One Island One Ocean

8/4/2019 One Island One Ocean

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OCEAN WATCHAND THE EPIC JOURNEY AROUND THE AMERICASONE iAN, ONE OCEAN

Written by Herb McCormick

Photography by David Thoreson

Foreword by David Rockefeller Jr.

Introdction by Captain Mark Schrader

Preface by R. Bryce Seidl


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ONE iAN,

ONE OCEANOCEAN WATCHAND THE EPIC

JOURNEY AROUND THE AMERICAS


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TAE Of CONTENT

Foreword by David Rockefeller Jr. 6

Introduction by Captain Mark Schrader 8

Preface by R. Bryce Seidl 10

PRT 1 North to the iceSeattle to Newfoundland via the Arcti c Circle and the Northwest Passage

Chapter 1 From the Big House to the Ghosts of War 18

Chapter 2 Ice Capades 28

Chapter 3The Biologist, the Hunter, and the Birdman 38

Chapter 4A Northwest Passage 46

Chapter 5Into the Fray 60

Special SectionScience Aboard Ocean Watch 66

Picturing the JourneyA Vanishing Way of Life 70

PRT 2 The ong log outhAcross the equator from the Canadian Marit imes to the Falk land Is lands

Chapter 6Down the Eastern Seaboard 76

Chapter 7Crossing the Line 84

Chapter 8Brazils Bitter Bulge 92

Chapter 9The Roaring Forties 100

Chapter 10Falkland Islands Interlude 108

Special SectionLessons Learned along the Way 114

Picturing the JourneyChampagne Sailing 118


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PRT 3 Cape Horn to tarboardThe triumphant rounding of the Horn; a sobering passage through Patagonia

Chapter 11 Racing the Williwaws 124

Chapter 12 Isla Hornos 132

Chapter 13 In Patagonia 142

Chapter 14 A Prayer for Fragile Chile 152

Chapter 15 Valpo 160

Special SectionEducation on Board 166

Picturing the JourneySoaring with the Albatross 170

PRT 4 Closng the CrcleA Pacic passage: El Nio, the Baja Bash, the Golden Gate . . . and home

Chapter 16 Earthquake, El Nio, and the Missing Trade Winds 176

Chapter 17 In Darwins Wake 184

Chapter 18 Costa Rica and the Baja Bash 194

Chapter 19 Old Glory 204

Chapter 20Closing the Circle 214

Special SectionPlastic Pollution and the Pacic Garbage Patch 224

Picturing the JourneyParting Shots 228

Resources 232

Index 235

Acknowledgments 239


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fOEWO

Dvi Rokfr Jr.

in the realm o ocean exploration, there are not many frsts still

to be accomplished. But Mark Schrader has achieved one. He

skippered Ocean Watch as the frst-ever continuous, west-to-east

circumnavigation by sail o the American continents. On this epic

journey, he invited journalists, educators, and scientists to join him,and together they documented and reported on the condition o the

Western Hemispheres precious ocean systems and the coastal residents

who depend upon them.

Te mission oOcean Watch began in association with Sailors

or the Sea, an organization ounded by David readway and me in

response to the Pew Commissions 2003 report on the declining health

o our American waters. Our goal is to convert the recreational users o

a valuable resourcein this case, sailors and other boaters who enjoy

the ocean and coastal watersinto stewards o it.In 2006, we asked ourselves what Mark, a veteran solo ocean

circumnavigator, could do to help us awaken boaters to the dangerous

decline in global ocean health. Te answer became an expedition called

Around the Americas, accomplished on a 64-oot (20-m) steel cutter

named Ocean Watch. Trough the icy Northwest Passage, around the

stormy Cape Horn, and beyond, Ocean Watch and her crew o brave

reporters traveled 25,000 nautical miles in a little more than a year.One

Island, One Ocean is the remarkable report o that voyage.

One Island, One Ocean documents the importance o oceanconservationthe very heart o Sailors or the Seas mission. Fisheries

are being shameully depleted. Coral rees are being diminished. Plastic

and chemical pollutants are clogging and poisoning our lie-giving

oceans. Ocean acidifcation is jeopardizing all sea lie. We hope that our

eorts can, in some small way, help raise awareness o this issue.


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10/249ITRDuCTI

iNTOCTiON

Whether it was doodling on a pad while talking on the phone

or sitting in class and looking at a map, or as long ago as I

can remember, Ive always drawn circles around things that

interested me. A long time ago, when the Fourth o July corn was tallerthan me, I drew a circle on a county map around my parents Nebraska

arm, then packed a lunch, oiled the bike chain, and headed out or a

country-road circumnavigation o the amily arm. o this day, i Im

interested in learning about something, I draw a circle around it, trying to

corral my curiosity and imagination within that boundary. Sometimes the

circles are small, sometimes they are bigand sometimes I use them as a

path that will lead to an interesting journey.

