restore ocean health, supporting various other initiatives for doing so.

These initiatives cover a variety of habitats, species, and issues, but each is inspired and informed by the aspirations and well-being of communities that depend on the ocean, explains Pepe Clarke, WWF Ocean Practice lead.

However, despite clear roadmaps and NGO efforts, SDG 14 still has the lowest level of financial investment compared to any other goal.

Given the vital role the ocean plays in human well-being and in regulating our climate, both public and private sector investment in ocean restoration and protection must increase significantly, Lambertini asserts.

And this is where global mega conferences become crucial and invaluable, with their unique potential to scale up investment on the global level, mobilize government and private sector commitments, and put in place and ratify global treaties.

This years UN Ocean Conference, for instance, has secured billions of dollars in voluntary commitments and pledges for efforts to tackle the Ocean health crisis, and has set the stage for further negotiations on several important treaties.

Following two years of postponement due to the Covid pandemic, the second UN Ocean Conference (first was held in 2017) took place this year in Lisbon. Co-hosted by the governments of Portugal and Kenya, it brought together over 4,000 people from 150 countries: heads of governments, the scientific community, private and NGO sectors, and civil society.

WWF in particular has been very vocal in Lisbon, calling on leaders to seize the momentum created at the conference and resolve long-standing issues surrounding the protection of the high seas, plastic pollution and harmful fisheries subsidies by putting in place and ratifying swiftly robust global treaties.

The Conference, Clarke points out, underscored the severity of the multiple threats facing the worlds ocean, including overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change, resulting in over 300 voluntary commitments and pledges.

Asked if voluntary commitments will suffice, Lambertini explains that they can set the bar and induce a race to the top for ocean conservation.

[W]eve also seen great leadership that doesnt require waiting for global treaties. Many nations have expressed support for a moratorium on deep seabed mining, and many are also rapidly expanding protection for their seas and coasts, he said, highlighting Colombias example of meeting its voluntary marine protection commitment:

Even after a disappointing round of negotiations on the global biodiversity framework, we heard countries affirm their commitment to protecting 30% of their waters by 2030 and Colombia met that target eight years early!

The Conference has also resulted in a landmark declaration to save our oceans called Our ocean, our future, our responsibility, which calls on governments to scale up science-based and innovative actions and address the ocean emergency of habitat loss, ocean acidification and ecosystem degradation.

In explaining what is needed and what the next steps should be, Clarke says: Its not a new story its the money.

We still have an investment shortfall in ocean restoration and climate solutions more broadly. Only 3% of climate finance is finding its way into nature, with ocean resilience being the least invested in. In particular, to support nature-based adaptation investment and strengthen resilience in least developed countries and small island developing states, and facilitate the transition to low-carbon economies, he elaborated.

At the Conference, as Lambertini emphasizes, WWF called on political leaders and the finance sector to scale up investment in ocean restoration and climate solutions for coastal communities.

It pushed for a moratorium on deep seabed mining, supporting several Pacific Island countries initiative to form an alliance for a global moratorium on this extractive industry.

This emphasizes the deep social, cultural and economic links between their people and the ocean, Clarke commented on the alliance.

The new declaration also supports an earlier idea to establish an intergovernmental committee to develop a legally binding treaty to address plastic pollution.

We leave Lisbon with great momentum, but the real test of success for the second UN Ocean Conference will come in the months ahead [] Importantly, this momentum and solidarity sets the stage for the next round of negotiations on a high seas treaty something that has been a long time coming and is more important than ever. If the negotiations can match the ambition weve seen in Lisbon, we can get that over the finish line this year, Lambertini says, underlining what it is exactly that WWF wants to see in the months ahead:

Global policies like robust new treaties for the high seas and plastics, continued action to curb harmful fisheries subsidies and achieving 30% protection of the worlds ocean.

Editors Note:The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com In the Featured Photo: The Indian Ocean as seen from the International Space Station orbitting about 270 miles above the Earth near western Australia. The station orbits the Earth about every 90 minutes at a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour. Featured Photo Credit: NASA.

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Our Oceans Are Sick: The Solution Is More Money and More Protection, Says WWF - Impakter

Three teams with members based in Friday Harbor entered the 2022 Race to Alaska, or R2AK, this year. R2AK is north Americas longest human and wind-powered race spanning nearly 750 miles of spectacular beauty and rugged environments of the coastal waters of Vancouver Island and the Inside Passage to Alaska.

