A sad commentary on the state of the oceans, by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston... see this article in the Times.
It makes me sad that the ocean I will be setting out across this summer is a less magical, and more dangerous, place than it would have been forty years ago. If it has changed this much in the space of one lifetime, what does the future hold? Will there be any whales left at all? Or will the oceans be criss-crossed by a series of container ship superhighways?
What IS all this stuff being shipped around the world anyway? Is it really necessary, or dictated by the desire for financial gain rather than common sense?
According to Wikipedia, the world's biggest container ship is 400m long and can carry 14,500 containers, a cargo worth up to $300 million. Between 5 and 6 million units are in transit at any one time. This "entails a great deal of risk" says Wikipedia.
I guess they mean financial risk, but I'm thinking more of the risk to a little 24-foot rowboat...
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From May 1st I will be off on my travels again. I am flying back to the UK for various meetings and a one-woman, self-imposed writer's retreat to work on my Atlantic book.
I will have only occasional access to internet, but will try to keep up my blogs using my mobile phone to post updates. But please forgive any longer-than-usual gaps between blogs from now until my return to the US on May 15th.
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The National Environmental Trust is currently featuring me and my east coast adventuresome counterpart, Margo Pellegrino - see oceanlegacy.org. Margo sets off on May 7 on her outrigger journey from Miami to Maine in a bid to inspire others to take an active role in the stewardship of our oceans. See her website - miami2maine.com - for more details.
You may also notice that Margo's website bears a passing resemblance to mine - we now share the same webmaster, Tim Harincar at Sailblogs, since I passed on the recommendation. It can sometimes feel like a solitary path, getting ready for a big expedition, so it's been fun to compare notes with Margo as we both prepare for our respective launches.
(But enough of that now, Tim - I need you back working on MY site now!!)
Good luck Margo - you go girl!!
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Is there anybody local who has time on Tuesday afternoon to give me a ride from Woodside to San Francisco airport? My flight is at 4.30, so I'd need to leave here at 2pm.
Only people I know, please!
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