Tis book is the story o one such journey. It is clear to anyone

paying attention that our climate is changing; our mighty oceans are inpoor health; and countless orms o marine and land species are headed

or unhappy times at bestand extinction at worst. And, I think its

air to say, were not paying enough attention to the causes o these

changes. It is clear to the scientists who study the eects we as humans

have on our environment that some o our behaviors need to change or

entire vital ocean ecosystems will be destroyed orever. Our schools need

to raise marine science and ocean-health education to the urgent and

important status our present predicament requires. Nothing less than

the survival o the oceansand ultimately the human raceis at stake.While in Italy on a small boat with riends David Rockeeller Jr.

and David readway, the conversation turned to ideas on how best to

motivate sailors and other direct users o our ocean resources to help

change destructive practices and take ownership o the complex issues

surrounding ocean health. I was suddenly paying close attention. Tis

was something that needed a circle drawn around ita big one.

Tat day in Italy, I heard mysel saying to my riends, Perhaps i

we drew a circle around the Americas to highlight the act that they are

an island, surrounded by one ocean, and then used that circle as a path

or an extended educational voyage, we could actually raise awareness

in meaningul ways and change behavior. Te circle suddenly became

much bigger, and the Around the Americas voyage was born.

Having the conversations, crating the idea, and drawing the circle

were the easy parts. Te doing o it was the challenge. And although anyday at sea will present unexpected challenges, thirteen months at sea on

a 25,000-nautical-mile course with more than fty port calls in thirteen

countries elevated those challenges to a new level or all o us. Along

this route, but at opposite ends o the Earth, were two extraordinarily

dicult passages: the Arctics abled Northwest Passage and South

Americas Cape Horn. Te boat, the crew, and the shore support or

the expedition needed to be as well prepared as possible in order to

successully meet not only those challenges but also other extraordinary

events along the way.Without our partners, contributors, supporters, educators,

scientists, and guest crew, our idea would still be just thatan idea.

Te circle would be just a drawing on a page. But with the support o

the core crew o Herb McCormick, David Toreson, and Dave Logan,

along with onboard educators Zeta Strickland and Roxanne Nanninga,

oceanographer Michael Reynolds, and more than two dozen other

visiting guest crew, we were able to accomplish our mission. Sailor,

writer, and riend Herb documented the entire voyage so that we could

share our story; photographer, sailor, riend, and ellow MidwesternerDavid captured extraordinary images o the good, the bad, and the truly

magnifcent things we saw along the way; and, o utmost importance to

all o us with lives at stake, the reft, preparation, and maintenance o our

mighty little ship, the S/V Ocean Watch, landed on the able shoulders o

riend and frst mate Dave.

For an expedition o this dimension, our onshore and onboard

teams were small, ecient, and absolutely dedicated to our mission. In

our view, the ocean deserves nothing less. On behal o this team, it is my

privilege to extend a hearty thank-you to our supporters or making it

possible or this voyage to be completed and this story to be told.

Mrk Srr

Cpi of Ocean Watch


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PEfACE

The story oOcean Watch and the Around the Americas voyage

is a global story, but it i s made up o countless small storieso

people, geography, culture, adventure, science, and more.

Visionaries David Rockeeller Jr., David readway, and Mark

Schrader understood that a prerequisite to changing the devastating

trends o ocean degradation was a much broader understanding o

human dependence on the oceans and our stake in protecting them.

With oceans so vast, we simply do not have enough ocean advocates

to drive political action or grassroots behavioral change. Tese men

understood that the world o science oers the tools to measure,

quantiy, and describe the orces degrading the oceans. Tey understood

that science, to be understood and appreciated by general audiences,

needed to be presented in ways relevant to local populations. Tey

also understood the power o adventure to capture the attention o

people in all cultures. From this was born the Around the Americasexpeditiona journey combining adventure, science, and storytelling

to awaken broader understandings o our oceans and our dependence

on them.

On the surace, this frst-ever circumnavigation o the American

continents is an adventure story starring a sturdy sailboat, a movie-

worthy crew, and a shore-based team o supporters, all ueled by

generous donors. From the stark Arctic oceans and their declining ice

covers through steaming tropical seas and the challenges o ferce storms

in the southern oceans, we ound adventure aplenty.But underlying this expedition is a story important to all

6.5 billion people living on this planetthe story o our dependence on

oceans once assumed to be so massive that they could absorb anything

we might do to them. Many, many people now know how wrong that

assumption was, but ew people yet understand what is happening and

what can be done about it.