Now in its sixth year, the R2AK race begins in Port Townsend Washington, ending in Ketchikan roughly 750 miles to the north. Non-motorized vessels of any size and kind are welcome to enter, and except for a few simple rules, the race is basically a free for all for participants.

According to race organizers, R2AK is a self-supported race with no supply drops and no safety net. Any boat without an engine can enter. The prize for the first-place finisher is $10K cash, nailed to a board and located at the finish line on the dock in Ketchikan Alaska.

Second place finishers take home a coveted steak knives set, with R2AK logos emblazoned on them. The race has two stages. Stage One this year began at dawn June 13, at 5 a.m. sharp out of Port Townsend, with the Stage Two start time of High Noon June 16, out of Victoria.

The first stage, known as the The Proving Ground, is a 40-mile race designed as a qualifier that spans the open waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Port Townsend Washington to Victoria, British Columbia. Race participants must cross two sets of major shipping lanes and an international border, along with miles of relatively open water and unpredictable sea states, winds, and tides.

Racers generally have 48 hours to complete the first leg, arriving in Victoria BC to then prepare for the race to Alaska. Exceptions were made this year, however, due to the inclement weather in the Strait of Juan de Fuca the very day the race got underway. Rough seas and challenging tides at the start of the race caused many vessels to shelter for up to two days in Dungeness Spit and surrounding areas, before continuing on safely to Victoria.

The second stage and full race To The Bitter End begins in Victoria BC, ending in Ketchikan, Alaska, an over 700 nautical mile journey through some of the most rugged, beautiful, and always unpredictable inland waterways in the Pacific Northwest. Other than one waypoint in Bella Bella that race participants must pass, racers are free to choose their own course to the finish line. A new feature was added to the race this year that allowed participants to travel either the inland passage or the outer coast of Vancouver Island, with three race participants choosing to take the newly opened option.

TEAM ELSEWHERE

While Team Pure & Wild, based in Seattle, were the first place finishers on day five of this years Race to Alaska earning the top spot and the $10K prize, Friday Harbors Team Elsewhere ended up neck and neck with Team Fashionably Late on day seven as they approached the finish line. Team Elsewhere eventually won the coveted steak knives and bragging rights for second place in the grueling 750-mile engineless race, entering the Ketchikan harbor to a cheering crowd chanting Steak knives! Steak knives!

For Rhys Balmer, Friday Harbor resident and skipper of second-place finisher Team Elsewhere, the novelty and newness of the race opening up on the outside of Vancouver Island, along with the opportunity to return to places hed experienced in his youth was what inspired him to assemble a team to take on the challenge.

I was homeschooled on a boat and cruised around Vancouver island a lot when I was young, so I have fond memories of my childhood sailing the northwest coast of the island, he says, but the engineering challenge was equally intriguing to Balmer.

Since the race is entirely human- and/or wind-powered, engines are removed from vessels prior to the race. To compensate for the missing engine Balmers First Mate Martin Gibson devised a two-pedal-driven system that hooked into the existing prop and shaft, allowing crew members to pedal the sailboat when wind was not an option.

More of a challenge, adds Balmer, was designing and building a water ballast system with two bags with 550 pounds of water in each, 11,000 pounds total, that instead of eight people on the rail, we could pump water to the high side of the boat to level her out. Solar-powered pumps were used to transfer the water, making them somewhat susceptible to the weather conditions along the trek.

For Balmer, the highlight of the trip was achieving second place. Hope is hubris, and springs eternal, he went on. We were in it to win it, and thrilled to take on the challenge of the outside. But the real treat was the fanfare in Ketchikan. In all my racing experience Id never experienced anything like that before. Respect from fishermen and sailors, and props from different types of boaters and people. Weve been welcomed by so many cool people up and down the coast.

And much respect to people doing it the long way. Many props for people taking the time (to do this race), its quite an adventure and people should see it. We couldnt have done it without the support of so many people in Friday Harbor. Thanks go to Dane Easterly of Island Art Metals, Nigel Oswald of the Sailing Foundation, Matthew and the boys at Meat Machine, and Greg Alanhorch of Mainstay Marine Diving.

