Modern Day Ocean & Environmental Explorers Pull into Miami's Bicentennial Park
Not since the time of Magellan has the world seen such daring and determined sea faring explorers as those who are attempting to circumnavigate the North & South American continents as part of the Around the Americas voyage. Their boat, the 64-foot steel hulled sailing vessel, the Ocean Watch is on a mission to gather scientific data, increase awareness about the fragility of the world’s oceans in the face of climate change and help us understand the changes facing of our planet.
Welcome to the Around the Americas tour, sponsored by Tiffany & Company, Unilever and Sailors for the Sea, a non-profit group led by David Rockefeller, Jr.—The boat will pull into Miami on October 19 at 2 p.m. and be berthed at the floating dock at Bicentennial Park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd (next to AAA).
According to David Rockefeller, Jr., "This project is definitely an expedition for our times. The health of our oceans is important to all of us, not just those who live by the sea. Our food sources, our climate and even the air we breathe are dependent on the vast ocean systems. Around the Americas will demonstrate both the current deterioration of the ocean condition and what we as individuals can do to reverse or at least slow the negative effects."
The Around the America voyage was launched from Seattle twenty weeks ago, on the premise that the continents of North America and South America are, in essence, large islands surrounded by a complex, fragile ocean environment that's at risk on many fronts.
The boat’s skipper Captain Mark Schrader has led the sailboat through the rigours of the Arctic Circle and right into the history books. Only three sailboats have ever made it through the Northwest Passage. The dangerous journey through treacherous waters filled with ice and bouts of extreme weather was harrowing at times, but the crew has persevered to arrive in Miami, the last stop in the second leg of the expedition.
Southern Voyages of Discovery
The crew will successfully complete the second of four legs of the voyage, with a port visit to Miami, October 19 – 25. The Miami port visit will be supported by the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, and hosted by the University of Miami, in collaboration with Shake A Leg Miami, NOAA, Fifth Street Marina LLC and Miami-area yacht clubs.
Ocean Watch will continue to traverse the east and west coasts of North and South America over the coming months. The crew’s watch captain David Thoreson describes the upcoming southern continent journey as a voyage of discovery: “Departing Miami the crew will travel southward and make a stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico. From there, they'll embark on the longest voyage of the trip, a 3,500 nautical-mile passage across the fickle doldrums that dot the equator en route to the welcome destination of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
South of Rio, the crew will again enjoy the friendly, bustling ports of Punta del Este, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. But once south of 'B.A.' the landscape will again become rugged, as Ocean Watch calls at the remote Falkland Islands and enters the high, cold latitudes that define the coast of Patagonia before engaging Cape Horn. Sailing from east to west, against the strong, prevailing westerly winds of the Southern Ocean, the mighty Cape will offer a test every bit as challenging as the Northwest Passage.
Once north of Cape Horn, Ocean Watch will call at ports in Chile and Peru before stopping in the enchanting Galapagos Islands, then heading on to Costa Rica and Mexico before once again tying up in U.S. waters in the sunny enclave of San Diego. From there, it will be one last bash to windward, up the coast of California and back to Seattle, the city from which it all began.