Te data is unequivocal. Our oceans are changing, and the

changes are all bad rom the perspective o human lie on the planet.

Te euents o auence, both chemical and physical, are now visible

or measurable in virtually all o the waters o the globe. Growing

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is driving changes in global climate,

raising ocean levels as ice caps at our poles melt at accelerating rates and

threatening the capacity o habitats to support ood production or our

growing world population. Te carbon dioxide is being absorbed into

our seas, making the pH more acidic. Tis subtle change is degrading

the capacity o the oceans to support the biologic community that is the

base o the ood chain or virtually all marine animals.

A remarkable team was built with a commitment to do what we

could to move world attention toward addressing these issues. A crew

o our men with extensive marine sailing credentials and a 64-oot

(20-m) sailboat were the core. A captain, a frst mate, a photographer,

and a marine author executed this remarkable thirteen-month,

25,000-nautical-mile voyage. Pacifc Science Center in Seattle wasenlisted to bring science and education programs to the project. With

major help rom the University o Washington or analytical equipment,

visiting scientists measured ocean and atmospheric conditions and

perormed other science o convenience. Onboard educators organized

and presented ocean science in ports o call dockside, in schools and

communities, with the crew becoming environmental rock stars in port

ater port. With major press coverage and a Web presence, the voyage

touched the minds and hearts o thousands o people in countries

around the world.While the challenges are huge, so is my optimism. Te

degradation o the oceans is the result o billions o us doing small,

largely inadvertent things that in their totality are hugely damaging.

Te good news is that billions o us making small changes in our lives

can also have huge positive inuences on the oceans. I we have helped

create a growing chorus o voices raising these issues to a level o action

at the local, national, and international levels o politics and individual

actions, our adventure with a mission will have been well worth it.

R. Bry Si

Pri CEO, Pifi Si Cr


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iAAm Of

OCEAN WATCHTe accompanying diagrams depict the sail plan

and belowdecks layout or the steel cutter OceanWatch, which underwent a complete reft in Seattle

prior to the Around the Americas expedition. Te

versatile cutter rig employed several headsails (the

sails orward o the mast) that were set depending

on the wind strength and direction. Te mainsail

could also be reeed, or shortened to balance the

boat in heavy breeze. Down below, the crews sleeping

quarters were located in the orward and at sections

o the vessel; the central main cabin and workshop

served multiple roles, including navigating, cooking,

socializing, repairs, and research.

Working staysail

Genoa jib

Mainsail

Mainsail battens

Reef pointsWhen winds are high and less sailis advised, the sail is lowered tothese points.

Radar andcommunicationequipment

Dinghy andkayak storage

500-pound

(227-kg) capacityelectric crane

Winslow 10-person life raft

Storm staysail

Roller furlingheadrail

Masthead instruments for collectionof weather and atmospheric data

The boats specications:Ocean Watch: Bruce Rober ts 64-foot (20-m) Pilot House CutterDisplacement: 44 tons (39 t)Draft: 9 feet (2.7 m)Power: Lugger Mariene 135 HP DieselGenerator: Northern Lights 15 NWRange (Power): 1,400 nautical miles


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Crew berths (4)

Washer/dryer/head (bathroom)

Dining area

Galley (kitchen)

Skippers berth

First mates berthStorage

Second head (bathroom)

Workshop

Navigation station

Private side cabin (2 berths)

Storage locker

Workstation

Aft lazarette gear storage


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AlertBay,Canada

Jun

eau,U.S.

Cam

bridgeBay,

Canada

GjoaHaven,Canada

PondInlet,Canada

Herschel

Island,Canada

Tu

ktoyaktuk,Canada

Unalaska/

DutchHarbor,U.S.

Nome,U.S.

Barrow/

Cooper

Island,U.S.

Seattle,U.S.

Portland,U

.S.

SanFrancisco,U.S.

SanDiego,U.S.

SantaBarbara,U.S.

CaboSanLucas,Mexico

PuertoVallarta,

Mexico

Acapulco,

Mexico

SanJuan,Puer

toRico

Miami,U.S.

Charleston,U.S.

NewYork,U.S.

Boston,U

.S.

Halifax,CanadaS

t.Johns,Canada


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CocosIsland,CostaR

ica

0

1,000

miles

Puntarenas,CostaRica

GalpagosIslands,Ecuador

Lim

a/Callao,Peru

St.Lucia

Cayenne,

FrenchGuiana

SoLuis,Brazil

Natal,Brazil

Valparaso,C

hile

PuertoMontt,Chile

M

ardelPlata,Argentina

PuertoWilliams,Chile

PortStanley,FalklandIslands,U.K.