TEAM POCKET ROCKENAUTS

The race this year was not without major challenges and mishaps for most involved, and no teams were immune to the challenges of adverse weather, lightning storms, and rough sea conditions as they ventured north towards Alaska.

During the first leg of the race The Proving Grounds lived up to its name, with four rescues required in the first four hours. Several boats capsized and one vessel experienced a dismasting in the over 30-knot winds and rough seas that turned back a number of participants, forcing many to wait out the weather for nearly two days until it calmed, before venturing to Victoria BC. Eventually, most of the race participants along with all three Friday Harbor teams made it to Victoria, passing through Canada Customs to enjoy a brief respite in the city of Victoria before continuing the race.

After a Lemans-style start with team members racing down the docks to their waiting boats in Victoria Harbor, racers set out from Victoria at high noon after completing last-minute repairs and final goodbyes to family and friends. Once out of the harbor, however, the sailboats among the group found themselves with no wind to sail, forcing them to use their alternative propulsion options. Peddle and paddle-powered craft enjoyed the calm seas and lack of wind as they began putting miles behind them, but sailboats faced slow progress on their first day out. Of the remaining teams still in the race, most decided to stick to the traditional course up the inside passage between Vancouver island and the mainland, including Team Pocket Rockanauts and Team Sockeye Voyages. Although the lack of wind was a minor issue, the weather otherwise was favorable at the beginning and the race seemed off to a great start.

Then tragedy struck.

Less than 24 hours into the second stage of the race Team Pocket Rockanauts, with Friday Harbor resident Doug McCutchen aboard as crew, capsized in the early dawn of June 17 just a few miles North of Saturna Island in the Strait of Georgia, abruptly dashing their hopes for continuing the race. The crew were all wearing dry suits and personal flotation devices (PFDs) when they transmitted an urgent MayDay call to the Canadian Coast Guard. Rescue c, which shouldnt e rews from both Pender Island and Vancouver BC were dispatched, arriving on scene soon thereafter to assist the stranded mariners. According to the crew, after capsizing the vessel experienced downflooding into one of the hulls, making righting the boat impossible.

According to McCutchen, the Gougeon 32 theyd been sailing was in good shape in Victoria following the first leg, but had probably sustained some damage while crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which later became a factor in their subsequent capsizing at 5 a.m. a mile north of East Point as they began crossing the Strait of Georgia. Its not one thing, its compounded errors, says McCutchen. Basically we ended up on our side, which shouldnt be a problem, but one of our pedal drives came free and smashed a window, filling the cabin with water in a couple of minutes. Though the vessel was capsized, the crew were all warm in their dry suits, immediately putting out a MayDay over the radio. The Canadian Coast Guard were absolutely phenomenal, adds McCutchen, the reserve crew from Pender arrived and the hovercraft from Vancouver was on scene helping right the boat and pumped out the float. By the time they finished, we were only 50 yards from the rocks at Patos island, and without their help, wed have certainly smashed on the rocks.

After determining with a high degree of confidence the crew could responsibly handle getting back to Friday Harbor on their own, the Canadian Coast Guard left them on a buoy at Patos island. After some rearranging and vessel preparations, the Pocket Rockanauts crew got underway for the Customs dock in Friday Harbor. Realizing they werent going to make it in time without a tow, they enlisted Deborah Giles and her husband Jim to tow them the final few miles to the customs agents before the office closed.

Though their hopes to get to the finish line were dashed early on, McCutchen was in good spirits when interviewed for this story: Ive been following the race since it first came out, says McCutchen, and the place is spectacular, but for my team it was an opportunity to get together with some old friends to create time to experience something together. Karl and I have known each other since grade school, and Tim was a roommate in college. For us the journey was the destination. Sure, capsizing the boat was really disappointing, but a lot of the experiences we had I wouldnt trade for anything, says McCutchen, Weve made fast friends, and rooted them on. For us the common thread was the journey.

Once the capsizing mishap was behind them and the crew safely back ashore, McCutchen, along with a number of family members, still had time off and tickets booked to Ketchikan because family members had already been planning to be there to greet them. Weve got the tickets paid for and weve got the time, says McCutchen, so we decided to go to Ketchikan and see other racers arrive. It was a good time to decompress, and to process what wed experienced. It was always about the journey.