PuntadelEste,Uruguay

RiodeJaneiro,Brazil

mAPOf

ArOuNdT

HE

AmEriCA

s

ExPEdiTiO

N


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one island, one ocean88

It didnt take long before Skipper Schrader made an executive

decision regarding our route: rather than push on directly for Rio, we

would aim for Fernando de Noronha, a Brazilian archipelago about

2,000 nautical miles away. But soon Ocean Watch was bucking into a

nasty, 2-to-3-knot opposing current, further impeding our progress. Attimes our speed was a mere 3 to 4 knots.

Furthermore, because we were using so much fuel to batter our way

upwind and up currentwith a range under a combination of engine

and sail of about 1,000 nautical milesit soon became apparent that if

we had any hope of rounding Cape Horn in January, we couldnt aord

the luxury of an extended, open-ended voyage to Fernando de Noronha.

In other words, given our schedule and circumstances, wed need to

make a second, more urgent unplanned stop to top o the diesel tanks.

Scanning the charts, there were few options. Te closest, most direct

alternative was the city of Cayenne, on the coast of French Guiana. In

fact, we were aiming directly for it.

As we approached Cayenne on the afternoon of November 19,

the color of the water changed from green, to greenish brown, to light

brown, to a color that could be called liquid Fudgsicle, a thick, murky,

almost chocolate-like substance made all the more bizarre by the

wind and current stirring its ow. Te coursing waterway leading intoCayenne bears a lyrical namethe Fleuve Mahurybut Dave Logan, at

the helm, had a dierent handle, one that quite accurately described the

scene we were witnessing.

It looks like the river where cappuccino comes from, he said.

What we were actually gazing at was the murky outow of the Amazon

River to the south.

Once the anchor was set in the ripping tidal ow at the head of the

Fleuve Mahury, we stopped for a moment to take in our surroundings. Gazing

at the jungle lining the canal, we had our rst hard look at South America.

Te only unsettling problem was, once we actually stepped ashore,

it appeared that wed landed in France.


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13 2 one island, one ocean

It is a place o maritime myth and lore, celebrated in tales, verse, and

song. As South Americas southernmost bit o land, the one and

only Cape Horn is a speck on the chart o the vast Southern Ocean

at 5558'47" S by 6716'18" W. Situated on a hardscrabble slab o rockcalled Isla Hornos, in the Hermite Islands group, Cape Horn orms the

tip o this isolated island at the southern terminus o the abled ierra

del Fuego archipelago.

Cape Horn has been called the Mount Everest o ofshore sailing,

and the list o voyagers whove sailed long and hard to gaze upon it is

storied and select: Sir Francis Drake, Vito Dumas, Bernard Moitessier,

Sir Francis Chichester, Robin Knox-Johnston, and, yes, Mark Schrader,

among others. On January 22, 2010, Ocean Watch set sail or it.

Just one day ater arriving in Puerto Williams, Chile, ollowinga robust passage rom the Falkland Islands, the 64-oot (20-m) cutter

set orth on the single-most signicant leg o the entire expedition

around the Americasnamely, the rounding o Cape Horn. Te crew

had arrived with plans to wait as long as necessary or an ideal weather

window, but as it turned out, it was a brie pause. David Toreson, who

was our onboard meteorologist in addition to photographer and watch

captain, had been tracking the weather or more than a week. He wrote

in the immediate hours ater clearing Chilean customs:

As Ocean Watch arrived in Puerto Williams, there appeared

to be two small weather windows existing to head south to Cape

Horn in northwesterly gales. is has been apparent now for the

last few days, but the problem then becomes, What next?

is question develops because of the tremendous west to east

directional airow, and this week is no exception with gales

forecasted for four of the next six days.

Using the gale from the west-northwest to leave Puerto Williams

and head south to an anchorage close to the Horn positions us

close enough to then take advantage of a directional change or

decrease in pressure.

Tomorrow afternoon ( January 23) brings a forecasted wind ofWNW 10 to 15 knots on both the east and west sides of the

Horn. is is the weather window to take our shot before the

south and westerly gales kick right back in overnight.

In other words, the window was open, and the long-term orecast

suggested that once it closedwhen the parade o westerly gales that

were also prominently eatured on the weather maps began marching

throughit might be weeks beore wed enjoy such a avorable

meteorological picture.

isla hornoscaper 12

Above: Buffeted by high winds on the way to Cape Horn, the crew wasrewarded by a rare eas terly breezeand set their spinnaker(oppositepage)while round ing the famous landmark , shrouded in mis t.


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13 4 one island, one ocean

O course, as we set sail rom Puerto Williams, we had no clue that

much o the short-term orecast was pure ction.

ChSIng hIStoy

Te rst European sailors to lay eyes on the Horn may well have been

Sir Francis Drake and his crew. In the all o 1578, Drake sailed through

the Strait o Magellan and into the Pacic Ocean. Beore he got very ar,a vicious northerly lled in, and Drake was blown southward, toward

Antarctica. South o ierra del Fuego, he realized that the archipelago

was not another continent, as believed at the time, but instead was a

group o islandsincluding Isla Hornosthat bordered an open sea .

Tat expanse o water between the Horn and Antarctica is today known

as Drake Passage, an enduring epitaph or his troubles.

It was almost orty years later, in January 1616, that the Dutch

merchant mariner Willem Schouten set out or the South Atlantic in

search o a new route to the Far East. Schouten commanded two ships,the Eendracht and the Hoorn, the latter o which was shipwrecked en

route. Eendracht carried orth by hersel, and in late January, almost 394

years to the day beore Ocean Watchs Horn attempt, Schouten ound

what hed been looking or. Tis excerpt rom the ships log tells the story:

In the evening 25 January 1616 the winde was South West,

and that night wee went South with great waves or billowes out

of the southwest, and very blew water, whereby wee judged, and

held for certaine that . . . it was the great South Sea, whereat we

were exceeding glad to thinke that wee had discovered a way,

which until that time, was unknowne to men, as afterward wee

found it to be true.

On 29 January 1616 we saw land againe lying northwest and

north northwest from us, which was the land that lay South

from the straights of Magellan which reacheth Southward, all

high hillie lande covered over with snow, ending with a sharpe

point which wee called Kaap Hoorn [Cape Horn] . . .

Especially through the Great Age o Sail rom the 1700s to the

early 1900s, Cape Horn was a signicant waypoint on the well-traveled

clipper routes or the grand square rigs that carried much o the worlds

trade. Te hard men who drove those ships were called Cape Horners,

and or them swimming was not considered a useul skill. Te idea was

that i they went overboard in those godorsaken seas, it was thought

better to get it over with quickly. Te frst yachtsman to sail these waters was the crusty American

solo sailor Joshua Slocum. Slocum was the frst man to sail around the

world alone, and he visited ierra del Fuegowhere he amously scattered

carpet tacks across his deck to dissuade the natives rom boardingin

1895. But its unclear whether he actually rounded Cape Horn.

Tere is no doubt, however, about Conor OBrien, who

successully negotiated Cape Horn aboard his 42-oot (13-m) Saoirse

in the early 1920s. Te great Argentine navigator Vito Dumas was the

rst man to sail around the world alone via the Horn, in 1942. Te

Above and above center : On the way south, a shipwreckreminded us of the need to be careful, while the sea life and

their endles s surpr ises reminded us of what an intrigu ingjourney we were on.


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13 5isla hornos

Top: (From left): David Rockefeller, Mark Schrader, David Treadway, andNed Cabot were key members of the Cape Horn team.Above: During abreak in the action, Cabot tended to a shore-side blaze. Following pages:As we closed in on the Horn, conditions deteriorated.

as we set sail from puerto

williams, we had no clue

that the short-term

forecast was pure fiction.

renowned English aviator and navigator Francis Chichester earned a

knighthood in 1966 or circling the globe solo, past Cape Horn, with

a single layover in Australia. And another British legend, Robin Knox-

Johnston, was the rst to accomplish the eat without stopping when

he won the Golden Globe Race in the late 1960s.

No one ever did a better job o romanticizing the place than

the Frenchman Bernard Moitessier, who rounded the cape twice andwrote a pair o books about the experience that inspired generations o

young French adventurers. Ever since, French sailors have dominated

marathon single-handed races and crewed round-the-world records

around Cape Horn. In act, our own Mark Schrader was the rst

American to circle the planet alone via the ve great southern capes

including the Hornin 1982.

Tis time, Schrader had plenty o company: a crew o eight,

our biggest since leaving Seattle. Along with the core crew o our,

the team included our translator, Horacio Rosell; Sailors or the Seaounder David Rockeeller Jr. and coounder and board member

David readway, both o whom came aboard in Puerto Williams; and

accomplished long-distance sailor and another Sailors or the Sea board

member, Ned Cabot, whod joined the boat in the Falkland Islands.

In the Chilean channels, the Chilean Armada, as the countrys

navy is called, closely monitors the movements o all vessels, insisting

upon regular position updates via VHF radio on a twice-daily basis.


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One Island One Ocean

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