TEAM SOCKEYE VOYAGES

Lastliterallybut not least, Team Sockeye Voyages with Friday Harbor resident and skipper John Calogero at the helm arrived in Ketchikan along with his crew Thursday evening, June 8, to celebratory fanfare and cold beers (an R2AK tradition) officially closing the 2022 R2AK race to Alaska. All three team members aboard Team Sockeye Voyages are ocean-voyaging Outward Bound instructors with decades of maritime experience between them. Yet even with all that experience, the challenges the Sockeye Voyages crew faced over the 22 days on the water at times pushed them to their limits while only hardening their resolve to cross that finish line.

When asked why do the R2AK race, Calogero responded Outward Bound is all about challenging ourselves, so Im in the challenge business. So thats what nice about this (race) is that is the point. And the guy who came up with this race originally, Jake Beattie, is an old friend and the Race Boss Daniel Evans and Race Marshall Jesse Wiegel are good friends. But what I didnt know back in 2017 until I first did this race with friends was the camaraderie of everyone, from racers to the boaters we met along the way. The support you get along the coast is wonderful. People would see us and cheer us on wherever we went.

Calogero continued As far as the experience, the two young ladies with me are both with Outward Bound, one with a captains license and one getting one, and they just got loads of time and experience that will last a lifetime. That was part of the motivation, as well. Frankly there are a whole bunch of boats that enter with no chance of winning, but winning is completing it. Thats winning. Based on the R2AK online race tracker that fans from near and far used to follow their favorite boats in real-time, 32 teams started the race in Victoria BC, with 19 finishers.

As far as coming in last, Calogero adds with a chuckle, whats more memorable, coming in second to last, or last? Besides, some would say that by coming in last we really got our moneys worth. The temperate rainforest is beautiful and we should all celebrate it. Indigenous people have lived in harmony with this place for 15,000 years, and it was gorgeous!

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Three Local Teams Compete in Race To Alaska | The Journal of the San Juan Islands - Journal of the San Juan Islands

Travellers on the high seas will soon be able to access high speed, low latency internet by subscribing to a maritime satellite broadband service from Elon Musks Starlink venture.

Starlink Maritime hopes to tempt owners and operators of pleasure yachts, cruise ships, and other vessels with ruggedised hardware that can withstand extreme cold, heat, hail, sleet, heavy rain, and gale force winds and headline speeds of 350Mbps.

The company promises the dishes take up minimal deck space and are easy to install, ensuring they wont get in the way of key equipment, or sunbathing passengers.

The hardware costs $10,000 and a subscription is $5,000 a month, which isnt cheap. However for billionaire yacht owners this is a drop in the ocean theyre sailing on.

In any case, subscriptions can be paused at any time so that customers arent charged if theyre spending an extended time on land.

The service is powered by SpaceXs constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, with coverage limited to the coastal waters of North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe at present, but Starlink has pledged to expand its reach later this year.

Conventional satellite-based connectivity systems have been held back by slow speeds, low capacity, and high capacity, meaning they have been useful only as a last resort.

But recent advances in the field mean the technology is even seen as a viable alternative to fixed connectivity on land, such as a rural areas where it is impractical or not economically viable to deploy full fibre.

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Starlink Maritime brings satellite broadband to the seas - TechRadar

SURAT THANI: Ferries to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan resumed yesterday (July 12), but small boats were advised to remain ashore until 5am today due to high winds and strong waves.

Seatran ferry resumes its service to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in Surat Thani yesterday (July 12) after ferry services were halted on Monday due to rough seas in the Gulf of Thailand. Photo: Supapong Chaolan

Seatran Ferry Co and Racha Ferry Co resumed services from a pier in Don Sak district to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan yesterday morning, reports the Bangkok Post.

The ferries also took passengers and vehicles from the two popular islands to a pier in Don Sak.

The provincial disaster prevention and mitigation office earlier ordered all ships and boats not to leave the shores in all districts located on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand from 2pm on Monday to 5am yesterday, as storms whipped up high seas in the gulf.

Yesterday, the agency banned boats with less than 200 gross tonnes or less than 24 metres in length from leaving the shores from 1pm until 5am today after the Meteorological Department issued a strong wind wave warning for the gulf.

Ferries and large passenger boats were allowed to operate while speedboats and small tourism boats were banned from operating on five routes Muang district-Koh Phangan-Koh Tao, Don Sak-Koh Samui, Don Sak-Koh Phangan-Koh Tao, Koh Samui-Koh Phangan-Koh Tao and Koh Phangan-Koh Tao-Chumphon.

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Island ferries in Surat Thani resume - The Phuket News

Ocean plastic pollution was a focus at the recent UN oceans conference, which issued a declaration in support of an earlier decision by the UN Environment Assembly to start negotiations for a global plastics treaty.

This initiative has been welcomed almost universally, but it must not distract from the fact we actually already have good international laws regulating ships that plastics overboard. We are just not enforcing them properly.

An estimated half of ocean plastic pollution comes from some 4.5 million fishing vessels operating in national and international waters. Recent research suggests more than 100 million pounds of plastic enters the oceans from industrial fishing gear alone.

Better implementation and enforcement of existing laws would be a much faster way of addressing ship-source plastic pollution than waiting for a new treaty to be adopted.

Plastic waste from fishing vessels includes lost and deliberately abandoned fishing gear such as nets, pots, floats, crates and fish aggregation devices (FADs).

Plastics have been found in the deepest part of the ocean in the Mariana Trench and in remote regions such as Henderson Island in the Pitcairn group.

Lost or abandoned fishing gear can result in ghost fishing where nets, FADs and other gear continue to fish for decades. Other impacts of ocean plastic pollution include entanglement, ingestion, transfer of invasive species and toxins, navigational hazards and beach fouling.

Read more: How to get abandoned, lost and discarded 'ghost' fishing gear out of the ocean

In contrast to land-based sources of plastic pollution, where global regulation is weak, the international rules relating to ship-source plastic pollution are robust, at least on paper.

Two principal regimes have been developed under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). One is the London dumping regime, which regulates the deliberate dumping of plastic waste at sea from vessels and platforms. The other is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which regulates both deliberate and accidental discharge of plastics from vessels.

Under the London dumping regime, plastic waste including fishing nets and FADs must not be dumped or discarded deliberately by any vessel in all maritime zones outside the internal waters of states. Although there is an exception for the disposal of material incidental to the normal operation of vessels, it cannot be argued this includes deliberate disposal of plastic waste, given the harm it causes to marine ecosystems.

This position was confirmed by the parties to the London regime in 2018, when they asserted that deliberate disposal of fishing gear is contrary to its goals.

While the London regime does not apply to accidental loss of fishing gear, MARPOL does by prohibiting the discharge into the sea of all plastics, including nets, FADs and other fishing gear, both deliberate and accidental.

There is, however, an important loophole: the prohibition does not apply to fishing vessels where all reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent such loss or where the discharge of fishing gear is necessary for the protection of the environment. Guidelines adopted in 2017 provide some indication of what constitutes reasonable precaution for example, proper sorting and collection of plastic waste in a manner that avoids their loss overboard.

Read more: Where does plastic pollution go when it enters the ocean?

Plastic pollution has also become an issue for regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs). They collaborate with the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation on various initiatives to minimise the loss of fishing gear and the effects of ghost fishing.

For example, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which manages fisheries in the Southern Ocean, bans the use of plastic packaging bands on most vessels.

The problem with these rules is lack of enforcement. It is hard to monitor and enforce the prohibition on plastic pollution from vessels on the high seas. Flag states often lack an incentive to do so.

Practical measures such as the marking of gear and particular stowage technologies to reduce waste are often contained in non-binding guidelines rather than mandatory rules. And there are insufficient incentives to persuade vessels to retrieve abandoned gear they come across while fishing.

States should use their legal powers under the international law of the sea to take action against vessels entering their ports if there is evidence they have abandoned or negligently lost fishing gear at sea.

Flag states should require their own vessels to mark their gear and create financial incentives so that floating fishing gear can be retrieved and safely disposed of.

The London regime has a robust compliance process that could be more regularly used to address the dumping of fishing gear and highlight this issue at an international level.

While the new plastics treaty may ultimately play an important role in addressing ocean plastics, we do not have to wait until then to better address plastics pollution from ships. We just need to better enforce the laws we already have.

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We have international laws to stop plastic pollution from fishing vessels now. Why are we not enforcing them? - The Conversation Indonesia

In 1990, when Monterey Bay was nominated for consideration as a National Marine Sanctuary, some of the more radical supporters proposed a boundary extending almost to Point Conception. Three decades later, that vision may become a reality. And the effort is led by Chumash Natives, the Central Coasts original ocean stewards.

The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS) would stretch from the southern end of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, creating an unbroken protected marine area of almost 15,000 square miles. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hopes to complete designation by the winter of 2023.

The idea of calling it the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is a form of recognition for all those people, both past and present, who have not been recognized before as natives by the federal government, explains Bear Clan elder Michael Khus-Zarate. If the proposed sanctuary is designated, it will be a magnet for further revitalization of Chumash people throughout the Central Coast. Its a way of confirming our continued existence as well as our continued responsibilities and obligations to be caretakers of the land and water.

The tribes territory once reached from roughly Morro Bay to Malibu, and their advanced ocean-going crafts allowed them to travel along the coast and to the Channel Islands. The Chumash have a maritime culture and tradition, explains Khus-Zarate. Our relationship with the ocean is primarily one of respect and reverence. The ocean helps us understand our proper place in the world, helps us feel humble We dont own the land or the waters, its not ours to give away or share, its ours to caretake.

Creating a National Marine Sanctuary requires patience and dedication. For over 40 years, marine sanctuaries were proposed by state or federal agencies. In 2015, NOAA opened the process to local communities. After six months of meetings and paperwork, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council nominated the CHNMS; NOAA asked for more detail. Six months later, the NCTC submitted a revised proposal, which was accepted.

That just put us in the inventory, a little file that says at some point in the future NOAA can decide to start the designation processor not, explains PJ Webb, legal advisor to the NCTC.

The CHNMS nomination sat inactive during the Trump administration. After five years, NOAA needed to review it. We worked hard and got 14,000 comments during the public comment period, with no paid staff, no monetary resources, just blood sweat and tears, Webb says. Those comments were overwhelmingly in support of the sanctuary. It kind of blew NOAA out of the water, sometimes there are only 5 or 55 or 100 comments.

Violet Sage Walker, the chairperson of the NCTC and nominator of the CHNMS, carries on the work of her late father, Fred Collins, who worked to protect Chumash waters for decades. Most indigenous people feel obligated to continue the traditions of their ancestors, she explains. This is not something we can take a break from. We dont, like, clock out after 40 hours. We are obligated to do this forever, until designation is secured, and then we are obligated to co-manage. We will work on this until we die.

Sage Walker believes this indigenous perspective was critical in moving forward with the sanctuary. We bring something to the table nobody else brings, she explains. We can talk about spirit and how the ocean is important for peoples spiritual health. This isnt just about biodiversity, its about our soul, our happiness, our healing, our ancestors. Thats what made our nomination stand out among all the other ones.

Public scoping began November 10, 2021. NOAA asks for very specific scientific criteria, which only marine biologists can satisfy, but we did our best to translate that into lay persons language, explains Webb. The deadline for the scoping process was extended; people who opposed the sanctuary thought it was too short. In just under three months, between 25,000-30,000 comments were generated. The overwhelming majority, over 90%, were in support of the sanctuary, says Webb. And that happened in the middle of a pandemic, over Christmas and New Years.

The main opposition comes from people in the fishing industry who worry about how sanctuary status and federal oversight will affect their livelihoods. But fishing regulations inside a marine sanctuary are identical to regulations outside of a sanctuary, and the federal government already oversees the oceans.

We are facing a campaign of misinformation, says Sage Walker with a frustrated sigh. People need better education. There is no local control of the ocean. The federal government already controls everything from mean high tide out to the high seas. The marine sanctuary will not change that.

There is no reason not to designate the marine sanctuary, there are no drawbacks, continues Sage Walker. There are no competing interests, we all want to protect the ocean. I dont think fishermen or wind energy should be opposed to conservation. No users of ocean or land should be oppositional. We all have the same interests, to prolong our quality of life on this planet.

The Chumash pushing for marine sanctuary status join marginalized communities all over the planet working to enhance life on Earth. Indigenous people, people in third world countries, people of color, we will be the first displaced by climate change, so we are the most committed to fighting it, says Sage Walker. Because we are protecting our heritage, our ancestors, our families, our homeland, our way of life. We have more skin in the game than anybody else, so we have to fight harder than anybody else. Its because we love it that we have to do this. And not a single one of us is backing down from the challenge.

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Behind the Push for a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary | Good Times - Good Times